We have nearly reached the halfway point in the year. Next week will be the last week for term 2 and we will have an early finish at 2.15pm with an assembly starting at 2.05pm in the gym to finish off our term.
New Staff
We would like to welcome Monika Hackworthy and Shiu Pillay to our school from the start of term 3. Monika will be our 3rd Year 5/6 teacher. As per correspondence sent earlier in the term to all 5/6 parents, we will be splitting our Year 5/6 students into 3 equal classes of around 20 students to maximise teacher time and to allow for further growth at the school this year. Shiu will be our new Maintenance Officer and will be responsible for keeping the school grounds looking as amazing as they are at the moment. He will be joining us for a couple of mornings each week at this stage. I hope you can join me in welcoming both Monika and Shiu to the Thornhill Park Primary School family.
Mr Soumbassis
As outlined in a letter to the Year 5/6 parents recently, Mr Soumbassis will be on leave for a few weeks to manage an illness. He will hopefully be back with us early in Term 3. In the meantime, Mr Duffy will be assisting in his class. Reports for this class will be sent out early in Term 3.
Staff Absences
Due to flu season and ongoing staff illnesses your children may inform you that their class has been split for a day or they do not have their regular programs. We have had several teacher illnesses over Term 2 and it is virtually impossible to replace teachers with Casual Teachers some days. Students will still receive adequate programs as all classes complete planning together. We thank you for your understanding on this.
Reports
Reports are to be handed out on the last day of term using the Compass App. We will not be printing reports, therefore we ask you to look on this App for an indication of your child’s progress against Curriculum Standards. Please read these reports alongside the work that has been presented to you on Class Dojo over the first two terms.
End of Term
Term 2 will end on Friday 23rd June at 2.15pm. We will be holding an assembly in the gym at 2.05pm.
School returns for Term 3 on Monday 10th July at 8.40am.
Please keep safe over the holiday period and enjoy your break.
Enrolments
Please ensure that if you have a child coming to our school as a Prep in 2024 or if you know of someone who intends to come to our school next year, I would ask that you remind them to get their enrolment forms in as soon as possible. We ran our first series of Prep information sessions and Tours over the last 3 weeks and had over 50 families in attendance. We would ask that all enrolment forms are in before June 28th so that we may start the process of hiring for 2024. We currently have just over 30 Preps enrolled for next year and know that we will be getting a lot more.
Staff Car Park
I would like to remind parents once again that it is important that you stay out of the staff car park and do not enter at any time to drop off or pick up students. This is a very dangerous practice and we want to ensure that we keep all students safe. Parents who are concerned for the safety of their children are informing me of the fact that people continue to enter the car park for drop off and pick up. We would also ask that you are vigilant with any young children as you walk through the staff car park as we have had near misses after hours when staff are leaving in the afternoon and young children are left to wonder around the car park on their own. Please keep all in our community safe.
U-Turns and Parking on the Street
We have also noticed that an increasing number of parents are performing u-turns or getting their children to cross the street directly in front of the school. This is a very dangerous thing to do, as it is only a matter of time before a child gets hit by a car. Please take the extra 30 seconds to drive around the block. We would also ask that you please stop closer to the crossing during drop off time and have your children cross safely at the supervised crossing.
Interschool Sport
I was very proud to attend the Melton Network Soccer Lightning Premiership this week. Our students performed well in the boys and girls competitions and although they didn’t win the tournament, they displayed our school values with integrity. We have also had students attend netball and t-ball competitions recently with similar reports of our students displaying the correct values.
Break-in
During the King’s Birthday Monday we had a break-in in our Canteen. The police apprehended the people onsite and thankfully no real damage was done. We would ask that you keep an eye on our school over the holidays and report any suspicious behaviour to the police. Our school is monitored by Security Services, but it helps if people can alert the authorities if they see something that doesn’t seem right.
Have a wonderful holiday
Darryl Spiteri
Principal