We are approaching the mid-way point of the term and things are starting to get busier.  This week alone has seen a Prep excursion, Year 5/6 basketball competition, Year 3/4 swimming and the Launch of Active Travel for Melton Council.

Camps, Incursions and Excursions

From time to time we try to maximise the experiences of students at our school by taking them on various experiences such as camps or excursions.  Our camping program has students in comfortable accommodation where they participate in a range of adventure style and trial by choice activities.  The adventures that students experience at a camp are hard to replicate and provide lasting memories.  Excursions and incursions are also wonderful experiences for our students that are linked to whatever is happening in the classroom.  We encourage all students to attend all of our events as the benefits of these experiences are far-reaching and having a lasting affect on our students.  We are very aware as a school that some of these activities cost a lot of money, but we have a strategy in place to try and ensure only one or two year levels are participating in activities in the same term.  We do not make a profit from these activities and in a lot of cases we take a financial loss as a school because we want activities to still go ahead.  Our current camping program is a good example of this.  I would encourage you to access your CSEF money or the SSB to pay for these activities if it is challenging for you to pay for these activities and you have access to these funds.  The other thing we need from everyone is to follow the guidelines and deadlines for excursion payments.  We often have to commit and pay for these events ahead of time, so it is imperative that the correct process is followed.  Too often we get to an event and there are still too many people left to pay and we have to not allow them to participate.

X-Factory – Our first ever school musical

On September 4th we will be having our first ever school musical entitled – The X-Factory.  We want musicals to become a regular occurrence on our calendar as they are a great way to showcase some of the talent we have in our school whilst also putting on a show for our community.  This will be one of our major fundraisers for the year and proceeds will go into develop new play spaces around the school.  The students and Ms Falls have been working extremely hard to be ready for the big night.  Tickets are limited and are on sale now through Compass at $10 each.  We encourage as many families and students to attend.  There will also be snacks and drinks available on the night.  All students will need to be accompanied by an adult when attending the show.  We look forward to seeing you all there.

Book Week Parade

Next Friday we will be having our annual Book Week Parade.  Students are encouraged to dress as their favourite book characters.  This year’s theme is ‘Book an Adventure.’  We will have a parade at around 9am in the gym.  All are welcome.  We also have the annual Book Week performance on Monday 25th August at a cost of $8.  Please ensure you have paid this amount as soon as possible to ensure your child does not miss out on the Performance in our gym of General Waste by Michel Streich.

Hats

A gentle reminder that Term 4 is a compulsory hat wearing term.  All students are expected to wear a broad brim school hat to protect them from the sun.  We also encourage students to wear sunglasses and use sunscreen as an added precaution.  Hats are available at Dobsons and a limited number are available at our office for $22.

Drop off Zones and crossings

Congratulations to all who are doing the right thing in the morning when dropping off their children by driving in, letting your children out of the car and driving away.  It is very helpful and reduces congestion and frustration at the front of the school when everyone does the right thing.  It is also pleasing to see lots of people now using the correct crossings when arriving and leaving school each day.  It is so much safer for all of our students and an excellent way to model correct behaviour.  There is still a lot of work to do to get the parking situation in afternoon right.  It will not improve whilst people are parking in illegal spots whilst waiting for their children.

Aggression towards staff, students and parents

Please refrain from using aggressive behaviour or intimidating language towards our staff, students or other parents.  At times things happen in schools that require intervention and sometimes mediation.  As a school we like to think we are proactive when it comes to these things and we would ask that any complaints come through the classroom teacher using your best efforts to remain calm or you escalate things to either myself, Mrs Pittman or Mr Bartlett.  We are more than happy to try and work with you to come up with a solution.  We will not tolerate parents abusing teachers, other students or parents and any such behaviour may require police involvement or you may be banned from the school grounds.

Mrs Payton

Mrs Payton will be leaving us after next Friday to take up a position at another school.  We appreciate all that she has done for our school having been a foundation member and wish her all the best in her new role.  We will miss her work in the Wellbeing space and I’m sure many of our children will also miss her as she has formed many strong connections with students and families at this school.

Parent survey

The annual parent survey will be active from Monday.  A link will be sent to you to complete the survey.  We appreciate the time it takes to do this survey, but we really do appreciate the feedback.  We want to know what you think of all the great work we do and we want to know how you think we can improve.

NAPLAN growth 

We are very proud of the work we have been doing as a school in all areas.  Our recent NAPLAN data has returned with us showing high or medium growth above State Levels on 4 out of our 5 measures, with the 5th only being 1% below State.  Growth is calculated by the improvements that students make from their Year 3 to Year 5 NAPLAN results.  We are very proud of the work we have been doing with our students and this data shows that we are on the right trajectory to help our students be the best they can be.  It also shows that we are able to help our students improve in all subject areas above the expected levels of similar schools and across the State.  The data shows that if students come to our school, no matter what their level, in general they will improve.  That’s something to be proud of.

Reading – Thornhill Park PS 74% vs  State 75%
Writing – Thornhill Park PS  82% vs State 74%
Spelling – Thornhill Park PS  88% vs State 74%
Numeracy – Thornhill Park PS 81% vs State 74%
Grammar & Punctuation – Thornhill Park PS 79% vs State 74%

Have a great weekend as the weather starts to improve.

Darryl Spiteri

Principal

Congratulations to 3/4 G who achieved the best attendance for the week ending 8^th August, 2025.

Congratulations to 2D who achieved the best attendance for the week ending 15th August, 2025.

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.

🎤 Thornhill Park Primary School Presents: X-Factory Extravaganza! 🎶

Get ready for a spectacular evening of talent, energy, and entertainment as our Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 students light up the stage for the X-Factory Extravaganza!

🗓 Date: Thursday, 4th September 2025
📍 Location: Thornhill Park Primary School Gym
🚪 Doors Open: 5:00 PM (snack sales from 5:00–6:00 PM)
🎬 Show Starts: 6:00 PM

🎟️ Tickets are $10.00 each and required for all attendees, including adults, students, and siblings.
Tickets are available exclusively on CompassTix via this link: 👉 https://compasstix.com/e/858fs37m9n
⚠️ Limited tickets available – don’t miss out!

Come along and support our amazing students for an unforgettable night of music and celebration!

Our Learning in Years 3 & 4

It has been a great start to the term, where students have come refreshed and ready to learn.

In Literacy:

Students about learning about nonfiction books, where they have been identifying the text features such as a contents page, macro (overall topic), micro (subtopics) and many others. They have been discussing how these features support them while reading and finding information within the text.

In writing students have been using our Inquiry topic ‘Ocean Pollution’ to collect information and write an information report. Each week students have focused on a different component of the writing process to develop their understanding and write effectively.

In Numeracy:

Students learnt about data, where they were given an opportunity to complete a data project where they developed a question, collected data, graphed their data and analysed what their data was showing (you’ll see this work in your child’s portfolio on ClassDojo).

Other learning:

This week students have participated in a Water Safety Program at Genesis. Students are learning about water safety and swimming skills that are very beneficial. Students that are at school have been participating in a theory-based program, where they have been learning about water safety in various locations including home, local pools and beaches.

National Science Week is an annual event in Australia that celebrates science and technology. It takes place in August and features a wide range of events and activities across the country, aiming to engage and inspire people of all ages within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

This year at Thornhill Park PS we would like to encourage you to complete an experiment (or two, or three!) at home as a family. 

Click on the following link https://stem.tpps.au which will take you to some experiments you can try using household items. Take a photo of the experiment in action, or of the final result, and email it to thornhill.park.ps@education.vic.gov.au with your name and experiment title by Tuesday 19th August 3.30pm for your chance to be featured in the school newsletter.

Have fun!

Mrs Andersen, Mr Gibbcus and Mrs Belovitch

Physical Education

During Week 3, students from Years 3-6 who had PE classes on the Monday were involved in an AFL school incursion. Staff from Western Bulldogs took classes and had the students participating in activities that involved running/agility, handball, kicking and marking.

The students had a great time!

BULLYING NO WAY WEEK

11th to 15th August 2025

Bullying No Way Week: National week of action.

The week of 11 to 15 August 2025, is Bullying No Way Week and is about the important roles school, family and community play in helping young people feel accepted, respected and a sense of belonging.

The theme for 2025 is Be Bold.

Be Kind. Speak Up.

It takes courage to spark change.

Bullying is everyone’s responsibility.  It takes a community to be brave and address bullying behaviours, within and beyond the school gate.

Students can be bold, kind and speak up to support others being bullied. Trusted adults are there to support children and young people as they learn how to be kind to each other and report bullying.

This Bullying No Way Week, we’re asking students, schools, families and communities to be bold and say something, be kind and support someone, and be proud to speak up against bullying.

Everyone has a role in preventing bullying. This year we’re encouraging students and school staff to speak up and foster safe spaces where everyone feels supported, respected and all voices are heard and valued.

For more information about Bullying No Way Week and bullying prevention, visit the Bullying No Way website Bullying No Way

Also see Kids Helpline school resources and eSafety’s cyberbullying hub.

Important Dates – Term 3

• 18th – 22nd August – Children’s Book Week – Book an Adventure
• Monday 18th August – 22nd August – Year 5/6 Swimming
• Friday 22nd August – Book Week Costume Parade (9am in the gym)
• 25th August – 27th August – Year 3/4 Camp – Lady Northcote
• Monday 25th – Books to Life Performance Event
• Monday September 1st – Year 3-4 Divisional Athletics (selected students)
• Thursday 4th  & Friday 5th September – Father’s Day Stall
• Friday 5th September – Father’s Day Open Afternoon
• Thornhill Park Primary School Presents: X-Factory Extravaganza! 5pm-6pm – Thursday 4th September
• 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 received awards during our assemblies!

Keep up the great work!

Students of the Week – Ending 8th August

Students of the Week – Ending 15th August

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

We hope you had a lovely day!

Nicholai 1C

Andino 1F

Jack 1G

Norah 2A

Noah 34G

Liana 56D

Stephenie 2D

Peyton 34H

Nandita 56B

Anhad Singh 34E

Elisha   2E

Nivaan 56D

Maddison PE

Makagbe 56F

Harjot  34F

Ronin    2C

Aisha    34C

Ethan    56A

Triman 34F

Kaylani PC

Aaliyah 56A

Abhijay 56C

Kazi Tafeen 34B

Mya 56D

Yarna    34C

Nysha  1G

Dinahrose 34B

Shareya 56B

Aradhya 56F

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

If anyone would like to register their interest, via basketball.flames@outlook.com would be greatly appreciated.

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