As we head into the King’s Birthday weekend, it is a timely reminder to be vigilant with colds, flus and COVID and ensure that if your child is sick that they remain home.  We have had a number of staff sick over the last month due to many students coming to school with sickness and coughs.  It is very difficult to get relief teachers to cover absences, so we all need to do our part to try and ensure that our staff and students remain healthy.

King’s Birthday Holiday

A reminder that Monday is the King’s Birthday Holiday and therefore we will not have school.  We hope you have a lovely long weekend.

School Photos

You should have all received your school photos for 2024.  These were sent out this week.  If you have paid for photos and you are yet to receive them, please contact MSP Photography on 5333 5577.

Swimming

Our Year 5/6 students attended Genesis for a swimming program this week.  By all accounts they had a wonderful time and some students felt confident that they were now able to be more confident when near water.  It is a privilege to be able to provide this program to our students as it teaches them how to navigate water and the possibilities when they are around water.

After school sport

We currently have community programs running with individual groups and sporting organisations for karate, basketball, cricket and soccer.  These programs are a welcome addition to our school and a wonderful opportunity for you to connect with others in the community.  If you would like to participate in any of these programs we would ask you to contact these organisations directly.  Students and other members of the community who are not part of the program that is using the gym, should not be in the gym as Public Liability Insurance does not cover you if anything were to go wrong.  We would also ask that you look after the school grounds and refrain from entering buildings, whilst these programs are on as the cleaners have work to do and are often having to reclean areas that people have visited without permission.

Beanies

We are running low on beanies and have placed a new order for some more.  These are available from the office at $15 each.

Uniform and Lost Property

We have noticed that many students lose jumpers and jackets and parents are helping themselves to some of the lost property in our wellbeing space.  Please do not take anything that does not belong to you.  If your child’s names is clearly labelled on items, they will be returned to them through the teacher. We thank you for your understanding on this.

Canteen

A reminder that the canteen is open from Tuesday to Friday.  Students are able to use money to buy things over the counter or you can order their lunch using the QuickCliq app.

End of Term

We will be finishing Term 2 on Friday 28th June at 2.30pm.  An assembly will take place at 2.10pm on this day.

Start of Term 3 Curriculum Day

We will be starting Term 3 with a Curriculum Day on Monday 15th July.  School will resume for Term 3 on Tuesday 16th July.

Have a great weekend.

Darryl Spiteri

Principal

Congratulations to 34C who achieved the highest attendance 31st May

Congratulations to 12E who achieved the highest attendance 7th June

PRIMARY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day – missing school puts them behind.

If your child is sick or absent, you are required to notify school as soon as possible on the day of absence using one of the following methods:

1. Online: log the absence directly using Compass.
2. Telephone: the school office and let the staff know your child’s name, class, date of absences and reason.

Notifying the school of your child’s absence either prior to, or on the day that they will be away, helps ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and will fulfil your legal responsibility.

Why do I need to notify the school if my child is absent?

Schools need to know when and why a child is absent and you need to know if your child isn’t at school.

If your child is absent on a particular day and you have not contacted the school to explain why, the absence will be marked as unexplained.

This system also promotes daily school attendance. Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education, they learn new things every day – missing school puts them behind.

 What is your responsibility?

You are legally required to ensure your child attends school every day or you must provide an explanation for their absence. You should let the school know in advance of any upcoming absences or let them know in the morning if your child won’t be at school. Avoid making routine medical and dental appointments during the school day or planning family holidays during the term.

Recognising great attendance and punctuality.

Our attendance target is 96%.  Each week, we reward the class with the highest attendance (which includes getting to school on time!), with our school mascot, Ripwell in their classroom for the week.

Census Data Collection – Student Family Occupation and Updating Family Details

All families must complete the data collection form, even if you believe your details have not changed, and return to the General Office by Friday 14th June.

First Aid Tips

Please remember to pack a change of clothes in your child’s bag, as accidents do happen.  This will prevent us from having to call and request you bring a change of clothes to school.

Stay well this winter

Symptoms of influenza (flu) can hit very quickly and may last several weeks. Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and others from getting the flu.

Keeping our school community well

Parents, carers and students are encouraged to practice prevention measures, including:

• washing and sanitising hands regularly
• avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
• covering nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
• staying home if unwell and consulting a general practitioner (GP) or Nurse-on-call as required
• staying up to date with flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Action Plans

If your child has received an asthma or allergy action plan in their school bag, please ensure it is taken to your local a general practitioner (GP) to be filled out and provided back to the school.

This plan outlines specific instructions for managing your child’s asthma or allergies, including identifying triggers, recognizing symptoms of an allergic reaction, and administering necessary medications in case of an emergency.

This documentation is required for your child to attend excursions and camps. Additionally, if your child requires medication, please ensure that it is provided to the staff in the front office.

If your child no longer suffers from asthma, we would greatly appreciate it if you could email us at Thornhill.park.ps@education.vic.edu.au and let us know.

Event Reminder: 2024 Year 5/6 Camp – Weekaway – First Instalment Due

Full payment for this event is due on the Friday 23th August via the Thornhill Park Primary School Compass Parent Portal.

Event Reminder: 2024 Year 1/2 – Melbourne Zoo 

Full payment for this event is due on the Friday 26th July via the Thornhill Park Primary School Compass Parent Portal.

Event Reminder: 2024 Year 5/6 – Lighting Premiership (Tee Ball and AFL) 

Full payment for this event is due on the Wednesday 19th June via the Thornhill Park Primary School Compass Parent Portal.

Event Reminder: 2024 Year 5/6 – Lighting Premiership (Netball) 

Full payment for this event is due on the Wednesday 19th June via the Thornhill Park Primary School Compass Parent Portal.

Our Learning in Prep

For our Inquiry unit this term our topic of focus was ‘Community Helpers.’ As part of this unit of learning, the Prep team had organised different community helpers to come visit our cohort and run a small incursion with our Preps to expose them to what our community helpers do on a day to day basis.

Our first visitor was Dr. Tedesco from Western Health who taught us all about what doctors do to help their patients. She checked our lungs with her stethoscope, showed us how to apply a bandage and taught us how to check someone’s blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer.

Our next visit was from the Rockbank Fire brigade. The firefighters taught us all about what a fire fighter can do for our community and what the different coloured uniform means. The firefighters also taught our Preps what number to call in an emergency (000). The Preps were also able to take a look at a real-life fire truck and allow the students to have a go at shooting a fire hose.

Our most recent visit was from a group of paramedics from Caroline Springs. The paramedics taught our Preps what it is like to help keep our community members safe from all different kinds of situations. The Preps were then taken outside and shown what the inside of an ambulance looks like, what all the different equipment does to help a patient while they are taken to hospital and how the stretcher works.

The Prep Team would like to thank all the community members that took their time to come and visit Thornhill Park Primary School to make our ‘Community Helpers’ unit come to life and be as engaging as possible for our Preps.

Visual Arts 

During the past week, the students in Grade 5/6C have been exploring ancient Egyptian art. The students are creating their own pharaoh or queen’s mask. They were busy applying gold paint to build the first layer for their mask. Next week, the students will be including the details to bring their masks to life. These wonderful masterpieces will be on show at our Art Show on the 6^th September. More details about the Art Show will be provided in early Term 3.

Best regards, Mr Pody.

Garden Club

A huge ‘thank you’ to the team at Bunnings Caroline Springs for their generous donation in support of our lunch time garden club. We received various gardening tools and hi-vis vests for our students to make their own. This week we have started to work on our garden beds, planting vegetable seedlings. We look forward to watching it grow overtime and using them in the kitchen soon – watch this space…

Congratulations to the following students who received awards during our assemblies!

Keep up the great work!

Students of the Week – Ending 31/05

Students of the Week – Ending 07/06

Congratulations to the following students who are celebrating a birthday in June!

We hope you had a lovely day!

Shelly   PA

Tanav    PD

Traliyah 34F

Lola PB

Joshua 34D

Lucas 12D

Dyuthika 12F

Avah 12C

Jesiah 56B

Joshua 12H

Preeya 34B

Mia PB

Pushkar Kumar 12H

Emmanuel 12B

Shawn 12E

Aanvi 56B

Charlie PF

Rahil 12F

Christopher 34B

Aryan 56B

Puha PB

Aviannah PE

Perez 12A

Hassnain 34A

2024 School Terms    

Term 1  Tuesday 30th January till Thursday 28th March

Term 2  Monday 15th April till 28th June

Term 3  Monday 15th July till 20th September

Term 4  Monday 7th October till Friday 20th December

Important Dates – Term 2

Term 2 – Commences on Monday 15th April

Monday 10th June – King’s Birthday (Public Holiday)

Wednesday 12th June – Years 5 & 6 – Interschool Soccer

Friday 21st June – Year 5 & 6 – Winter Sport Lightning Cup

Wednesday 26th June – Athletics Day Years 3-6

Friday 28th June – End of Term 2 – June at 2.30pm.  An assembly will take place at 2.10pm on this day.

Cricket Star Academy

Cricket Star Academy is delighted to announce that they will be hosting Cricket programs at Thornhill Primary School from Term 2, 2024.

To determine which days/times are the most convenient for you, please kindly complete the online EOI form below by 5pm Friday 10th May 2024 to register your child’s interest in joining any of our programs. 📝 
https://forms.gle/P9ACGAvf3VdycrXeA 

Please note:
These programs will be open to any of your children – students and siblings! 😊 
All enquiries about cost and program inclusions etc. should be directed to Cricket Star Academy, not the school. 

Cricket Star Academy is part of Sport Star Academy (SSA), a leading provider of sporting programs in schools across Australia and we are delighted to support Thornhill Primary School in being able to develop a connected, inspirational and supported learning community in a dynamic and stimulating environment where children achieve their potential and become confident and contributing citizens.

At SSA, we believe in setting children up for success, today, tomorrow and in the future. Our driven, all-star team does this by providing a professional and nurturing learning environment that builds a child’s confidence, teaches them skills, creates lifelong memories, and gives the parent back time.

We understand that each child has a different pathway. Whether that’s from beginner to elite, shy to confident or solo player to team player, these programs are a child’s pathway to thrive. 🌱

We look forward to having you join in on the fun! 😊 

For more information:

https://profile.mysideline.com.au/register/entity?data=eyJlbnRpdHlJZCI6NTM0NDczMjIsImVudGl0eVR5cGUiOiJwcm9ncmFtIn0%3D&source=rugby-league