Principal's Message 

Dear TCPS Families,

What a stunning, sunny week this has been! It is hard to believe that we are in the middle of winter…..

There was a lovely feel around the school and that bonus dose of sunshine was very welcome.

It was wonderful to see the joy on our students faces as they enjoyed Crazy Hair Day and the school disco.

Next week our Preps will celebrate 100 days of school. Parents are warmly invited to watch them parade around the Central Plaza on Wednesday morning, just after the start of the school day.

Open neighbourhoods will continue next week starting each morning at 8.30am:

Monday (Prep and 5/6), Tuesday (Year 1), Wednesday (Year 2) and Friday (Year 4)

Have a lovely weekend!

School Grounds Maintenance

Due to the gradual and progressive deterioration of the school fencing, the fencing panels will need to be replaced. Over the weekend, key panels will be progressively replaced by temporary fencing until such time a contractor can be engaged to replace the existing fence with something more sustainable.

Whilst the company responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of our school grounds and facilities were very apologetic, they were reassured that although there would be an aesthetic impact on the façade, it was what lay within our boundaries that was most important.

Temporary Staffing Change

Unfortunately, beyond by control, I will need to take leave for the next 4 weeks commencing this Monday. Whilst I will dearly miss staff and students, I have delayed this leave as long as possible.

On the VERY upside, Mrs. Loader will capably fill the role of Acting Principal for these 4 weeks. I am though maintaining my commitment to be here to support the TCPS Disco, but will look forward to formally returning on the 24th August.

PARENTS / CAREGIVERS / GUARDIANS OPINION SURVEY:

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents / caregivers / guardians think of our school. The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage all families to participate. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. 

A random sample of approximately 30 per cent of parents / caregivers / guardians has been selected to participate in this year’s survey.

The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will be open from 

Monday 7 August to Friday 8 September 2023.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the survey period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

Parking at Front of School

It has again been brought to the school's attention, the frustration being experienced by parents caused by drivers who are breaching the parking sign regulations and exiting their parked car in the 2 minute 'Drop and Go' standing zone. Whilst the shire do manage parking zones and all external road issues, we do feel obliged to pass on the impact and frustrations being experienced by parents in the hope of it being a friendly reminder.

General Information for Reference

Please also note the meeting dates for the TCPS CCG (Community Connections Group) on the 'Dates to Remember' newsletter tab.

TCPS ASSEMBLY

We love that our families are once again able to return to our school assembly. Our assembly is a very important part of our week. It is an opportunity to proactively reinforce our school culture and expectations through the acknowledgement and celebration of our students and school. Love of Learning is a key Character Strength of focus.

The inclusion of photos and emails celebration our school and students in and around our community is a key part of our assembly. Due to the substantial amount of time required to process all inclusions, internal and external, and then to build into our assembly visual format, can I please request that all items are sent to me by Thursday prior to assembly. If these emails/photos are sent to the school office or your child's teacher - they will be forwarded to me to 'process'.  

Ideally, they can be sent directly to me via email darren.roskosch@education.vic.gov.au

Elements that TCPS families can contribute to our TCPS Assembly

TCPS Goes Global: Take a school flag (we have 5) or a TCPS polo on your journey's around the globe and send us a photo (3 max). I will then feature this at our assembly and have a photo added to our display wall at the front office.

TCPS Super Stars: If you know a TCPS child/teacher/family member who has achieved something amazing in any field (not just sporting) please send me the details and a possible photo so that we can all celebrate and acknowledge the achievement.

TCPS: Shout Outs: If you have a special family member visiting for the first time who are in an audience - please let me know and I will give them a special TCPS 'Shout Out.'

TCPS: School Council 

2023 School Council Members:

• Kelsey Jamieson – President
• Cat McConkey - Vice President
• Hutch Hussein – Parent Rep 
• Belinda Vaughan - Parent Rep
• Brad Millar – Parent Rep 
• Jessica Maxsted - Parent Rep
• Darren Roskosch (Principal - Executive Officer of SC)
• Jo Loader (Assistant Principal – TCPS rep)
• Bianca McSparron (Business Manager- Finance/Minute Secretary) 

Early Pick up of Children from School

Can I please request that parents contact individual staff members as early as possible if you are collecting your child/ren prior to the end of the school day. This will help in organising for children to be sent to the office ready for collection. Based on the increasing frequency of these occurrences we are unable to use the PA system due to the distraction and disruption it causes to teaching and learning across the school. 

PA announcements occur in recess and lunch breaks.

As teachers do not have constant access to emails during the day, I encourage as much advanced notice as possible so we can do our best to have your child/ren ready and waiting for collection. Office staff will do their best to support you where possible, however with our increasing size there may be unfortunate delays especially if no advanced notice is provided.

Education is free at TCPS - No Student Payments or School Fees in 2023

I am pleased to inform our families that once again in 2023, and for the foreseeable future, there will be NO requested payment towards Curriculum Contributions from families (previously known as student charges). This means education at TCPS is free for our TCPS families.

TCPS will provide ALL curriculum materials for our students without any requested financial contribution in the form of student charges, from our families. 

This includes ALL books/pens/pencils/paper etc, art supplies, online programs, classroom materials, sporting programs incl buses. Parents will not be requested to make any financial contribution to cover these items. 

There are a number of complex contributing factors that has enabled us to once again achieve and provide this for our families.

The ongoing support of our families has ensured that our school has been able to offer the best possible education and support for our students.  We want to thank all those over our school’s history for their support. This has made a huge difference to our school and the programs we have been able to, and will continue to offer.

Darren Roskosch

TCPS Principal