Principal's Messge

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Monday November 5th - Curriculum Day 

Tuesday November 6th Melbourne Cup Day.

FOUR WEEKS IN

Our last term for 2018 is well and truly underway. Whilst  I have enjoyed a few days leave, it has been business as usual at TSPS and I thank Michael Gerber for stepping into the role of Acting Principal in my absence. With only a few weeks left to the year, there is a calendar full of events and much learning still to occur. At the same time we are preparing for the smooth beginning to the 2019 school year. 

I would like to thank the 61 families who responded to the Parent Opinion Survey earlier this year. This random survey, sent by the Department of Education, gives the school valuable feedback in terms of student engagement, development and safety, teaching and learning, community involvement and school pride and confidence. I would like to have received more of the responses from families surveyed but what has been provided is pleasing and gives me confidence that the school is working well to engage with the community. What was pleasing was the upward trend in all areas with the exception of physical environment. To this end I am pleased to advice that the rectification of our basketball courts and new line markings for such activities as hot shots tennis and other outdoor games should be complete and ready for the commencement of the new school year. The presence of excavation diggers, trucks and other large machinery has provided much curiosity for the students and to date has provided minimal disruption to learning as the works have  proceeded. New emergency evacuation plans and play areas have been allocated.   There is always room for improvement and we will take the feedback we have received from the Parent Opinion Survey  on board as we continually seek to provide a rich learning experience within a vibrant and safe learning space for all our  students.

Staffing and Enrolment

Planning is underway for 2019. Staffing adequately and accurately for the new school year relies on the correct information regarding which students will be with us in 2019.  If families do not intend to return in 2019, please advice the office as soon as possible. If you are aware of families who as yet have not enrolled their child in Prep for 2019, please let them know that enrolments are still open. We have begun transition programs with the 2019 Prep Information evening earlier held this week.Transition programs for these Prep students as well as all our current students will also occur throughout the term.

Interviews and panels are currently underway to secure staff for 2019. We have a number of teachers who will be leaving us at the end of the year. We recently bid farewell Jess Psaila (Fernandez) and Ebonie Keys as they begin their family leave and this week we bid farewell to Tegan Horniblow as she too awaits the arrival of her firstborn baby. We wish these teachers well in these new exciting chapters of their lives. We welcome Anna Daley who is working in Amethyst. Anna comes to us all the way from Pennsylvania and  is here with us for the remainder of the year. I am also delighted to announce that in 2019 we will be introducing Mandarin as our LOTE as part of our school curriculum with the appointment recently of Yuanbin Wei as our Mandarin teacher. I am very excited about the opportunity this will present for our students and the prospects of exchange visits to our school from Chinese delegations and for us to visit China in years to come. Small steps.  Our Stephanie Alexander Garden To Plate grant has been spent by a small but  very enthusiastic team of teachers who have made great purchase to begin outfitting the Stephanie Alexander Program at TSPS.  Students and teachers have been busy working garden beds. Watch out for our newest school additions- our chickens and their fancy new chicken coop!

Emergency Evacuation

On Monday morning prior to 8.30 am, the school alarm system was activated by what turned out to be a false alarm. The response from the fire brigade was prompt  and the actions  taken  by all staff  members present at the time in moving students off  the school ground to Parkvista Drive  is to be commended. What it did raise is the issue of a growing number of students who actually were at school prior to the 8.30am expected time. This made it very difficult  for staff to ensure  which children had arrived as we have not been able do roll calls and no teachers were out supervising play areas before 8.30 am. This is in fact the second time this year that this has occurred and accounting for all students in this situation is very problematic. I remind all families that students ARE NOT to be at school before 8.30 am. Please  consider contacting YMCA which runs great out of school hours care and programs. 

Attendance

I remind all families that the last day of our school year is December 21st. I wish to dispel the idea that learning is minimal in the last few weeks of Term 4. Learning continues through to the last day of the school year. I strongly ask families to consider this before withdrawing students from school earlier than this date. Students need to be at school everyday, on time, ready to learn unless unwell.

Personal Belongings

A reminder to all our families that items that students bring to school such as phones are brought at their own risk. The school takes not responsibility for the damage or loss of such items. Phones especially need to be secured in student bags or can be handed to the teachers for safe keeping. Phones must not be used by students during lessons. They are to be used only to communicate with parents at specific times of the day (ie end of the day). Students are not to be contacted via their phones and iPads during the day. IPads are required at school to support the BYOD program  and digital learning. Students on the whole have shown great care and taken responsibility for the use and ownership of their iPads.  Parents are asked to contact the school via the office and  messages will be delivered to your child. Inappropriate use and untimely use of the phones will result in them being removed from the child, secured in the office and handed back to the student at the end of the day. Parents will be informed of this action. A repeated incident of wrongful use will result in the item being removed from the child, placed in safe keeping and the parent will be asked to collect the item at the end of the school day. i ask for your understanding and cooperation in this matter.

No Hats, No Play!

A reminder that we are a Sunsmart school and it is an expectation that all students wear Sunsmart  hats during Term 4 and Term 1.  As the weather warms up it is important that all students  wear the correct head wear that will protect them from the UV rays of the sun. Baseball caps are not to be worn. The hat must offer protection to the head, face and neck and for this reason wide-brimmed school colored hats (dark blue) are recommended. Hats with the school logo can be purchased from our uniform suppliers.