Principals' Message 

Hello Parents and Friends,

We have had a wonderful fortnight at TPPS.  We hope all families enjoyed the long weekend.  We only have three more weeks of school before the Term 1 holidays and there is so much to squeeze in.  Our Grade 1/2 students will be attending their water safety program next week and we wish them all the very best.  We know how important this program is for our students.  Our Grade 5/6 students will be competing in interschool sports and we have a special Harmony Day celebration taking place.  We have such a vibrant learning community!  

Covered Outdoor Learning Area (COLA) - work is underway! 

Work on our new COLA commenced last week and we have established a worksite around the basketball court.  The holes for the posts were dug and they now house the supports for the structure that will be erected during the school holidays.  Trees surrounding the COLA have now been removed and it is a very open space at the moment.  Multiple new trees will be planted around the school to compensate the loss of these trees.  We will continue to update the community about the progress of the project in the coming weeks.  It is more than likely that we will ask families not to use the school grounds at periods during the school holidays as large cranes will be onsite.  We are so excited about this fantastic new addition to our school grounds! 

Harmony Day - Thursday 26 March 

Harmony Week takes place across Australia from Monday 16 - Sunday 22 March. Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. At Templestowe Park, we have an inclusive, thriving and diverse learning community from all parts of the world. This makes Templestowe Park such a wonderful place to learn and grow. 

On Thursday 26 March, we will be having a special Harmony Day at school.  All students are invited to wear colours that represent them.  Students can wear colours of their heritage, cultural attire, or just bright colours.  We will be undertaking Harmony Day activities during the day and will host a special assembly at 2:45pm to celebrate our community.  We will be asking students from a range of backgrounds to share information about their culture at our assembly.  We can’t wait to learn about different cultures and see the connections between us all.

Please see the table below for the top 10 countries of birth for Templestowe Park PS.  We certainly are a global community. 

Pending Strike Action – March 24th 

As parents and carers may be aware, staff at our school who are Australian Education Union (AEU) members have been negotiating, alongside teachers, education support staff, assistant principals, and principals from public schools around Victoria, with the state government and Department of Education for improvements to pay and employment conditions. Negotiations have been occurring over the last seven months, and the state government has not made any offer at all to this point in time.

AEU members are seeking pay increases and reductions to excessive workloads, with the aim of ensuring the retention of existing employees and the attraction of the next generation to enable the ongoing provision of a high-quality education to students. Because there has not been any offer, AEU members are undertaking a vote to endorse industrial action, with the union calling a statewide 24-hour stopwork for Tuesday 24 March, should the government not respond properly to key claims.

The AEU has written to our School Council outlining some of the issues that school staff need resolved, including school funding and staffing shortages, as well as pay and conditions. The union acknowledges that a decision to stop work is not one to be taken lightly and regrets the impact it has on students and their families, with the state government able to avoid such action if a fair and decent offer is made to employees. If the industrial action goes ahead, we will provide our school community with all the information needed to manage the situation. We will keep you all informed via Compass or email. 

Parent Payments for 2026 - Please Make Your Payments 

You will notice on your Newsfeed under Course Confirmation that the 2026 Parent Payments are now available to be paid on Compass. 

The process on how to pay the charges is outlined in the letter and guide on the Compass Newsfeed. 

Once again, the student charges for Prep and Grades 1-6 are different.  Our Grade 1-6 students use student textbooks while our Prep students do not.  Please see more information on what these levies cover in the attached letter. 

Thank you for your vital contribution to our voluntary levies.  Without your contributions we would not be able to offer our extensive and diverse learning programs, purchase the excellent resources we have and improve our facilities.

If assistance is required, please reach out and we can help.  Please contact Sanober in the school office or Mark to discuss. 

A huge thank you to all the families that have already made the payments.  It is greatly appreciated. 

Late Arrival at School 

As published in my email to the school community on February 18 and on Compass on March 2, all students that arrive late to school must be accompanied to the school office by a parent or carer. The school is unable to take responsibility for students as they walk from the car into the school grounds.

We have continued to have several students late to school with excuses of I 'slept in' or that they 'had a late night'.  These are not acceptable reasons to be late for school.  The school principals are on yard duty from 8:30am every morning and students enter the classroom at 8:50am.  We invite all students to arrive at 8:30am so they can play with their friends, socialise and be ready to enter the classroom at 8:50am.  Formal teaching commences at 9:00am and it is crucial for students to be at school at this time so they do not miss vital teaching and learning time. 

For all information about attendance requirements and resources for parents to improve attendance, please see the Attendance News section of our newsletter. 

Prep 2027 Information Evening

We warmly invite prospective Prep 2027 Parents and Carers to our Prep 2027 Information Night on Thursday 26th March from 7.00pm to 8.00pm.  The information session will take place in the Library and will cover topics such as school readiness, the Prep curriculum and everything else TPPS has to offer. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions. 

Please click here to register your interest in attending.   

For all information about Prep 2027 please click here. 

NAPLAN - Grade 3&5 

NAPLAN is a national assessment completed by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 across Australia, providing a snapshot of student progress in reading, writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation and numeracy in line with the Australian Curriculum. The 2026 testing window runs from 11–23 March, with schools scheduling tests within this period.

Our Grade 3 and 5 students commenced their NAPLAN assessments on Wednesday and have done a magnificent job. Every student has given their best effort and this is exactly what we ask for.  I thank all of our teachers, educational support staff and families for preparing  our students for these assessments.  Most importantly, I congratulate and thank our amazing students for their outstanding attitude towards their learning. 

Sushi Day is Back! 

We are very happy to inform you that our first Sushi Day for 2026 will take place on Wednesday 1 April. Sushi days will then take place monthly after this time. 

The following Sushi will be available: 

·        Tuna Sushi $5.20

·        Chicken Sushi $5.20

·        Avocado Sushi $5.20

·        Cucumber Sushi $5.00

Each roll comes with one Soy Sauce. Any additional sauces are 30 cents.

All QuickCliq orders must be completed by Monday 30th March 8.00am. 

All cash orders are to be sent to the canteen by Monday 30th March 9.00am.

No order requests will be accepted after these times.

The standard canteen menu will also be available on this day. Please click here to access QuickCliq. 

Principals' Award

At our assembly today we presented Amelia Z with the Principals' Award.  Amelia is a diligent and enthusiastic learner who approaches every school day with a positive attitude and a strong commitment to her learning. She embraces challenges with confidence and enjoys opportunities to push herself, often thriving in situations that involve a bit of friendly competition. Amelia consistently puts in her best effort and demonstrates determination when working through new or difficult tasks. Her motivation, resilience and willingness to challenge herself make her a wonderful role model for her peers.

Well done, Amelia! You are a wonderful example of someone who lives the RRIPO values at TPPS. 

Have a fantastic weekend! 

Mark Roberts                       Brian Cleary                                       Robyn Twyford                                    

PRINCIPAL                           ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL                  ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL