Principals' Message 

Hello Parents and Friends,

We only have two weeks of Term 3 left and we have had a fantastic term.  Our Preps enjoyed their excursion to Chesterfield Farm last Tuesday and they learnt so much from the experience.  See more in Learning @ TPPS page.  It has been wonderful to see the focused problem solving that our Grade 5/6 students have been undertaking as part of the Maths Games and Olympiad. Our talented athletes attended the District Athletics Carnival last Thursday and represented the school admirably.  We are so proud of all of our students’ achievements.

You would have seen on Compass this week that the 2024 Yearbook can now be ordered.  Orders do not have to be submitted until Friday, 18th of October. However, we strongly suggest you make your order immediately as once it closes, we are unable to purchase additional copies.  The Yearbook is such an amazing keepsake and we don’t want anyone to miss out.

Have a fantastic weekend! 

School Saving Bonus 

In Term 4, 2024, families with a child enrolled in a government school from Prep to Year 12 in 2025 will receive the one-off $400 School Saving Bonus.

The $400 School Saving Bonus provides families with support for education-related costs, such as school activities and/or school uniforms and textbooks.

The School Saving Bonus is not available for full-fee international students, home schooled students, TAFE students and students attending kindergarten in 2025.   

Actions for parents and carers

Before 18 October 2024, the Department of Education is asking parents and carers to:

• Complete enrolment: If your child, or children are changing government school for Term 1 2025, or starting Prep or Year 7 in 2025. For more information, read about Enrolling in School. 
• Check your contact information: Ensure your email address and phone number is up to date with us. You can check this information and update it via Compass. 

It is essential your contact information is up to date on Compass as the Department of Education will email you twice:

• in October, to verify your email address
• in November, with your $400 School Saving Bonus and access to an online system.

Please check your junk/spam mail regularly to make sure you do not miss an important email.

To learn more about the School Saving Bonus, download the School Saving Bonus Information sheet for government school parents and carers or visit vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus. 

Student Free Day – Mathematics Instruction Professional Learning

Today our teaching staff undertook a very productive professional learning day on direct explicit instructional teaching methods in mathematics.  Within the sessions our school staff learnt about the latest research in teaching mathematics and the importance of daily reviews of taught content.  In Term 4, a daily review will be introduced to all mathematics sessions and further changes will take place to our mathematics instructional model in 2025.  We are all very excited learn about the latest educational research in this area and how we are working to improve our mathematics program across the school. 

We would like to congratulate Mrs Robyn Twyford and Mr Jared Kitney (Mathematics Leader) for their excellent presentations on the day. 

Reminder - Extended Family Holidays - Approval Required 

I have spoken with a number of families over the last fortnight as they seek approval for extended family holidays during the school term.  I have advised some families that taking an extended family holiday when their child already has poor attendance will negatively impact their child both academically and socially. 

Within the Victorian Attendance Legislation, families are required to discuss with the Principal well in advance of finalising any holiday plans.  The Principal has the discretion to decide whether or not to approve the absence taking into account the student’s educational interests.

As outlined in the last school newsletter, The Department of Education has identified Templestowe Park as a school of concern and directed us to take action in this area. 

Thank you in advance for your support in this most important area.  We look forward to sharing our improvements in this space in the coming months and year. 

Student Safety - To and from school 

Whilst on school grounds, student safety is of the utmost importance.  We would like to take this opportunity to encourage all members of the school community to consider student safety when travelling to and from school. This includes:

• If trusting your child to walk independently or with friends to and from school, ensure their route involves a safe crossing area with pedestrian lights.  Regularly remind children not to take any short cuts to avoid crossings.
• If walking or riding a bike to and from school with your child, please model the use of using pedestrian lights.  This might even mean altering your route so it is a little longer to utilise safe crossing areas (pedestrian crossings).  As we move away from roads that immediately surround TPPS, there are some very major roads that require a high degree of safety consideration.
• Using the school crossing at Church Road before and after school.  Our friendly crossing supervisor, Neil, is often bewildered when parents cross the road with their child a few metres away from the crossing and dodge moving traffic.
• Drive slowly when dropping off and picking up students, especially at Church Road.  Under no circumstances make a U-turn on Church Rd, this is an incredibly dangerous and illegal thing to do as it jeopardises student safety.

Like all parents, we just want your children to be safe on their way to school, whilst at school and arrive home safely.

Old School Uniform Sale – 75% off!  

As published on Compass this week, all remaining uniform stock at our onsite store is now 75% off.  This is a great saving for our community and we encourage all parents to take the opportunity to stock up on our old uniform.  Both the old and new uniform can be worn until the 2026 school year. 

Please click here to access the School Uniform page on our school website. 

Uniform Policy and Code 

At our School Council meeting on Wednesday 28th of August, the School Council endorsed the new Uniform Policy and Code. The Templestowe Park uniform dress code reinforces in students a sense of pride in their own appearance, instils recognition of themselves as an integral part of the school community, and assists in developing pride in representing their school. Issues of equality, health and safety as well as expense are also factors that contribute to the establishment of the Uniform Code.

We ask parents to read the policy and code carefully and ensure that their child comes to school in their school uniform.  We think that you all would agree, our students look fantastic in their uniform. 

• Uniform Policy
• Uniform Code 

Please note – the School Saving Bonus that is coming in Term 4 can be used for school uniform items.  Additionally, if any family requires assistance in providing a school uniform for their child we are here to help.  Please contact the office for confidential assistance. 

Father’s Day Stall  

Last Friday many excited students had the opportunity to buy a very special Father’s Day gift at our stall.  There was a huge selection of great gifts to choose from and we know all students came away with that special little gift that their Dad or special person would love. 

We would like to say a big thank you to Kirsty Reilly for coordinating the stall and her band of volunteer helpers who made it possible.  We greatly appreciate your time and effort.  All the Dads and special people in our community appreciate it too!

We would also like to thank the following PFA helpers:

Cara Barrett, Elise O'Halloran, Leslie Tortora, Kate Claringbould, Angela Pezzimenti, Mary Manfre, Tulay Celik, Isabella Duscas, Samantha Stogryn and Aylin Eser.

Parents / Caregivers / Guardians Opinion Survey – extended to Friday 20th of September

As published on Compass, the Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey is open. This annual survey is offered by the Department of Education and is conducted amongst a group of parents at each school. We have decided to invite all parents to participate as they feel a broader response base would provide a more authentic representation of parent opinion. 

All TPPS parents can access the survey via Compass.  Please read the directions carefully and ensure that only one parent, caregiver or guardian complete the survey.  We thank you in advance for taking the time to help us improve our school. 

Mark Roberts                       Brian Cleary                                        Robyn Twyford 

PRINCIPAL                           ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL                  ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL