Hello Parents and Friends,

Spring is in the air! There is a different feeling around TPPS as the weather begins to warm up and the flowers start to bloom. We have had some amazing weather for our Book Week parade, Grade 4 Bike Ed and for our Sustainability classes. Mrs Conn has had our students’ planting vegetables and tending to our garden beds. Please see the ‘Sustainability @ TPPS’ section of this newsletter for some lovely photos. Our Grade 4 students have loved learning how to ride their bikes safely on our roads during Bike Ed. The learning throughout this week has been wonderful and our students loved their ride out to Westerfolds Park. The Bike Ed program teaches children and young people how to ride bikes safely and be responsible road users. We are so proud to run this important program at TPPS. The Grade 4s have topped off this memorable week as they visit Puffing Billy as part of their literacy unit exploring 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone'. What a week for these students! We wish we were back in Grade 4.

Our Preps had an amazing time at Chesterfield Farm as they explored their inquiry about what living things need to survive. Our talented performers have been competing in the ‘Tempy’s Got Talent’ competition and it has been such a pleasure watching our students perform. The final for this competition is on Tuesday 15 September at 12:40pm. We invite our entire community to join us to cheer on our talented performers. There is still so much to do before we finish Term 3 on Friday 18 September at 2:30pm. We have had such a fantastic Term 3 and we think we will need a short break to recuperate before Term 4 kicks off.

Staff Professional Learning – Student Free Day

Last Friday, all staff participated in a fantastic professional learning day on the Schoolwide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS). The SWPBS is a globally recognised, evidence-based framework that helps schools create safe, positive, and inclusive environments where students and staff can thrive. The SWPBS is supported by the Department of Education and has successfully been implemented at both primary and secondary schools across the state.

The SWPBS helps schools to:

increase respectful and positive behaviour
strengthen social and emotional wellbeing
reduce classroom disruptions and increase learning time
build positive, respectful relationships between students and staff
create safe, orderly, and supportive school environments.

All staff undertook introductory training in the SWPBS and then work commenced on how we implement this support program at TPPS. This included identifying the expected behaviours around all areas of the school that adhere to our RRIPO values. During our session, it was so pleasing to see the extensive practices and supports that we already have at TPPS. We are renowned across the state for our wellbeing programs and this was highlighted by our presenter on the day. A full launch of the SWPBS will be done in Term 1, 2027. The SWPBS is a whole community program and our families will play a huge part in implementing it at TPPS. Stay tuned…

In the second half of the day, Mrs Twyford, Mr Konakoff (Learning Specialist) and Mr Kitney (Maths Leader) led us in professional learning into the Department’s Digital Assessment Library (DAL). The Department has developed a wide range of digital tools for both formative (for learning) and summative (of learning) assessment. All year levels will use this platform in Term 4 and it will become a regular part of our assessment schedule so we can inform families of how their child is performing against the Victorian Curriculum (VC).

NAIDOC Week Award

As part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations, students from TPPS entered the NAIDOC Week School Initiative Competition. Children from across the country were invited to enter a colouring in competition (Gr Prep-2) and a short-story competition (Gr 3-6). We had many entries from TPPS and I am pleased to inform our community that Harper Z from Grade 2 has been awarded with a ‘NAIDOC Medal of Excellence’ for her outstanding entry. It was judged one of the best from Victoria. We had such a wonderful NAIDOC Week at TPPS and we are so proud of Harper. We will have an official presentation of her medal at our assembly next week.

JSC Dress Up Day - Dress as your favourite sportsperson!

The Junior School Council have decided that the last day of Term 3 (Friday 18 September) will be dress as your favourite sportsperson day. All students can wear the colours of their favourite team or sportsperson.

We ask that all students bring a gold coin as the JSC wishes to raise money for the Murrindindi Wildlife and St Andrews Wildlife Shelter. We can’t wait to see our community in their sporting colours!

Templestowe Park is turning 50!

2027 will be a huge year at TPPS as our school is turning 50! We are looking forward to celebrating this milestone and we will be putting together a committee of staff, parents and students to organise our celebration. Please keep an eye out next week for a Google Form on Compass to express your interest in joining the 50th birthday planning committee.

2026 Parent / Carer Opinion Survey – Open until 18th September

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Carer 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 behaviour, 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.

The Parent / Carer Opinion Survey will be open online from Wednesday 19 August to Friday 18 September 2026.

All families are invited to participate in the survey. The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.

As 2026 is our School Review year, we ask that all families complete the survey to provide us with important feedback.

Families can access the survey via the Compass Newsfeed.

Prep 2027

Our enrolment process for Prep 2027 is now complete. We are very excited to welcome many new families to TPPS in 2027.

If you have not submitted your enrolment for Prep 2027, the portal will remain open. Families can click here to submit their digital enrolment. To find out more about Prep 2027 at TPPS please click here. For further information from the Department of Education about enrolling in Prep for 2027 please click here.

If you require any assistance with enrolment, please contact Katie in the office on 9846 2700.

We are looking forward to commencing our Prep 2027 transition sessions in Term 4. Information about these sessions will be forwarded to families at the commencement of Term 4.

PFA Father's Day & Special Person Stall - Thank you!

A huge thank you goes to Elise P and our sensational PFA helpers for running our Father's Day and Special Person stall this week. Our students loved choosing that special present for their loved one and there were so many to choose from. This stall is one of the highlights of the year and we still remember buying something special for our fathers when we were at primary school.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Mark Roberts Brian Cleary Robyn Twyford

PRINCIPAL ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL