We are in the penultimate week of Term 1 and the weather is starting to shift.  As we head into the colder weather I would like to remind all families that students are to wear the correct uniform at all times.  Our colour is navy blue for tracksuit pants and only school jumpers, jackets or hoodies.  Any coats are acceptable, however students are not to have umbrellas in the yard as they can be dangerous.

Road Safety

A reminder about safety in terms of parking and crossing the road.  Please use the supervised crossing or the traffic lights.  Parking along Baxterpark Dve is both illegal and unsafe as it forces people to use the opposite side of the road.  Parking on nature strips and cutting off garages is also illegal.  U-Turns out the front of schools are also not permitted and beeping the horn out of frustration is not necessary.  If we are all patient and follow the procedures we use in the morning, all of our children and community will be safe.  The Council has assured me that people will be fined if they are not following the signage.

Uniform

As mentioned earlier, we would like to crack down on uniform in term 2.  Students are expected to wear navy blue tracksuit pants, skirts, shorts, etc..  All tops must have a school logo.  Hats are not necessary in Term 2 and 3.  Beanies are available from the office for $15.  Please also ensure that you label all uniform items as they are returned by the office staff if found.

Colour Run

On Wednesday 1st April we will have our second ever Colour Run.  It costs $10 for students to participate.  We have raised over $14000 so far through this process and we look forward to next week’s fun.

Last Day of Term

Thursday 2nd April is the last day of Term 1.  We will finish at 2.30pm.  Assembly will be at 2.15pm.  We start back for Term 2 on Tuesday 21st April.

Have a great weekend.

Darryl Spiteri

Principal

Congratulations to 2B who achieved the best attendance for the week ending 20th March, 2026.

Congratulations to 34F who achieved the best attendance for the week ending 27th March, 2026.

A huge congratulations to Prep D who achieved the best overall attendance for all of term! They will enjoy a BBQ with Mr Spiteri next Tuesday.

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.

Our House System

Thornhill Park Primary School proudly supports a House System.

The aim of the House System is to promote a sense of belonging and pride in our students, as well as:

• encouraging a positive school spirit as a result of ‘belonging’ to a group of cross age students.
• Providing cross-age house activities and friendly competition.
• Providing the opportunity for students to develop leadership skills.

At Thornhill Park Primary School, students have the opportunity to earn House points through a variety of organised competitions and activities, including both sporting and academic challenges.

In addition to these events, students can also earn points on a day-to-day basis by consistently demonstrating our school values. These efforts are recognised and rewarded as part of our commitment to fostering a positive and respectful school culture.

House points are tallied each week, with the running totals announced during our weekly assemblies. This helps build a sense of teamwork, pride, and friendly competition among our Houses.

Our Learning in Prep

Welcome to Term One. We hope everyone is settling into Prep and enjoying the school year so far. Our Prep students have had a wonderful start to their first term of school and have been busy engaging in a range of exciting learning activities.

LITERACY

In Speaking and Listening, students have had many opportunities to build their vocabulary and develop their oral language skills through class discussions. They have been encouraged to share their ideas and understandings with their peers and to listen respectfully to others.

In Handwriting, students have been developing their fine motor skills, practising correct pencil grip, and learning the formation of both lower-case and upper-case letters.

In Grammar, students have been using their oral language skills to say simple sentences, including identifying the ‘who’ and the ‘do’ in a sentence. They have also begun exploring how sentences are made and how words work together to share meaning.

In Daily Writing, students have been practising recognising and writing their names with a capital letter at the beginning, followed by lower-case letters. They have also been learning about the difference between a letter, a word, and a sentence.

Through daily reading, students have become more familiar with important concepts of print, including the front cover, back cover, spine, title, and author of a book.

We have also launched our UFLI Phonics program, and students have been learning the sounds and formations of letters as they begin to connect sounds with written letters. 

NUMERACY

In Numeracy, we have recently been learning about addition. Students have been exploring the different words we use when adding, as well as the addition symbol. We have been using a variety of hands-on materials to help us practise combining numbers and build our understanding of addition. Students have also been learning about number facts, or friends of 10, which help them quickly recognise pairs of numbers that make 10. These number facts support students in developing confidence and fluency when adding numbers.

We have also been practising correct number formation to help students write their numbers clearly and confidently.

INQUIRY 

In Inquiry, the prep students have been exploring the topic of “Me and My Family.” Students participated in a touch museum, filled with artifacts that represent their classmates’ families and cultures. We had so many curious questions for our friends about what their family is like.  

AUSLAN

In AUSLAN, the prep students have been learning basic greetings, classroom routines, and are beginning to explore the alphabet signs. We have been incorporating these signs into our daily learning. Signs like, sitting, listening, good morning, and good afternoon have been helpful in our everyday learning. 

WELLBEING

In Wellbeing, the preps have been exploring the school values, (respect, persistence, integrity, and wellbeing), and how we can show these at school. We have practiced showing respect for our classroom spaces, persistence in our learning, and both integrity and wellbeing in our friendships. The students are excited to point out when they, or their friends, are showing the school values in a positive way. 

Sincerely,

Prep Team.

Our Learning in Specialists

STEM with Mrs Andersen and Ms. T

Our students have been busy exploring and discovering in STEM this term!

Prep students have been learning about different materials and their properties, using their senses to sort items based on how they look and feel.

Year 1 students applied their knowledge of material properties by designing and creating imaginative little critters.

Year 2 students investigated floating and sinking by designing and testing tin foil boats.

Year 3/4 students explored solids, liquids and gases, learning how particles behave and how matter changes when heated or cooled.

Year 5/6 students investigated light and shadows, learning about the two parts of a shadow: the umbra (darkest part) and the penumbra (lighter part).

It’s been wonderful to see students engaging in hands-on learning and developing their scientific thinking skills!

Prep: In Art, Prep students studied Brazilian Artist Romero Britto. They were inspired by his happy and colourful artworks and created a colourful designed dog or cat.

Prep students also learnt about Jellyfish and their body parts. They experimented with watercolour paints and mixed materials to create their artworks.

Grade 1: In Art, Year 1 students learnt about caterpillars and their habitats. They followed a drawing tutorial, and showed understanding of primary and secondary colours. They also used collage techniques to create a habitat.

Grade 2: In Art, Year 2 students studied American artist Jeff Koons. They  were inspired by his Balloon Dog sculptures and created a balloon parade scene.

Grade 3/4: In Art, Year 3/4 students studied Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. They  were inspired by his abstract art and in particular the cubism era. They created an abstract portrait, that showed the face from different view points.

Grade 5/6: In Art, Year 5/6 students learnt about self portraits, based on the proportion of the face. They used mirrors to personalise their facial features and hair styles and learnt about shading and colour. Students also added personality traits to their designs.

District Swimming

On Thursday 26th February, Jane, Aria, Radhvi, Fabiana, Aaliyah, Tasveer and Akaalikrat  competed at the MPSSA district swimming competition. Our students showed incredible sportsmanship and effort in their events. 

Our freestyle relay team with Jane, Aria, Radhvi and Fabiana finished 2nd!

A huge congratulations to Jane for finishing 1st in 11 year old girls Backstroke and Butterfly! Jane went to the next level (Divisional) and again, finished 1st in Backstroke and Butterfly! Jane will now be competing at the Western Metropolitan Region Swimming!

Well done, girls!

Foundation 

• In Foundation, students have been learning about the importance of following rules, sharing equipment, and taking turns through a range of fun and active games. These lessons have helped students build cooperation skills, understand fairness, and enjoy working together as a team.

Year 1 

• In Year 1, students have been focusing on fundamental movement skills, with a key emphasis on the underarm throw. They’ve been learning how to step and throw with accuracy and control, practising with partners and small group games. These activities are helping them combine their coordination, balance, and timing while continuing to build teamwork and fair play. Our Year 1s are gaining confidence in performing the skill correctly and transferring it into simple target-based games.

Year 2

• In Year 2, students have been further developing their fundamental movement skills with a continued focus on the underarm throw. Building on what they learned in Year 1, they’ve been refining their technique by practising with greater accuracy and power. Students are applying their throwing skills in more challenging activities that involve aiming for specific targets and adjusting their throw for distance. They’re also beginning to discuss what makes a successful throw and how they can improve through practice.

Year 3/4

• In Year 3/4, students have been busy building their athletics skills in preparation for the upcoming School Athletics Carnival on Tuesday 28th April (Term 2, Week 2). Over the past few weeks, students have been learning the fundamentals of a range of events, including long jump, triple jump, discus, shot put, and high jump. The focus has been on learning correct technique, understanding event rules, and developing coordination and confidence in each activity. It’s been great to see students giving their best effort, encouraging their teammates, and showing steady improvement as they master new skills in preparation for their carnival events!

Year 5/6 

• In Year 5/6, students have been preparing for the School Athletics Carnival on Tuesday 28th April (Term 2, Week 2). Building on their skills from previous years, students have been refining their techniques in long jump, triple jump, discus, shot put, and high jump. They’ve focused on improving distance and height through efficient movement patterns, power generation, and consistency in performance. Many have also been developing a deeper understanding of event strategies—learning how to approach jump run-ups, manage attempts, and use proper momentum in throws.

School Cross Country

Students recently took part in our annual School Cross Country event, showing great effort and determination. It was fantastic to see everyone supporting one another and striving to achieve their personal best.

Congratulations to the top finishers in each age group:

10-Year-Old Boys: James, Melvin, Agam, Ryan

10-Year-Old Girls: Sehaj, Siera, Achirin, Killarney 

11-Year-Old Boys: Kingston, Leawi, Irfan, Radhav

11-Year-Old Girls: Neriah, Jane, Kaiah, Solenn 

12-Year-Old Boys: Dante, Zayden, Rian, Izaan

12-Year-Old Girls: Mya, Makagbe, Rebecca, Xiomara

The above students will form the Thornhill Park Cross Country Team and will compete in the MPSSA 1+2 District Cross Country event.

Well done to all students for their participation and sportsmanship—your enthusiasm made the day a great success!

Lost Property Announcement

We have noticed an increasing number of children misplacing their school belongings. To help prevent items from being lost, please ensure that your child’s name is clearly labelled—not only on tags, but also on all clothing items, including jackets, as well as lunchboxes and drink bottles.

The Lost Property area is located in the Wellbeing space at the front office. We kindly ask for your cooperation in keeping this area clean and tidy.

Thank you for your support.

A Message from First Aid

Dear Families,

The school holidays coming up will be a good opportunity to rest up and look after your health and wellbeing!

If your child has a medical action plan that needs to be updated, please book a check-up with your family clinic to have the plans completed.

Some children may have medications that are due to expire and will need to be replaced.

These can be provided to the School First Aid Officer at Reception on the first day of term 2.

Enjoy the fresh air and lovely weather in the Easter holidays and I look forward to caring for and supporting your child’s health needs next term.

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

Keep up the great work!

Students of the Week – Ending 20th March

Students of the Week – Ending 27th March

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

We hope you had a lovely day!

Renee  PE

Serenity 34D

Evelyn 34G

Japsimar 34H

Harnaaz 56H

Aria 2C

Vivan PC

Clara 1A

Inaya 2A

Ilyana 34H

Mehreet 34B

Latai PB

Rehan 2E

Isaiah  34D

Zack 56B

Mele Ofa 34A

Isaac 34I

Alyna PC

Finn 2D

Tarquin 2G

Levi 34B

Ekam 2F

Mannat Kaur   1B

Alisha  2C

Radhvi Reddy 56A

Vaseeigaran   PD

Ivan 2D

Mason 56H

Rory 1E

Lincoln 2B

River PA

Andisiwe PG

Kalani PB

Issy 34B

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

Important Dates – Term 1

• Monday 30th March – Preps – Easter Hat Parade in the Gym at 2.35pm
• Wednesday 1^st April – Colour Run – incorporating House Spirit Day
• Thursday, 2 April – Last day of Term 1 (early finish at 2.30pm)

Term 2

• Monday 20th April – Curriculum Day (Student free day)
• Term 2 starts on Tuesday 21st of April 
• Wednesday 22nd April – Whole School Photo Day
• Friday 24th April – Ripwell’s Dance off (gold coin donation – students only)
• Tuesday 28th April – 2026 Year 3-6 Athletics Carnival (Melton Little Athletics Centre)
• Wednesday 6th May and Thursday 7th May – Mother’s Day Stall
• Friday 8th May – Mother’s Day Open Afternoon for families
• Monday 8th June – Public Holiday (King’s Birthday)
• Friday 26th June – Last day of term 2 (early finish at 2.30pm)

KIDS KARATE EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 4PM HERE AT THORNHILL PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL!

-Increase your confidence & self esteem

-Learn control, respect & discipline

-Improve physical & mental health

-A safe space to build lifelong friendships 

-Learn Self Defence techniques and skills 

2 FREE SESSIONS PLUS A FREE UNIFORM ON JOINING! (SAVING YOU $115) 

To register for your free sessions, please call OR text 0407-320-333 

http://www.artofdefence.com.au