Principals' Message 

Hello Parents and Friends,

Welcome to the first official iNewsletter for 2025! 

It has been a very successful, yet very hot return to school for our students, families and staff. All students have settled in nicely and have been undertaking lessons on what makes a positive classroom, with a particular focus on our RRIPO values. 

Our Grade 3-6 students have all participated in our Swimming Carnival at WaterMarc today.  I thank Mr Van Der Pol for the extensive work that he undertakes to ensure such a large event can take place so early in the school year. 

Finally, we would like to wish all of our Chinese families a Happy New Year! Like a snake slithering forward, may you glide through 2025 with purpose and ease. Happy Lunar New Year to you!

2025 Student Free Day – Monday 10th February 

As published on Compass last week, our current SMART spelling approach will change to the Spelling Mastery program in 2025.  On Monday 10th of February, all staff will be undertaking professional learning on this approach. 

If you require care on this day, please click here for the TeamKids Templestowe Park PS page. 

Welcome to our 2025 Preps!

Our newest students started their journey in education last Thursday as they commenced their Prep year.  It is such an amazing time for both our Prep students and their families.  This year, we trialled a staggered starting time to reduce the number of people in the Prep classrooms.  It worked very well and allowed our students to commence the day in a quiet and less crowded environment.  We look forward to the next seven years with our newest students.  It will be such an exciting journey with so many to both education and society during this time.  

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

Welcome to our new and returning staff!

 We are pleased to welcome the following new staff members in 2025:

• Mr Jonny Pepi – Grade 5 (previously at Toorak PS)
• Mr Brad Jones – Grade 6 (formerly at Lalor East PS)
• Ms Amy Yang – Grade 2
• Ms Alex Michael – Prep 

We are so happy to have these new teachers at TPPS and we look forward to contributing greatly to our school. 

2025 Parent Payments

You will notice on your Compass Newsfeed, under Course Confirmation, that the 2025 Parent Payments are available to be paid.  The process on how to pay the charges is outlined in the 2025 TPPS Parent Payment letter on Compass. 

Thank you to those families who have made contributions thus far.  These contributions provide our students with workbooks, stationery, online subscriptions,  classroom and specialist materials, educational support, facilities, grounds and opportunities that we simply could not offer without your support. TPPS includes all student resources in Parent Payments rather than having parents pay for them above this payment. 

If you have any further queries, please contact the school office. 

Meet the Teacher Interviews 

Please keep free the afternoon and evening of Thursday February 27th for Meet the Teacher Discussions for Year 1 to 6 families.  This is the opportunity for parents to meet their child's 2025 classroom teacher.  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 in order to help every child settle quickly into the new school year.  All bookings for the interviews will be made on Compass for February 27th, from 3:40 pm – 7:30 pm.  There will also be another time offered earlier in the same week.  If work commitments prevent families from attending onsite for these discussions, an online option will be provided.  More information will be posted on Compass in the near future about when bookings can commence.  Please note, making a booking on Compass will be required regardless of the conversation being face to face or online. 

Term 1 Curriculum Overviews – Published via Compass: Tuesday 11th February 

Term 1 curriculum overviews for all year levels will be forwarded to parents via Compass next Tuesday. 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).

PFA Twilight Evening – Wednesday 26th  February 5:00 - 6:30pm 

We warmly invite all families to our Family Twilight Night on Wednesday 26th February.  All families can bring a picnic dinner and enjoy the company of our community on the front oval.  The team from ‘Proactivity’ will be running sports activities for the children between 5:30pm and 6:30pm. 

Activities will include a Ninja Warrior Course, Inflatable Soccer Arena, Classic Catch ‘N Save and the Zorb Chamber. The children will love it!

We look forward to seeing you on the night and enjoying each other’s company!

Grade 6 Badge Presentation Assembly – Friday 14th February 2:45pm 

We will be holding a special assembly on Friday 14th February to present our 2025 School Leaders with their badges. The Hon Mathew Guy (Member for Bulleen) will be our special guest.  We invite all family and friends to attend the ceremony. 

School Saving Bonus (SSB)

We are receiving a number of messages regarding the allocation of the School Saving Bonus. The SSB is a Department of Education program and we are unable to access the system to correct errors or make changes.  

To find information on receiving and utilizing the School Saving Bonus kindly refer to the following website:

https://www.vic.gov.au/receiving-school-saving-bonus

We are unable to provide anything further than the information provided on the above mentioned website.

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. 

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. 

2025 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.

Brain Food Information and Suggestions

The school commissioned Robyn Dery (Accredited Practising Dietitian) to provide information and suggestions to families about how to adequately fuel their child for the extended morning learning block that we have introduced in 2025.  The learning block is now from 9:00 – 11:30am. 

Please find the information sheet from Robyn attached to the News Feed post. You will notice that a balanced and full breakfast is the most important factor in setting up your child for a successful learning experience. Please keep this information sheet handy throughout the year for guidance and suggestions for what is appropriate to nibble on during this period. 

Important – Please ensure that all brain food is placed in a small container rather than in your child’s lunch box.  There is not enough space on the student desks for lunchboxes during learning time.  Thank you for your cooperation. 

TPPS Birthday treats at school 

To avoid disappointment and to support the safety and well-being of all students, we

request that Parents and Carers read the following guidelines about birthday treats at school carefully.

At TPPS, we have a number of students who are anaphylactic or have severe allergies to a range of foods. Anaphylaxis is a severe, rapidly progressive allergic reaction that is potentially life threatening. Certain foods and insect stings are the most common causes of anaphylaxis.

It is very difficult to monitor the ingredients in foods that are brought in for birthdays. It is for this reason that we ask families to please follow these guidelines when bringing food to the school for a birthday.

These guidelines will be strictly adhered to by teachers and all school staff. 

• No birthday lolly bags
• Only ONE item per child eg. One lollypop 
• Only one type/brand of item eg. A bag of Chupa Chups 
• Food MUST be individually wrapped
• No nuts
• No homemade food

Birthday treats will be distributed to students at the end of the school day.  If birthday treats do not meet the above guidelines, the treats will be returned home.

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 Devices 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. Smartwatches can only be used for time management, not communication. In the event where a smartwatch can connect to the internet via a SIM card, this functionality will need to be disabled during school hours.

Please click here to access our Mobile Devices Policy. 

Photos on Social Media 

After such a terrific day at swimming, it is timely to remind all families that photographs of students during school activities should not be uploaded to social media accounts. This is particularly the case if other children (not your own) are in a photo. 

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

Have a fantastic weekend! 

Mark Roberts                       Brian Cleary                                        Robyn Twyford 

PRINCIPAL                           ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL                  ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL