What a big fortnight at TPS

From Friday afternoon, I start Long Service Leave until the 3rd April. In my absence, Mrs Pearce will be acting Principal and will be supported by Mrs Haw. I am looking forward to the opportunity to unwind, with a bit of overseas travel, and a chance to recharge the batteries.

Swimming Week

What a big week of Swimming we have had. The weather has been perfect and the location outstanding. We love using the Tongala Pool for our lessons and carnival, as it provides a real community feel.

Our program relies heavily on teachers and parents being prepared to get in the water with the students and help out. 

Every year, Deb Townsend does an amazing job coordinating and teaching our younger students. Jamieson Young puts in a power of work to organise groups and timetables for the week, to ensure it runs smoothly.

A big thank you to everyone who makes this week so successful. We really appreciate it.

National Young Leaders Day

On Monday, Mrs Pridham is taking the Grade 6's to Melbourne to attend the National Young Leaders Day. It is a great opportunity to listen to a range of inspirational speakers from different fields. One of the speakers is a multiple gold medallist Olympic swimmer who will no doubt be talking about the sacrifices it takes to perform at top level. Another speaker is the first Sudanese AFL footballer, who will most likely be speaking about his role as a leader within his community.

I can't wait to hear about what a great day our students have, and see the skills they obtain be used in their many leadership roles at TPS.

School Council

This week we held our School Council AGM. We have a very strong, experienced School Council, who have a broad range of skills to be utilised across our school. Our School Council are the parents voice, so if there are any issues that you would like discussed please speak to any of our members.

President: Rohan Aldous

Vice President: Jon Beach

Treasurer: Ryan Todd

Secretary: Karen Vick

General members:

Sheree Marsh, Dean Holyman, Tamara McKenzie, Rory Finch, Ash Watson, Carly Mullins

DET Members:

Rob Hogan (Executive), Melissa Pearce, Liana Haw

Inform and Empower

We are very fortunate to have the Community Bank - Tongala and Mathoura sponsoring both schools to take part in this very important program.

Our students have been taking part in  Webinars around being safe online.

On March 5th at 7pm, a parent session is being held at St.Pats for families from both schools, around the topic of Raising Kids in a Digital World.

Here is an overview of the what the students will be covering in this program:

Getting to Know You Interviews

These interviews will be held on Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th of March. These interviews are a quick 10 minute snapshot of how your child has settled in and some goals they may be working towards. 

They run from 3:30pm - 5:30pm and booking times are available on Compass. If these times do not suit or you are only able to do a phone interview, please speak to your child's teacher.

Please note Mrs Pridham is unavailable on Monday, as she is taking our Grade 6 students to Melbourne for the Young Leaders Day.

ACHIEVE

In 2025, we have launched our new Instructional Model - ACHIEVE.

Achieve is an acronym which covers the way our preferred model of teaching would work to ensure students maximise their potential. 

Staff unpacked what each part of the model looks like and spoke about the many ways we can celebrate academic ACHIEVEment. Below is a copy of our model.

Assembly

Due to timetabling, we are moving our Assembly to 2:45pm on a Friday. This is a fabulous way to end our week, and allows us to maximise peak learning time in the morning. We hope lots of families will be able to arrive a bit earlier to collect their children on a Friday and join us for our Assembly.

Our first assembly was really well attended by families and friends and we look forward to seeing lots of people each Friday afternoon.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Rob