Principal  Message

Relocations

We have had 5 relocations this year and it is feasible to assume there will be more before the year is out. I know that many families are struggling with the travel and inconvenience of relocation. I want to stress that the decision to relocate is triggered by the Fire Danger Rating Index for the Manningham LGA and I have no influence on the decision. It is a difficult season for all of our community, and I want to thank the community for being patient with the school and staff on our relocation days. Whilst I can't control the days and decisions around relocation, I can have input into trying to make the time we spend at Templestowe Valley Primary is as calm as possible and provides our students with learning opportunities. 

As we have had a few days there, the staff and I now have established a better routine and have refined the process' to be more organised with spaces and how we use the resources, including outdoors.  We are aware that some have the belief we are just babysitting when there. Whilst wellbeing becomes a bigger focus, we do run literacy and numeracy lessons and are able to divide students up into groups for lessons and activities. The staff and I met this week to reflect and discuss how we can improve the delivery of lessons, think about the resources we need and what expectations can we set for ourselves and our students when we relocate, whilst still being aware the change is difficult for everyone involved.

The end result has been a guide that is featured below that gives parents information on things they need to know about the relocation. Important information such as...

• we do not playtime outside at the same time as the TVPS children. Our recess and lunch are run at different times so that only WPS staff are there to supervise and do yard duty. This is done to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students and so they feel safe to play and engage with each other and their teachers. In fact, the students have very little to do with the students at TVPS. 
• We also have the use of 3 separate buildings for the cohorts (see map below) and have ample space in each building to create learning spaces. 
• There is a canteen that will open for recess over the counter sales, also at a different time to the TVPS students. 
• Lunch orders can also be made via Our Schools Connect App. 

This resource will be sent home in physical form early next week but is here for your reference. The 2nd page outlines the staffs agreed daily structure of learning on the day. Whilst the lessons are 45 minutes to allow for the alternate break times, we will be running Reading, Writing and Numeracy lessons that align with the regular weekly planner the cohorts have (i.e. the lessons that had been planned for in their regular classrooms). We believe it is also a great opportunity for us to run Resilience Project lessons/activities.  After lunch, students will work on their Inquiry Unit and there will be downtime for a free choice activity. We pack up at 3:15pm and all meet in the hall (see map) for parent pick up.

We had over 100 students this week and the reality is the more students we get the more likely our lessons will be the same as what we run in our classrooms. It was great to have 15 preps there on Tuesday. They had a successful day and were able to work with just Nerole and Sam in their own room for the day. The staff will be allocated equally across the groups, and we will seek to keep groups of students below 20 for junior and middle schools and under 25 for senior, where possible. Education Support staff attend and are also a huge help in relation to giving students support where needed. Specialists run if there are Specialist staff working on the day of relocation.

If you child has not attended relocation and is worried about the change, I encourage you to go through the information above and reinforce that their teachers will be there and that they will be safe to move around the school and play outside without having to interact with children or staff they do not know.

Family BBQ and Reptile Show

On Thursday 5th March we will be hosting a BBQ from 5pm-7pm to welcome new families and reconnect with old ones as we move into the 2nd half of our first term in 2026.  It's a time to just relax and enjoy getting together as a community. Our strength is our community, and I hope you will be able to make it. 

Reptile Encounters will be there from 5:30pm - 6:30pm to put on a reptile show in the Bampi for students (and younger siblings). Admission to the show is free.

Reptile Shows Melbourne - Wildlife Up Close | Reptile Encounters

 Food and Drinks will be available via our great FOWPS team.

FOWPS for 2026

I would like to thank Terri Fernando for agreeing to continue on as President of FOWPS for 2026. She is amazing and I am incredibly grateful to her and all FOWPS members for the way they support our school. Last year we were able to contribute to the interior upgrade in the Heritage Prep building. This included cabinetry, flooring, carpet and painting.  We continue to use funds to purchase furniture as we grow to a school with 10 classrooms and they have contributed to the cost of a new class set of laptops and other technology.

Our FOWPS is quite unique in that it raises significant money for a small school. But none of it happens without the President, Terri, and all the parents that assist her and volunteer their time to support the school. If you are new to the school, I encourage you to join the FOWPS Facebook Page to get all the latest information on what is coming up and when help might be needed. There will be helpers needed for the Family Night on the 5th of March but the big one for the year is the Warrandyte Festival. Keep an eye out for information about our stall as we are always needing helping hands.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Take care,

Nieta