Hello everyone,

Public Holiday

Just a reminder that we have the King’s Birthday Public Holiday on Monday. This means that there will be no staff or students at the school on Monday and we will see you all on the Tuesday. As it is the long weekend, use it as a time to do a fun activity with you children like going for a bike ride or going for a walk at locations like the You Yangs or the Werribee Gorge.

Pick-up and drop-off time

Our school is continually growing which means that we have more people picking up and dropping off students at the beginning and end of the school day. Can you please make sure you obey road rules and are patient out the front of the school. It seems as though everyone wants to collect their child from directly out the front of the school, when there are many parks towards the Cobblebank end of Baxterpark drive. For parents who have older students, making this a designated area for pick up may be more suitable and less stressful during these pick up and drop off times.

School Beanies

We are now experiencing cold weather. You may notice we have a lot of staff and students wearing our school beanies. If you would like to purchase one of these, ask the staff at the office for one, they cost $15 and look great. Please put your child’s name on the beanie.

Enrolments

Enrolments for 2027 are now open and the Prep Information sessions have begun. Please ensure you get your enrolment forms in as soon as possible if you are within Zone. Students who are out of zone and have siblings currently at our school can also enrol. Families outside of zone can apply to receive an enrolment, but it is unlikely they will receive an enrolment place due to DET enrolment guidelines based on capacity and growth.

Thank you,

Mr Bartlett

Congratulations to 1F who achieved the best attendance for the week ending 29th May, 2026.

Congratulations to 1D who achieved the best attendance for the week ending 5th June, 2026.

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 Learning in Year 1

The year 1 students have been learning how technology, toys, homes and schools have changed over time. Exploring artifacts from the 1950s onwards, students discovered how changes impact our daily lives. This week, a walk around our local community provided an engaging opportunity to learn about the history of our area.

In Reading and Writing, students have been learning about personal and factual recounts. While examining mentor texts, the students have learned key features such as purpose, structure, 5W’s (who, what, when, where and why), and past tense.

In numeracy, students learned how to sort, observe, collect and record data. They represented data using bar graphs and pictographs, including some delicious Smarties bar graphs. The students have also been exploring units of time including days, weeks, months, and years. They learned to identify differences between analogue and digital clocks and learned to tell time to the hour (o’clock). During term 2-year students have been developing their understanding of place value, represent and naming numbers using numerals, words, and models as well as learning about subtraction.

Our Learning in Year 2

Welcome to our Year 2 newsletter! The children have been learning diligently, respectfully and always challenging themselves in their learning. 

This term, we have explored a wide range of Dreamtime stories, including The Rainbow Serpent and Tiddalick the Frog. Students were fascinated to learn that these stories were passed on from one generation to another and the importance of Dreaming stories in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. They learnt how characters, settings and plots are connected by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and illustrators. We deconstructed the stories using the plot arc so we are able to summarise it in our own words. In turn, they created their own fiction texts using the Dreamtime stories as their inspiration. We used a variety of different sentences, including simple and compound sentences, as well as a range of learnt vocabulary to add detail to their writing. 

The importance of reading every night is crucial for the development of your child’s confidence and fluency in reading. Please make sure they are reading on a nightly basis, filling out their diaries and returning it for the teacher to check each day.

This term, we consolidated our place value knowledge. We have also developed our addition, subtraction skills and built our understanding in the connection between addition and subtraction, this includes fact families and solving equations using vertical algorithms. Furthermore, we collected data through a survey, created a suitable graph (pictograph and column graph) and interpreted the data. We are currently learning about time by reading analogue and digital clocks to the hour, the half hour and quarter times (quarter past and quarter to). We will also learn how to read and use a calendar!

Our Inquiry topic for this term is “Country and Place”. Students explored the cultural and historical significance of local places, including sites important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Some sites explored were Uluru and K’Gari; these places hold a spiritual connection to them. We learnt about the strong connections Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have with Country and Place. In addition, we learnt about the Indigenous names for the Wurundjeri seasonal calendar and what occurs in each season. We listened to a variety of Dream Time stories to understand the importance of cultural knowledge, beliefs and lessons about the land and the relationships between people, animals and nature. We are currently using our interests in the indigenous history and culture through research and creating our own information text about them. Our interests include historical places, the Wurundjeri seasonal calendar, significant Indigenous Australians and how Indigenous people lived in the past.

This term, we have explored lessons based on Emotional Literacy from the Respectful Relationships program. We are developing the ability to understand and use information about the emotional states of themselves and others. We revisit the School Wide Positive Behaviours Matrix to ensure we are embodying the school values of Respect, Integrity, Persistence and Wellbeing. Students have opportunities to communicate their wellbeing through daily check-ins and taking ownership of our own emotions by identifying the zone we are in (red, green, blue or yellow). Students also practice working with their peers to problem solve in various ways.

As we approach Winter, we would like to remind students to wear appropriate clothing suitable for the weather and to keep ourselves healthy by eating fresh fruit and bringing a bottle of water for hydration, as well as staying home if unwell. Please remember to update Compass if your child is going to be away. If there are any concerns or questions please contact your child’s teacher through Class Dojo. 

Firstly, please label everything! Whether your preference is iron-on, sew-on or black texta, make sure to include your child’s full name.

• Lost property – Is located in the main office near the ‘Wellbeing Hub’.  Ask the Office Staff for directions.

Mobiles and Smart Watches

Make sure that students are dropping their mobile phones and/or smart watches to the office each morning and that they come and collect them at the end of the school day.

CAMPS, SPORTS & EXCURSIONS FUNDS (CSEF) – CONCESSION CARD HOLDERS ONLY

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.

Payment amounts for eligible families this year have increased to $400 for primary and secondary school students. This is up from $154 and $256 respectively.

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 2025 you do not need to complete an application form in 2025 unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.  Applications close on 22/06/26.

Child Safety

The Child Safe Standards are compulsory minimum standards for all Victorian schools to ensure they are well prepared to keep children and young people safe and protect them from abuse.

The Child Safe Standards include requirements to keep children, young people and students safe, including:

• involvement of families and students in child safety
• schools’ focus on safety for Aboriginal students
• better management of child abuse risks in online environments
• governance, systems and processes for keeping students safe.
• The Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority is responsible for regulating the compliance of schools with the Standards. Schools are required to comply with the Standards as part of the prescribed minimum standards for registration.

Related Downloads

Child Safety & Wellbeing Policy

Child Safety Code of Conduct

Child Safety Policy

A Message from First Aid

Dear Families

Winter has arrived!  Please make sure that your child/ren are coming to school with appropriate school jumpers and beanie.

It is also a good idea to send them with a warm winter coat.  Please ensure that all items of clothing are clearly labelled, so they do not end up unclaimed in lost property.

Students must remain at home if they are sick, it helps them to recover quickly be back at school learning.

If they attend when they are unwell, unfortunately they can make other students and staff sick too.

Students will be reminded to wash and/or sanitise their hands to prevent passing on sickness.

If you can donate a box of tissues to your child’s class that would be great, this also encourages children to wipe/blow their noses and help reduce illness in the classroom.

Children will be kept indoors during break times when it is raining to also help them warm, dry and comfortable.

During the colder months children can sometimes wet themselves, if you feel that this may happen to your child.  Please provide spare clothing in their school bag.

Thank you for helping our student keep healthy during term 2 😊

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

We hope you had a lovely day!

Anaiah 34A

Rajvir 34F

Victor 34E

Tanav 2F

Traliyah 56B

Xavier 56F

Lola 2G

Joshua 56H

Catherine 2A

Lucas 34G

Yuvi 2C

Avah 34F

Joe 56A

Maverick 1B

Uwasse 56A

Preeya 56A

Agamdeep 1A

Mia 2G

Emmanuel 34I

Charlie 2B

Kairo PB

Grace1H

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

Important Dates – Term 2

• Monday 8th June – Public Holiday (King’s Birthday)
• Wednesday 10th June – Year 5/6 Soccer (selected students only)
• Friday 12th June – Winter Sport Lightning Premiership (selected students only)
• Tuesday 16th June – Year 3/4 Aboriginal Cultural Incursion
• Wednesday 17th June – Ampol Little Origin Experience (MCG) – selected students only
• Wednesday 24th June – House Spirit Day
• Friday 26th June – Last day of term 2 (early finish at 2.30pm)

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

Keep up the great work!

Students of the Week – Ending 29th May

Students of the Week – Ending 5th June

Parents would have to fill the details online for their students to attend. The event occurs after school hours & it would be the parent responsibility to transport their children there.

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

⚽ Football Star Academy – Thornhill Park PS

Football Star Academy is continuing to grow at Thornhill Park Primary School! ⚽

We’re looking to expand sessions and invite more students to get involved.

🎉 FREE trial sessions available
🎁 FREE Ballers Capsule for new enrolments
👥 Bring a friend and train together
⚽ Sessions run every Monday after school

Join us for a FREE weekend launch session (limited spots available).

🎬 We’re also running a Looney Tunes & Warner Bros Holiday Camp during the Term 2 holidays!

👉 Register your interest here: https://forms.gle/rVTYw9fZt8H4u4Tt7