Principals' Message 

Hello Parents and Friends,

With only one week to go in Term 3, it is time to reflect on the learning that has taken place over the last two months. We really hit the ground running in Term 3.  Teaching and learning in the classrooms really took off from the first day of Term 3. Our systematic synthetic phonics program in Grade Prep – 2 is producing outstanding results and our young students are performing so well.  In the recent Year 1 Phonics Check by the Department of Education, over 86% of our students have achieved in the 'Fluent Decoder' category.  These are outstanding results! 

Our bi-annual Writers’ Festival was held and we loved celebrating the amazing writing that takes place every day from Prep – Grade 6.  Our Writers’ Festival winners were so excited and we look forward to presenting them with a publication of their work in the coming weeks.  

All students from Prep – Grade 6 participated in the Maths Association of Victoria (MAV) Maths Talent Quest (MTQ).  The projects that our students completed were outstanding and once again, we were one of the leading schools in Victoria for this prestigious event. Please see the MTQ article in this newsletter.  

We also had many senior students participate in the Melbourne University Maths Competition. Melbourne University were so blown away by the number of our students who participated in the competition, and their projects, that they have requested to visit our school to provide a special mathematics workshop.  We look forward to receiving the student results shortly.  We also had students from Grades 3-6 participate in the MAV Maths Games Day and represent our school admirably. 

We also received our 2025 NAPLAN results and we outperformed the 'State' in every category by a sizable margin. More importantly, we outscored our ‘Similar’ and ‘Network’ schools in nine out of ten categories.  

On the sporting field, TPPS once again have performed extremely well this term.  Last week, our amazing athletics team performed exceptionally well and were crowned the winners of the Templestowe District Athletics Carnival.  We have had multiple finalists and champions in a range of different sports. 

Additionally, our Hoop Time teams played in their local tournaments and a couple have moved to the next stage.  

Our Grade 4 students are participating in the Bike Ed program this week. Bike Ed teaches children and young people how to ride bikes safely and be responsible road users.  The Bike Ed culminated in a successful ride out to Westerfolds Park on Thursday. 

Our Grade Prep students attended Chesterfield Farm last week as part of their inquiry unit 'What Do Living Things Need to Survive?' Our Preps had a truly wonderful time. 

Finally, our Grade 5/6 students are really looking forward to our school production, 'Finding Nemo Jr'.  All students and staff have been working so hard throughout the term to prepare for the two performances next week.  

A huge thank you must go to Ms Huber who has coordinated and led our production throughout the term.  

Please see the article below on how you can purchase tickets. 

This is only a snippet of the learning and events that have taken place this term.  We are so lucky to have such a vibrant and empowered learning community.  We wish everyone a safe and happy finish to the term and school holiday period. 

We invite you to Finding Nemo Jr! 

We are so excited for our performances of Finding Nemo Jr next week.  Please see your Learning @ TPPS page in this newsletter and your Compass Newsfeed for further information and directions on how to purchase tickets. We warmly invite all families in our community to attend. 

Please use the school crossing 

Recently we have seen some parents and carers not using the school crossing on Church Road and directing their children to weave between cars to cross the road.  This behaviour is truly mind-boggling to us.  We ask that everybody use the supervised school crossing for their own safety, that of their children and to set an example for the impressionable children who watch this happen. 

Maths Talent Quest (MTQ)

Every year, TPPS submit entries into the Mathematical Association of Victoria’s (MAV) Maths Talent Quest (MTQ).  This year, for the first time, the whole school from Prep to Grade 6 undertook MTQ investigations in the final weeks of Term 2. Our Prep to Grade 4 grades worked on and submitted a whole class entry, whilst our Grade 5 and 6 students worked either individually or in small groups on different topics of their choice. Whilst every whole grade entry was entered into the competition, there were limits on the number we were able to submit for the Grade 5 and 6 categories. TPPS has a proud history of excellent results within this competition and this year is no exception. 

A total of 436 entries were submitted to MAV across Victoria from 44 schools. Our Grade 5 and 6 students came up with some interesting questions of investigation and it was exciting to see the real-life application of the mathematics being used within the diversity of topics.

We are very proud of the hard work our teachers put in to planning, guiding and implementing such engaging, rich mathematical experiences for our students. Our teachers know of the importance of creating curiosity in their classrooms and many of the whole class investigations began with a maths focused picture story book to get the ball rolling. Our school is always a buzz during MTQ season, with the investigations taking several weeks to explore.  Whilst the students are super engaged and amazed at some of their mathematical discoveries, there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes by our teachers to get all the activities recorded and written up to be submitted.  We would sincerely like to thank our dedicated staff who work tirelessly to do this each year. 

Our High Distinction winners will be presented with certificates at MAV’s MTQ ceremony next term, with further details to come.

Here is a summary of our excellent results:

Student Bookwork Competition 

Over the last five weeks of Term 3, we have been holding a whole school bookwork competition. This has entailed the Principals reviewing student bookwork weekly during class time and after school to ensure that students are trying their hardest to produce their best work and and are adhering to the schoolwide guidelines.  We are pleased to say that the bookwork has been outstanding and improving every single week.  As a reward for our students hard work, all students will receive an extra hour of playtime next week and the winning year level, an additional hour after that.  We are happy to announce that our Grade Prep and Grade 2 year levels are our winners. 

The Templestowe Park guidelines and protocols have been created to support teachers and students in fully understanding the requirements of book work presentation at Templestowe Park Primary School.

Some general and year level specific information to support the guidelines include:

• the expectation for student work presentation is to be high.  Teacher modelling and facilitating appropriate use of colour and layout is very important.  For example, when creating a poster, time spent on discussing background colour, borders, text size, heading size, layout etc is required to assist developing student’s skills.
• restrict use of textas to work on posters where outlining is required. Textas are not to be used in student workbooks.
• scribbling (doodling) is not acceptable in any student work book. Year levels to annually review workbook requirements at the end of each year and potentially include a book / jotter pad / scrap book on the book lists so students may draw, brainstorm ideas, plan, sketch etc in a format that does not relate to the guidelines.
• a major focus in the Foundation year is establishing and maintaining a correct pencil grip for each student.  This needs to continue in all subsequent year levels until the correct habit is formed.
• Students should commence with ‘joining letters’ when handwriting in year 3. Students who are capable can of course commence earlier than this.
• Victorian Modern Cursive Handwriting is the handwriting format for TPPS.

We invite you to take a look at the outstanding work below. A huge congratulations to all students for their fantastic bookwork! 

PFA Father’s Day and Special Person Stall 

Last Thursday and 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 Elise Perry and Kate Claringbould for coordinating the stall and their 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! 

JSC Footy Colours Day – Friday 19th September (last day of Term 3)

The Junior School Council have decided that the last day of Term 3 will be a footy colours day.  All students can wear the colours of their favourite football team. This is not only AFL and AFLW, it can also include soccer, etc. 

We ask that all students bring a gold coin as the JSC wishes to raise money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation. This amazing Foundation brings joy to children who are diagnosed with a serious illness. 

We can’t wait to see our community in their footy colours! Go Blues, Cats and Hawks! 

Dogs in the School Ground Policy 

Templestowe Park has a dog policy to ensure that everyone at school remains safe.  We ask that dogs are not brought into indoor assemblies and they are not in the school grounds between 9:00am - 3:00pm.  Please click on the link below to read our policy.  

Enrol for Prep 2026 

For families that are interested in enrolling their child in Prep at Templestowe Park in 2026, you can still enrol at Templestowe Park via the online enrolment portal.  

Please click here to submit a digital enrolment. 

For further information about Prep 2026 and our transition programs please click here. 

Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey 

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation.

Our school will use the survey results to assist in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies. Parents and Carers can access the survey from a link on the Compass Newsfeed. 

Principals' Award

At today's assembly, we were so pleased to present the Principals' Award to Elissa S in Grade 3. Elissa is having an exceptional semester, excelling right across the curriculum, including being a published author in the Writers' Festival and participating in the Maths Explorer program. Additionally, she was in the All-Star Girls Hoop Time team and selected to be in three events at the upcoming District Athletics Day, in both of which she is bottom-age. However, the thing that makes Elissa stand out most is her positive attitude towards everything she does. She is optimistic, bubbly, kind, funny and an excellent young leader, resulting in her being voted in as 3K’s JSC representative for the semester. Well done, Elissa!  We are so proud of you. 

Mark Roberts                       Brian Cleary                                       Robyn Twyford                                    

PRINCIPAL                           ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL                  ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL