We are well and truly into the new school year and most of our students have settled into their routines.  We thank all of our community for your contributions in getting your children to school and on time.

Parent/Teacher Meet and Greet Evening

Our first Parent/Teacher Meet and Greet evening will take place on Wednesday 26th February from 1pm.   Interview times have been booked in Compass and parents will have an opportunity to meet their child’s teacher and share information which may be advantageous on working with your child this year.  There will be an information session in the Wellbeing Space to highlight some other important information.  Students will be participating in a House Spirit afternoon on this day and will be completing a range of activities in their houses.  There is expected high of 34 degrees at this stage for Wednesday, so we encourage you to take your children home after your interview.  School otherwise finishes at 3pm as normal on this day.  People with Webex meetings will have invitations sent out soon for these meetings.

Dealing with issues at Thornhill Park PS

From time to time we have parents and carers expressing concern about issues at school in relation to children or teachers.  We pride ourselves on assisting people where necessary and ensuring that all situations are dealt with swiftly and with a personal touch.  We like to maintain a ‘small country school’ feel at our school and continue to work with families in dealing with situations that arise, whether it be in relation to bullying, violence or racism. It has taken over two years of hard work to build our positive reputation within the community and it can take a matter of minutes to tarnish this through unhelpful social media comments that are often simply not true.  These posts are often written with the best of intentions, however they can be detrimental to the public perception of our school.  Anyone who has been supported by our school, knows that we try our utmost to support all students and families.

We do not tolerate any bullying, violence or racism at our school and work hard to educate our students on these life skills through the teaching of our school values, Respectful Relationships content and School Wide Positive Behaviours work.  We also provide social skills programs for a number of students and assist students in coping with problems through interaction with our Wellbeing Team – Mrs Payton, Mrs Stott, Ms Kenshole, Tam and our Student Mentor Aloi.  As a school we will further this work in Term 2 with the introduction of a whole school Visible Wellbeing Program led by Dr Lea Waters.

Thornhill Park Primary School is a lovely place to be and a credit to all in the community.  As I have reiterated on many an occasion, it is up to everyone in the community to maintain this.

Staff Parking

There are a number of parents who are still not listening to our instruction and parking in the staff car park.  Please do not risk the safety of our students and families by parking in this space.

Have a great weekend.

Darryl Spiteri

Principal

Congratulations to Prep G who achieved the highest attendance

for the week ending 14th February.

Congratulations to 1A who achieved the highest attendance

for the week ending 21st February.

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.

CSEF is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

The annual CSEF amount per student is: $154 for primary school students.

HOW TO APPLY: Contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form or download from www.education.vic.gov.au/csef.  If you applied for the CSEF at your child’s school in 2024 you do not need to complete an application form in 2025 unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.  Applications close on 21/04/25

Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing at home

Positive mental health and wellbeing is important for your child’s healthy development and learning. It supports them to manage the normal challenges of life.

Environments, experiences, relationships, and individual characteristics all contribute to mental health and wellbeing.

For children and teens, wellbeing is supported when they:

• feel valued, loved and safe
• have their basic material needs met
• have physical, mental, emotional and social health
• can learn (in and outside the classroom)
• participate in decision-making
• are connected to their community
• have a positive sense of identity and culture.

Mental health exists on a continuum

It can be helpful to think of mental health and mental ill-health as existing along a continuum.

We all move along the continuum as we face challenges and situations that test our capacity to cope and change our mental health. Our mental health can change slowly or quickly.

Most people will experience changes in their mental health at some point during their lifetime. Social, emotional, and environmental factors all influence our position along the continuum. Learn more about the mental health continuum.

Even if someone isn’t experiencing mental ill-health, that doesn’t mean their mental health is flourishing. Alternatively, it is possible to be diagnosed with a mental illness and still feel well and function effectively in many aspects of life.

Supporting your child’s wellbeing at home

As parents and carers, you’re already doing lots of things to support your child’s mental health and wellbeing. You can continue to protect your child’s mental health and wellbeing by developing and promoting:

• healthy sleeping habits
• healthy eating habits
• physical activity
• strong and nurturing relationships
• positive self-talk and providing praise, encouragement
• mindfulness, kindness and gratitude
• social and emotional skills
• help seeking.

For a range of videos and articles backed by Australian experts on how to support your child’s mental health, visit Raising Children Network.

Apps

Find practical parenting tips on boosting your child’s mental and wellbeing, plus answers to key questions on when, why and how to seek support at the raising a healthy mind app.

Mental Health support during school holidays

Mental health support, resources and advice are available for students and families to access over the school holidays. Two fact sheets for students and families:

• support positive mental health and wellbeing of students
• identify signs students may need mental health support
• access available support.

These fact sheets are also available in 19 different languages.
To access the factsheets, including translated factsheets, visit: mental health supports for students over school holidays.

Parenting support

All parents and carers need support to build confidence and skills or to discuss specific concerns.

Online and phone support

• Confidential, anonymous counselling and support for parents and carers of children of all ages. Call 13 22 89 or visit Parentline.
• Resources and advice on supporting your child’s mental health and links to 24/7 phone support line for children and teens at Kids Helpline – parents.

Free parent coaching service at One on One Support

Our Learning in Years 3/4

The year 3-4 students have started their learning in their new classrooms with their  2025 teachers. We have been establishing our classroom expectations by following the school values of respect , integrity , persistence and well-being. this has been the base of all our learning in the first few weeks of the term. Students have clear expectations of how to set their workbooks up, how to enter the buildings, how to behave in the classroom and out of the classroom, whilst building relationships with their peers. Students have helped and supported their teachers to set up the classrooms so that these spaces are positive learning environments for each learner. Classrooms have calming corners, areas where students can work on the floor and setups for working in groups. We look forward to a positive year working with you and your children.

MULTIMEDIA

This week in Multimedia, the Year 5/6’s were exploring the use of Stop-Motion. Stop-Motion involves photographing and then physically manipulating objects within the frame. As each frame is played in sequence, the technique creates the effect of an object moving itself.

The students used simple objects such as, plastic 3D shapes and teddies to create short animated stories. Our value of persistence was practised throughout this activity.

Best regards,

Mr Pody.

STEM 2

In STEM 2, the Year 3/4s have practised using their DET username and password to log onto Minecraft Education.

ART

This is an overview of student work for week 4: The Prep students have been learning about  Primary colours and Artist Piet Mondrian.

Grade 3/4 are designing their Art folio covers .

Grade 5/6 are personalising their backpack designs!

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

Keep up the great work!

Students of the Week – Ending 14/02

Students of the Week – Ending 21/02

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

We hope you had a lovely day!

Luyanda 34D

Mankirat 56B

Nasaleta PE

Elena PF

Aaryan 1E

Luca 34F

Samuel 56D

Theo 56E

Rayan 34C

Samar PH

Manroop 1A

Mehtaab 34A

Joonas 34H

Darrian PG

Solenn 56F

Karter 1A

Axel 1F

Isaiah 2C

Ozias 34H

Zahra 34A

Samreet Kaur PE

Ayesha 34B

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

Important Dates – Term 1

• Wednesday 26th February – Meet & Greet / Parent Information Sessions
• Naplan commencing from Wednesday 12th to Monday 24th March
• Monday 10th March – Public Holiday Labour Day
• Monday 17th March – Friday 21st March – Prep Swimming
• Monday 24th March – Friday 28th March – Year 1/2 Swimming
• Friday 21st March – Harmony Day

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

Dear Parents,

We are glad to announce that we are back at Thornhill Primary on Mondays again.

Here is the flyer with the QR code, if you wish to register you can scan the QR code and it will take you straight there.

We look forward to seeing all of you there again.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me (my number is below) happy to chat more about our programs.

I have also attached the link below. Click the link and it will take you directly to the registration page.

Coerver course | Coerver Coaching