We have made it to the halfway point of the 2025 school year and it has been busy to say the least.

New Bike Shed

A huge thank you to Tam, Diane and the Melton City Council for creating our new bike shed on the Tower St side of the school.  We encourage students to park their bikes in either bike shed to ease congestion with parking around the school and to assist students in having their bikes placed comfortably in a locked facility for the day.  Students who are late to school and have a bike or scooter will need to take them to the original bike shed where they can be stored easily.

Drop off Zone

A huge thank you to all who have been amazing at using the drop off zone at the front of the school in the correct way.  This is particularly great in the mornings.  Please exercise patience and wait for cars to exit the drop off zone before letting your children out.  The speed hump is not a great place to let your children out because it causes people to become impatient and overtake into oncoming traffic.  It is also illegal!  The afternoon drop off still needs a lot of work as people are regularly waiting in these spaces to pick up their children thus blocking this space for what it is intended.  When this is working well it is fabulous and safe for all of our students.  Please also refrain from doing U-Turns out the front of the school as it is also dangerous and holds up traffic.

Crossing the road

Many people are still using the ‘speed hump’ on Baxterpark Dve as a crossing.  It is not a crossing and people do not have to stop there, although most to out of courtesy.  Please use the traffic lights or the signed crossing when crossing the roads as it is safer.  Please do not gesture your children to cross the road out the front of the school as we often see this behaviour as well.

Farewells and Welcomes for Term 3

We wish Mr Lindsay all the best as he leaves us at the end of the term to take up a position as an Assistant Principal at Strathtulloh.  He has worked as a Year 1/2 and 5/6 teacher and team leader in his 2 1/2 years at our school.  We welcome Brooke Costello into the classroom as the new teacher.  We anticipate that Brooke will start at the commencement of Term 3, however there may be a delay and we will have a temporary solution in place until this can occur.

We also say farewell to Mr Moed who has been on leave for all of 2025 and worked as a STEM teacher last year.

We thank them both for being a part of our wonderful school community.

We also welcome a new maintenance man, Glen Townsend to help Andrew with all of his work and gardening at our school.

Attendance BBQ

A huge congratulations to Mrs Aliste’s class who had the highest average attendance this term with over 94%.  They enjoyed a BBQ on Tuesday cooked by myself and our Handyman Andrew.

Year 6 – 7 transition

Our Year 6 students have received information in regard to their Secondary Schools for 2026.  We invite you engage with these schools as per the information in the letter you would have received.

Congratulations to Mya and Skyla Berryman

A huge congratulations to Mya and Skyla Berryman who have both been selected to represent Victoria in the School Sports Australia Championships in Touch Rugby in October.  This is a huge achievement as they are also the first ever students at our school to represent Victoria at School Sport level.

Beanies

We have sold out of our beanies and can no longer get them from our original supplier.  Therefore we have a new beanie being introduced soon.  As usual, it will only be available at the office.

Last day of term and return in term 3

Friday 4th July is the last day of term 2.  We will return to school after a two week break on Monday 21st July.

Have a great break and we’ll see you back for the start of term 3.

Darryl Spiteri

Principal

Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships

Thornhill Park Primary School is a proud Respectful Relationships school.

Respectful relationships education is part of the Victorian Curriculum and delivered by all Victorian government schools. It supports students to develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed for respectful relationships, and helps to build respect and equality across the entire school community.

Earlier in Term 2, we held a parent information session about the upcoming units for Terms 3 and 4.

Topic 7 (Term 3): Gender norms and stereotypes helps students consider the influence of gender norms on attitudes, opportunities and behaviour, and to learn about gender equality, inclusion, human rights and the importance of relationships that respect people of all genders.

Topic 8 (Term 4): Positive gender relationships helps students develop an age-appropriate understanding of gender-based violence, safe and unsafe behaviours and consent. Students also develop self-care, peer support and help-seeking skills they can use in response to situations involving gender-based violence.

You can view the progression of an activity below from Topic 7, as it is taught in Grade 1/2, 3/4 and 5/6.

If you have any questions about Respectful Relationships education, you can contact Lucy Bull, or visit the Victorian Government’s Respectful Relationships page: https://www.vic.gov.au/respectful-relationships

Congratulations to 2D who achieved the highest attendance

for the week ending 27th June!

The classroom with the best attendance for all of term 2 was 2D with 92.83%.  Congratulations!  They will enjoy a BBQ with Mr. Spiteri in the last week of term.

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.

Every Day Counts

The importance of regular school attendance.

At Thornhill Park Primary School, we prioritise regular school attendance. We work with families to ensure students are in class with their peers and teachers and enjoying all the benefits that brings.

Attending school every day means experiencing what counts – the learning, friendship, fun and opportunities that can shape your child’s future.

We understand that there are times when your child will need to miss school but to ensure minimal disruption to their education, please consider scheduling family holidays or medical/dental appointments outside of school time. If your child is well enough to attend but is worried about friendships or schoolwork, please encourage them to come to school. Avoiding school can make these feelings worse and can create a negative pattern of behaviour.

If your child is having difficulty attending school, talk to their teacher about getting support.

We know that parents and carers can be juggling challenges daily to get your children to school. If your child must miss school, notify us as soon as possible via Compass so we can work together to support them.

For more information about the importance of everyday attendance, see Attendance and Missing School.

Remember, Every Day Counts.

Multimedia

During Multimedia lessons, our Year 3/4 students have been exploring their creativity using Tinkercad to design their very own 3D characters. With a mix of imagination and digital skills, students were learning how to combine shapes, adjust dimensions and bring their ideas to life in a virtual 3D space. From robots to fantasy creatures, each creation reflected their unique personality and design thinking. It’s been a hands-on, fun introduction to 3D modelling and future-focused learning!

The images attached are from Triman who is in Year 3/4F. It shows her Tinkercad design and the actual 3D print. The design took 7 hours to print!

Art

In Art, Grade Prep students have been learning about drawing tutorials. They also started learning how to layer colours using coloured pencils.  First, they listened to a picture book “The Rainbow Snail” and talked about the colours of the rainbow. Next students followed the steps to draw a CUTE rainbow snail! Finally, students coloured in their snails with rainbow shells. So sweet!

Performing Arts

Imaginative play in the PA room.

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

Keep up the great work!

Students of the Week – Ending 27th June

Students of the Week – Ending 4th July

Important Dates – Term 3

• Term 3 starts Monday 21st July to Friday 19th July
• Friday 25th July – Prep 100 Days Brighter event
• Tuesday 5th August – Curriculum Day – Student Free Day
• 9th – 17th August – National Science Week
• 18th – 22nd August – Children’s Book Week – Book an Adventure
• Friday 22nd August – Book Week Dress Up Day
• 25th August – 27th August – Year 3/4 Camp – Lady Northcote
• Thursday 4th September – Father’s Day Stall
• Friday 5th September – Father’s Day Open Afternoon
• Monday 15th September – Year 5/6 Camp – Ace Hi Ranch
• Friday 19th September – Footy Day Fundraiser
• Friday 19th September – Term 3 Ends at 2:30pm

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

We hope you had a lovely day!

Fateh Singh PB

Sriyan 2E

Irfan 34H

Julia PD

Aliitasi 56B

Harfateh Singh 2A

Inaya 56D

Maryam 56C

Shubhkarman Singh PC

Jordan  2A

Jaspreet 34G

Simrat Kaur PB

Mirna 34D

Nathan 1A

Seth Ernest 1F

Dash 2A

Kris 1E

Afaan PE

Fani 56C

Miracle Lucy 1E

Evaleen 56C

Kritisha PH

Aarav 34C

Ayana 34D

Guntaas 34D

Ariella 56C

Trey 1A

Katalia PE

Eshaal  2B

Loralai 34C

Soa PB

Mahanya 1F

Lillian 34F

Alira 56D

SarahPD

Georgina 34A

Awande 56D

Francine PB

Rehmat 34B

Abigail 34F

Frankie 34B

Mannat Kaur 56D

Charlotte 2D

Ava 34B

Zach 56F

Smyra 1C

Yonish  PH

Anaayah 34H

Ayanna 56A

Saiyam 2A

Avinoor PE

Nyra 34E

Pietro 1C

Adrian  56F

Tumanako 2C

Hargun 2C

Mason  PH

*Please note that birthdays are only published up until the date of publication.  

Come along and try Karate! Increase your confidence, learn new physical skills and have FUN in a safe and nurturing environment.

THORNHILL PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL GYM – WEDNESDAYS 4PM (AGES 4+)

To register for 2 FREE SESSIONS, please call 0407320333 or visit our website www.artofdefence.com.au