Principal's Message 

End of  the 2018 School Year

********************End of Year Friday December 21st~ Early  Dismissal  12.30pm****************

We are just one week away from the end of what has been a wonderful year of teaching and learning and community engagement at TSPS. To say how quickly it has flown is an understatement. I write this newsletter having just enjoyed the second of our two end of year concerts. What a wonderful gathering of students, teachers and families in a joyous celebration of the Arts program at TSPS. To see the students of our school community share their talents with such confidence and enthusiasm was an absolute delight and I am certain they entertained you all too with their performances. The artwork on display was also not to be missed. I am proud of the teachers at TSPS who work tirelessly to provide our students with as many enriching opportunities that will allow them to express themselves, build confidence and develop them holistically. Thank you to all who came along to support and cheer our students.

End of the School Year Approaches

2018 is fast approaching its end and it has flown in what seems like a blink of an eye. It has been a wonderful year of teaching and learning for all of us. It has been a while between communications for me. At times this term, I have felt a little disconnected due to some considerable absence both personal and professional. It has also been an incredible year in terms of staff movement. Staff members have taken family leave as they have welcomed the arrival of babies into their families ( fourteen announced this year). I congratulate Jess Psaila (a son, Alexander), Ebonie Keys (a girl, Andie) and Tegan (a girl, Ivy) who are the most recent to add to their families. Very exciting for us as a teaching community.  Some staff members have secured promotional positions in other settings ( most notably Joel and Brianna). With the new school, Dohertys Creek, opening some staff members have taken the opportunity to try a  new setting. Others have been successful in securing schools closer to home. I am proud of each of them and thank them for their contributions. I congratulate Paul MacZohan, Millie Carr, Virginia Jowett, Kim Lev, Craig Wiese,  Demi Isles, Tim Dean, Abbey Lynch, Hamish Dahl and Elysia Mitchell on their successes and wish them well in their new endeavors. The panels continue to interview and employ staff for 2019. I  welcome Dragica Najdenovski, Heather Gorman, Hayley  Stack, Emmy Watson, James Headlam, Mitchell Gabriel, Alexandra Rodaughan, Kirsten Head and Jacqui Corthoys to TSPS in 2019. They join Yuanbin Wei (our new Mandarin LOTE teacher) and all will be visiting the school in the next few days to familiarise themselves and meet and greet with the students. I also would like to congratulate Cass Beckman and Michael Gerber in securing the ongoing Assistant Principal positions at TSPS.  Brendan Chugg and Ange Demeca have secured Leading Teacher positions and Alex Wren, Lisa Sarpa and Janis Mesiti have secured Learning Specialist positions. We are now looking for a PE teacher for 2019. This week we bid farewell our colleagues (Ian, Brianna and Sam) from Dohertys Creek who secured the keys to their new school on Monday. It has been a pleasure to host them as they prepared for the opening of the new school and I  know we will strengthen our connections and work across the schools in the future.   Our students have continued to grow academically, socially, physically and emotionally. We pride ourselves in providing a holistic approach to developing happy, healthy and resilient students who work hard to achieve their personal best. And this continues right through to the end of the year. Learning does not stop as we wind our way through December.

This term has been filled with many exciting activities and events that provide students with real life experiences that give them contexts to enhance their learning but also invites our wider community to join us in this partnership of "raising a child as a village".

Events

Bike Education and Swimming

Recently our Year 3 /4 students undertook a two week Bike Education program. This program helps children develop the skills they need to ride safely and independently on roads and paths.

The program involves a mix of practical activities conducted off-road (in the school grounds) and on-road (on local roads) together with classroom activities. This year has been interesting in that the basketball courts have been out of action due to the rectification works but the students have still had a wonderful time as they learnt basic skills and developed their confidence.  I thank the teachers in Yr 3/4 for engaging our students in this vitally important safety program.

The Swimming program for our P-2 students has just been completed. Over a fortnight students have had the opportunity to develop confidence in the water. Learning to swim has many benefits for children.  It’s great for their health and well being, it enhances their self esteem and importantly teaches them a respect for water. As the warmer weather approaches, it is important that children are safe around pools, near rivers and at the beach. A reminder to us all that whilst we want our children to independent and confident,  they must never be left unsupervised. Thank you to the PE department, especially Tracey Graham, for its organisation of this vital program.

Color Fun Run

What a tremendous event this proved to bit. It surpassed last year's event with so many more community members coming along for the fun. The weather was perfect, the colors even more vibrant than last year and the students had a great time running the obstacle course and getting soaked and covered in all the colors of the rainbow. The atmosphere on the day was one of joy, hilarity, high energy and community engagement as students, teachers and parents joined in the fundraising event. A huge thanks to Lee Jarvis and Brendan Chugg who set up and ran the event. More than $8000.00 was raised. And this event is on our calendar to do all over again in 2019.

End of Year Concert- "Carnival"

This year's theme celebrates "Carnival" - a thread that has wand its way through a number of showcases this year. Beginning with our wonderful Carnival back in March, this theme was the backdrop for our entry at Wakikirri this year. It was also our theme at the Sunshine Film Festival and now it culminates in our end of year performance. Congratulations to all involved in preparing for the event and thank you to all the families who came out to support their children. Great community feel.

Parent Helpers and EdConnect Volunteers  Tea

Recently we have hosted two morning tea events to acknowledge the contributions that both groups of volunteers have made at TSPS this year.  It is well known that the home school partnership is incredibly important and that research shows that when parents and carers are actively engaged in their children's learning, that students do well at school. Parents Helpers support us in so many ways. Some of these include actively engaging in the classroom, assisting with Reading, Science and PE activities, banking, attending excursions and supporting sporting events. We are incredibly grateful and appreciative of the time that is volunteered by our wonderful parent helpers. This year we also partnered up with EdConnect, an organisation that connects adults who have retired or are wanting to give back to the community by actively engaging in classrooms. This year we have been joined by Asif, Suhdda and Kitty who have worked within Diamond, Ruby and Sapphire communities to support the teachers and students. I acknowledge the work carried out by  Rhonda Velkovski in overseeing the program. We will have more volunteer in 2019. In Nelson Mandela's words, "History will judge us on the difference we make in the everyday lives of our children".

Events Still to Come

Graduation

On December 18, we farewell our Year 6 students as they graduate from Truganina South Primary. The students have been busy rehearsing their performance items and filming special mementos of their time at TSPS. It will be a wonderful evening as we celebrate their achievements and wish them well as they begin their new chapter of schooling as secondary students. Congratulations to all our 2018 Year 6 graduating class members.

Family Picnic Day

On Thursday December 20,  all our families are invited to join our students and teachers for a family picnic lunch between 11.00 and 12.00 noon. Families are encouraged to bring along a special lunch to share with their children (fish and chips, picnic food, Subway- whatever takes your fancy really). Come and spend an hour with us as we wind down for the end of school year. It the weather is inclement the picnic will move into learning spaces. It will be lovely to see you there.

Our Last Assembly for the Year

Friday December 21st  is the last day of the 2018 school year. School will end at 12.30pm. Prior to this we will enjoy one final farewell assembly. This assembly is dedicated to farewells. Farewells to our year students. The tradition of the Walk of Honor for our Year 6 students is a sight to behold. We say farewell to staff who are leaving and acknowledge other students from different year levels who will be leaving us. We also have some awards to be given too, including the Volunteer of the Year award and Werribee  Toyota Year