Principal's Message

Term Three Nears its End

I am sure that as I get older the years seem to be flying by faster and faster. It feels like we only just began the school year but we are almost three quarters of the way through. As always, TSPS has been a hive of great activity and learning since my last message to the community. It has been so busy that sadly I haven't been able to commit to my fortnightly messages this term. And I apologise for this. But there is lots to share in this message. Where to begin?

Staffing Update

And as always, the one thing that is constant in education, as in life in general, is that it keeps changing.

So it is with both a sad but proud heart that I share with the community some of the staffing changes that have occurred in just the last fortnight. I'll begin with Joel. I can now formally acknowledge that Joel Riddle has been successful in securing an Acting Principal role at Lara Primary School. He has already commenced in the role, with the turnaround being only one week from appointment to commencement. Personally I can’t thank Joel enough for the way he is and what he does and in the two years we’ve been together at TSPS he has been such a guiding light and great support and a colleague whose generosity of spirit and effort I will miss dearly. I am also sad to notify the community that Brianna Morelli has successfully secured the AP2 role at the new Doherty's Creek P-9 (formerly known as Truganina East) and will commence this role at the beginning of Term 4. She has also been a wonderful beacon of knowledge, a great confidante and support to me personally and to the wider community.

Her absence will also be greatly felt by the TSPS community. As an advocate for State education, I am delighted that both my APs have secured promotions that will allow them to take their great skills, practice and capabilities and influence other  state schools in our region. These schools' gain is our loss but I also see it as an opportunity to give others in the system the chance to develop their craft in leadership at TSPS. The leadership team has met and an interim plan has been put in place to continue seamless teaching and learning while I explore the direction I'll take in replacing both APs in the not too distant future. As well as our wonderful APs,  TSPS has also farewelled  Emma Boughton, who successfully secured a Leading Teacher position at Westgrove and Chanel Rizzardo, our Speech Pathologist who has secured a position at Armstrongs' Creek.  I know you will join  me in  acknowledging  their  successes and wish them all  well in their new endeavors. 

Enrolments  and Workforce Planning for 2019

I want to remind everyone that we are currently taking enrolments for Preps students, in particular, commencing school at TSPS in 2019. If you have young ones you have yet to enrol or know of children ready to begin school in 2019, living  within our zone and not yet enrolled could you please encourage their parents to do so soon rather than later. I  also ask for families that are either unsure  or know for a fact that their children will not be attending TSPS in 2019 to please let me know asap via the office. This  information will help me more accurately develop my work force plan for 2019.  With the opening of Doherty's Creek, TSPS has had its  Neighborhood zones adjusted. The map is not very clear and we still await more defined and accurately pinpointing, interactive maps. In the meantime we'll manage the best we can with the information we have. This has no impact on those currently enrolled at our school or for their Prep siblings whose parents have indicated they wish these students to enrol at TSPS because their older siblings are here.  Ian Wren (Principal at Dohertys Creek) and I attended a meeting at regional office on Monday where we have been asked to release the following statement which may impact 2019  enrolments  at TSPS.

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR DOHERTYS CREEK P-9 COLLEGE:

Please be informed that enrolment at Doherty’s Creek P-9 College have been reviewed to now include all primary year levels when it opens next year, Term 1 2019.

If parents, who live in the designated neighbourhood area of the new school, are interested in enrolling Years 3 to 6 students they should contact the principal, Ian Wren, at wren.ian.i@edumail.vic.gov.au. This includes parents who have previously been unsuccessful in applying for enrolment places for children in these age groups. Their applications will now be considered.

The Prep to Year 6 curriculum will be available from 2019. Years 7 to 9 students will be accepted when the planned future stages of the school are complete.  We can’t be definite about the timing of this yet, as construction timelines depend on funding in future State Budgets. Parents will need to consider alternative secondary options until this time. 

Events

Since I last wrote to the community, there have been so many great learning opportunities across the school. I know that we have endeavored to capture through photos, videos and streaming, where possible, many of these events. My greatest joy on any given day at school is spending time interacting with the students as they engage in real, relevant and rigorous learning. The list of activities has grown in the past four weeks.  We celebrated Book Week ( favorite characters coming to life from the pages of much loved books). During Book Week, I attended a writers publishing event in Topaz. What an opportunity to have students share published pieces of writing and share their pride and joy. We acknowledged our dads and significant other male members of our community through our  Father's Day stall and breakfast. A warm thank you to the parents who volunteered their time and manned the stalls. Great effort. A shout out to all the staff members who came early on Friday morning to prepare and serve the breakfast. It was wonderful to meet so many dads, uncles and granddads. We acknowledged our wonderful Education Support Officers who do incredible work, whether it be assisting  in the classroom or in the admin area.  We would be lost without them.  Our camp programs have begun in earnest with the first of two Yr 1/ 2  Sleepovers hosted last week and the second this coming Thursday evening. I joined the students last week for a couple of hours and delighted in their experience. Our Yr. 3/ 4 camp to Lady Northcote and  Year 5/6 camp to Lake Dewar has been so strongly subscribed to and we'll make sure next year we open up more places so that more students can attend. These camps will roll out over the next fortnight.  A special mention to Lee Jarvis who has so thoroughly and thoughtfully led the organisation of these camps. I commend the teachers who commit to the success of such camps  and for their 24/ 7 commitment and duty of care throughout the stay away.  Sporting and learning excursions and incursions have also been a constant feature of the school's program this term. Sports Colours Day was a huge success with $500.00 being raised for drought stricken farmers and the collection of bottle tops go to Envision as it pursues its work with the development of Prosthetic Limbs.  Science Week was celebrated and our students and teachers  continue to enhance their focus on  Sustainability with such initiatives as the War On Waste team, the Kids Teaching Kids program, the re introduction of "Nude Food" Fridays and our Extinct Fighters teams. We are about to begin our work on installing the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. I was particularly impressed and moved by an event initiated by our Student Representative Council that honed in on the Homelessness plight within our own neighborhood of  Wyndham. A group of students, supported by teachers, organised a sleep-out, raised funds for Vinnies (approx $950) and collected non perishable food stuffs for the Salvation Army. This was a very different sleepover event in that there was a focus on learning more about the challenges of the homelessness situation and what they as students could  do to have an impact. Les Porter and Judy from the Salvation Army spent an hour with the students chatting about and engaging them in their experiences. I am incredibly proud of these students. Their achievement and  their sense of social and community connection and responsibility is to be commended. I remind our children all the time that they can indeed make a difference now. They don't have to wait until they are adults. A great example of student voice, agency and leadership at work. I am also proud of the way our teachers continue to engage in their own upskilling and professional practice through coaching and targeted learning needs of their own. In this way we demonstrate to our students that learning is for life. 

Curriculum Day Term 4 Monday November 5th

Whilst I am mentioning Professional Learning for our teachers, I ask you to please note down  Monday November 5th (Melbourne Cup Eve)  is our last STUDENT FREE day  for 2018.

 Please note, on this occasion all teachers will be working offsite  as we  head to Lake Dewar for the day. on this day  teachers  will be engaging in work that focuses on developing teams and collaboration. The day will be facilitated by  Gavan Podbury and the YMCA  crew who will lead the teachers in a serious of team building workshops and outdoor challenges. Tuesday 6th November is Melbourne Cup Day and is a public holiday for all. School will re open on Wednesday November 7th that week. 

NAPLAN

The NAPLAN results are now available and all our families whose children did sit the NAPLAN  in Years 3 and 5 should have received their reports by now. Please let us know if you have not. The students were given the reports to bring home last week. As a staff, we will analyse the results and I will share with School Council and the wider community in Term 4. We have also trialled our school's readiness for the online NAPLAN delivery in 2019 and I thank Joel, Michael and Lachlan for their work in setting this up.  

Meeting Deadlines

I'd like to take a moment to address a trend that is causing some stress for the school. I take no pleasure in telling a family that a child cannot attend an excursion or event because of lateness in payment, last minute payment or missed deadline. We advertise activities well in advance through a number of vehicles - from paper to Facebook, Compass to our e-sign and this newsletter.  The school has commitments to those organisation with which it is connected for each event where we need to meet a deadline of payment and a cut off in numbers  attending. This assists in accuracy of planning for such things as entry costs, transport to and from the event, catering if required, just to name a few. I ask you to consider payment plans if there are difficulties in meeting some of the more costly events such as camps. Please speak with us as early as possible and we can make arrangements to support. Often in life we have to pay upfront before we can attend an event. Think about travel, concerts, sporting events. These all have to be paid well and truly in advance in some instances. Please consider this when you receive information about upcoming planned events for your child. Whilst "AfterPay" has become a feature in many a purchase these days, our school can not offer such a service. It is our intention to have all students attend all activities. Please don't put us in a position to decline. Please work with us, ask questions, create a plan. We are about inclusion not exclusion.

Last Day of Term 3- Early Dismissal

PLEASE NOTE: Term 3 ends Friday September 21st at 2.00pm 

Please note the early dismissal time. At the end of Term 2,  one student was not collected till 4.00 pm. This in not acceptable. It is the beginning of a well earned break for all children. Staff use this time to pack up for the end of term and reset in readiness for day one of the next term. Please adhere to the time set. Term 4 begins Monday October 8th.

Traffic Conditions

I am certain people have begun noticing the signs around our school zone especially along Forsyth and Federation announcing a year long program of road widening works to commence  this September. In the long run this work will enhance traffic flow and congestion but it is a point of great concern for me as I still have parents and carers who are not making wise and safe decisions when dropping and collecting students now and I fear the added elements of roadworks could pose greater impatience, frustration and unsafe  behavior. I hold my breath when I watch parents summon children across the road at points other than the school crossings. I worry about the children who are beckoned and who dart between parked cars as other cars double and triple park and overtake. It is an accident waiting to happen. I will be asking the council to conduct random checks to fine such irresponsible behavior. You are breaking the law when you take such reckless actions and I  will not apologise for asking council to issue fines. The children's safety is my number one responsibility. My colleagues and I patrol the fence lines in the morning and after school and sometimes find ourselves  having to direct traffic. It is not our job to do this. We do it because we want to ensure our students navigate their way to waiting parents safely. I will continue to ask you to do the right thing. Do not make  U turns. The signs are clearly marked. Do not park in the 2 minute drop off bays.   Do not double park. Do not leave unattended  children in cars. Let's keep all our children safe. Apart from drop off and pick up times these roads are safe and rarely heavily congesed with traffic. Please exercise patience and restraint. Please ask your children to cross at the crossing. They will learn what you teach them. Let's  choose to be safe.

Stockland -Shop For Schools 2019

You may recall that TSPS was part of the  Stockland Shop for Schools Promotion in 2017. By shopping at Point Cook Town Centre and dropping dockets into our TSPS designated boxes  located at the  centre,  the school collected $2050.63. This money was used to help build our gaga pit, which is much loved and utilised by our students. The  promotion is on again for 2018, beginning September 17 and concluding October 31.  We will have promotional material and envelopes available at school next week but  envelopes can also be found at the town centre. There is no obligation to take part in this promotion but if you can support, that would be wonderful as we have lots of projects we'd like to undertake at the school.