Hello parents and friends,

Welcome to the first official iNewsletter for 2024! We have had a fantastic start to the school year with all students and staff settling in very well. As well as our new Prep families, we have had 15 new families join us with students from Grade 1-6. We warmly welcome the new additions to the TPPS community.

All students have commenced a learning inquiry titled ‘What makes a positive classroom?’. This inquiry promotes building a positive, respectful and challenging classroom environment. As always, we have had a major focus on our RRIPO values and what they look like in the classroom, playground and in the wider community. Information about all the student learning and wellbeing programs can be found in the Term 1 Overviews.

We would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate and thank Mr Van Der Pol on the very successful Grade 3-6 Swimming Carnival that took place last Friday. After a review of our previous Swimming Carnivals that included feedback from students, parents and teachers, we decided to make a change for 2024. The new venue and format were a resounding success and the students have not stopped raving about the day. We congratulate all students for their effort on the day and wish our talented swimmers that have been selected to the school team the very best at the upcoming Templestowe District Swimming Carnival.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Welcome to our 2024 Preps!

Our newest students started their journey in education last Thursday as they commenced their Prep year. The very first day of Prep is an important time in a child’s life and a beautiful experience for the entire family. Our Prep students have settled into school extremely well and we could not be happier. It is such an amazing time for all of us at Templestowe Park to see our Preps start and we often wonder how much education and society will change during their time at school. We can’t wait to guide them through their primary school years and watch them grow and thrive in our learning community.

Please see some photos of our Prep students enjoying their first days at school below.

Welcome to our new and returning staff!

We are so pleased to welcome Mrs Megan Bell, née Saker (Gr 3), Mrs Tasnim Delal (Gr 1) and Mrs Tracey Troy (Educational Support Staff) to Templestowe Park PS. As many of you are aware, Megan taught at Templestowe Park for two years before moving to Regional Victoria in 2023 to teach. We are very pleased to welcome back Megan to TPPS. Tasnim taught at Heathmont East in 2023 and Tracey joins us at TPPS after seven years at the Bulleen Heights School.

All new and returning staff members have settled in very well and we are so pleased to have them on board.

Grade 6 Badge Presentation Assembly – Friday 23rd February 2:45pm

We will be holding a special assembly on Friday 23rd February to present our 2024 School Leaders with their badges. The Hon Mathew Guy (Member for Bulleen) will present them with their badges. We invite all family and friends to attend the ceremony.

Student Attendance and Punctuality – Every Day Counts!

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day. Attending and participating in school will help your child develop:

important skills and knowledge to help them learn
social and emotional skills such as good communication, resilience and teamwork.

Children who attend school every day and complete year 12 have:

better health
better job opportunities
higher income across their lives.

There is no safe number of days for missing school. Each day a student misses puts them behind.

Additionally, arriving late to school regularly is shown to have a serious impact on learning outcomes, retention at school in later years and emotional wellbeing.

If you require assistance, we are here to help. Please contact Brian Cleary, Robyn Twyford or myself and we will happily offer support. We will also be reaching out to parents of students who miss school or arrive late regularly to design an Attendance Improvement Plan to promote regular attendance.

Getting to Know You Parent/Teacher Meetings

On Wednesday February 21st (to 5 pm) and Thursday February 22nd (to 7.20 pm), parents are invited and welcome to meet your child's new teacher for the 2024 school year. This opportunity to formally meet and share information is really important to assist the relationship between teacher and student. Being so early in the year, this discussion is not based on academic progress. It is simply a chance for teachers and parents to learn more about each other, as well as learn more about the needs of your child to support them and help them settle in quickly to the new school year.

If work commitments prevent families from attending onsite for these two dates in February, an online option will be provided. Making a booking on Compass will be required regardless of the conversation being face to face or online. If you can only ‘attend’ online, please book a time on Compass and then email your child’s teacher informing him / her that you would like to meet online. The teacher will then let you know as to how this will happen. If you intend meeting your child’s teacher face to face, just making a booking via Compass will suffice. Bookings will be able to be made early next week.

Principal Renewal for Mark Roberts

Karen Money (Regional Director North-Eastern Victoria Region) has approved the contract extension for Mark Roberts as Principal of Templestowe Park PS for a further five years. This contract extension will run through to 2029. The School Council made the recommendation to Karen Money to extend the contract for Mark and it was fully endorsed by the Department of Education.

I would like to thank the School Council, TPPS community and Department of Education for the ongoing belief and support. We have a fantastic school and there is so much in store to keep our school improving in the coming years.

Anaphylaxis and Allergies

There are students at TPPS that are allergic or anaphylactic to a range of different products. Whilst we strongly discourage all students from bringing nut and nut related products to school given the prevalence of allergies to these products, they are not banned and we ask you to consider others in your child’s class that may have reactions to different foods.

A further strategy that we utilise to reduce the chance of students having an adverse reaction to foods is that we ask that there is no sharing of food. Families pack their child’s lunchboxes with the intention of their own child consuming the products in there, so it is not appropriate for students to be sharing or swapping any items within it. Instead, we encourage students to take home uneaten items so that parents can be informed about what has or hasn’t been eaten. Please discuss this with your child.

We seek your support in ensuring that the immediate environment stays safe for all of our students. Thank you for your cooperation with this important matter.

Term 1 Curriculum Overviews – Published via Compass: Friday 9th February (Today)

Term 1 curriculum overviews for all year levels will be forwarded to parents via Compass today. The Overview provides parents with the contact details of staff, specialist days, curriculum focus, homework requirements and how parents can assist their children.

All term overviews are permanently kept in the Community Section of Compass (choose School Documentation from the drop-down menu, then School Community Information, then the year level folder that you wish to access).

Prep 2024 Parent Information Evening - Wednesday 14th Feb 5:00pm - 6:00pm (School Library)

The Prep 2024 information night for parents and carers is being held on Wednesday 14th of February at 5:00pm in the school library.

At this meeting Robyn Twyford and the Prep teachers will explain the teaching and learning program in Prep, the specialist teaching program and how to support your child at home. We will also provide an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have. More information regarding the night can be found on the Prep Compass News Feed.

2024 Parent Payments: Thank you for your support!

You will notice on your Compass Newsfeed, under Course Confirmation, that the 2024 Parent Payments are available to be paid. The process on how to pay the charges is outlined in the 2024 TPPS Parent Payment letter on Compass.

Thank you to those families who have made contributions thus far. These contributions provide our students with educational support, facilities, grounds and opportunities that we simply could not offer without your generous support. This has included the brand new Grade 1/2 playground that has just been completed. If you have any further queries, please contact the school office.

Parking Around the School – It is all of our responsibility to keep our students safe

As with all primary schools in our area and across Victoria, there are hundreds, sometimes thousands, of students and parents converging on a very small area within a twenty-minute period. There will always be congestion, this is simply a fact of life. The safety of our students and community is paramount so please follow all road rules and parking guidelines.

We are very lucky to have multiple entry points to the school and a very accommodating Greek Church that allows us to use their carpark throughout the day. All parking and drop off information can be found in the ‘Parking Around TPPS’ document. This document can be found below and is permanently kept in the Community Section of Compass (choose School Documentation from the drop-down menu, then School Community Information, then click on the document).

2024 School Council Elections

Next week, all families will receive information about the possibility of nominating for our School Council. Participation in the School Council is open to all parents and members of the community. Membership of the School Council provides a great opportunity to be a part of future school directions and to assist in providing the best possible learning opportunities for our students.

If you would like further information about School Council and its processes, please do not hesitate to contact Mark Roberts.

Treats for Student Birthdays

At Templestowe Park we do allow students who are celebrating a birthday to bring in a small, individually sealed treat to share with their classmates at the completion of the school day. If you wish to do this, please ensure that the treat is completely nut free and it is only a single small portion. Lolly bags or gifts are not permitted.

It is perfectly acceptable not to bring in treats and we will celebrate each child’s birthday in the class by singing 'Happy Birthday' to them. As a school we never supply food or drink as rewards for students. School-wide rewards systems include certificates, ribbons, class games, etc.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Mobile Phones at school

All phones brought to school by students must be switched off and stored securely during the school day. At Templestowe Park this means that when any student with a phone enters the school grounds it must be turned off. At 8:50am, students will give the phone to the teacher for safe storage throughout the day. At the completion of the school day, students can access their mobile phones when they leave the school grounds. Please click on the link below for our mobile phone policy.

Accident Insurance

The Department of Education (DOE) does not provide personal accident insurance for students. Parents are generally responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs. DOE (which includes the school) does not offer replacement of personal items which are brought to school and are lost, broken or stolen. Sentimental or expensive belongings and toys, including sports equipment and electronic devices, are normally best left at home.

Annual Privacy Reminder for our School Community

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to read our school’s collection notice, found in the School Documentation of Compass.

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

Amharic
Arabic
Dari
Gujarati
Mandarin
Somali
Sudanese
Turkish
Urdu
Vietnamese

Mark Roberts Brian Cleary Robyn Twyford

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