Welcome back for Term 3.  We are over half way through the year and we are already starting to think about 2024 and what that might look like at Thornhill Park Primary School.

Relocatables

You may notice that we have some works occurring at the rear of the property.  This will most likely be a common site over the next few years as our numbers continue to grow.  We are getting 4 new relocatable buildings delivered and installed to house 6 more classes and to facilitate a further space for The Arts.  During the installation of these relocatables, the staff car park and gate at the rear of the school will be out of bounds.  We would ask that all students and parents enter through the front gates during this period.

Traffic Issues

I was visited by Cr Steve Abboushi and members of the Melton Council Traffic Management Team to discuss solutions to maintain safety for our students as they arrive and depart from school each day.  We thank all those who ride bikes or scooters to school each day as they are minimising the impact of traffic congestion each day.  I would remind these students that helmets are required to be worn, by law if these vehicles are to be ridden.

A reminder to parents to observe signage and park in areas that are safe to do so.  The area at the front of the school is a drop off and pick up zone, so if you leave your car unattended or if you park in the space for longer than a couple of minutes you may be fined.  Law Enforcement Officers will be patrolling the area to ensure we are keeping students safe.  Please do not ask me to assist you if you are fined, as I have no authority to help you if you are not following the road rules.

Please use the controlled crossings when crossing the roads each day.  I have spoken to the Council and the situation with the traffic lights should be fixed soon.  There were technicians out on Wednesday assessing the situation.

Please refrain from doing U-Turns at the front of the school as it can cause dangerous situations for our children, try to maintain a slow speed out the front of the school and be courteous to drivers who are waiting to pick up their children.  Most days the area out the front of the school is cleared before 3.10pm, so a bit of patience will go a long way.  We thank you for your continued support with this.

Culture of Kindness

At Thornhill Park Primary School we continue to promote and inspire a collaborative culture of kindness.  We still have a long way to go in this as we sometimes have students presenting with less than desirable responses to interactions with others, in the form of hurtful words, racist remarks and poor choices.  We deal with these issues successfully on a regular basis and feel confident that we are instilling the values that you would want to see in your own children, as we move through these processes.  We are working hard, through our Values Education Programs and commitment to Respectful Relationships to provide our students with the necessary tools to cope in challenging situations.  We provide Social Skills sessions for a number of our Prep students to provide them with the necessary tools to be successful when a challenging situation presents.  The term ‘bullying’ gets used a lot by parents and students when we discuss isolated incidents within the school.  In the first half of this year, I can confidently say that our school has experienced minimal ‘bullying’ and most incidents have been isolated and dealt with swiftly.  We acknowledge that bullying can and does occur at schools, but it is not rife at this school and we would like to work with the community to understand when things require an elevated response due to potential bullying behaviour. Majority of what we deal with is not bullying.  Therefore we encourage all of our community to continue to be a part of making this school a wonderful space for our whole community.  I am buoyed by the number of students who used manners within our school and say ‘Hello’ every time they see an adult.  Our classroom environment is calm and we provide ongoing support to those who need it.  Please continue to assist us to promote a Culture of Kindness at Thornhill Park Primary School, by encouraging your children to have positive interactions with others and to seek the assistance of teachers if they need to work through a situation with another student and can’t do it themselves.

Enrolments for 2024

We currently have over 70 Preps enrolled for 2024.  We are expecting a lot more students, but there seems to be quite a few who are yet to enrol.  If you have a child who is coming to our school next year, we would ask that you enrol before the deadline on July 28th.  If you know of any neighbours who are transferring from other schools to us, we would ask that you encourage them to enrol as soon as possible also, so that we may start to hire teachers and support staff for 2024.

NAPLAN Data 2023

We have just received our NAPLAN data in our first year as a school.  We are pleased to say that our students are performing quite well compared to like schools in areas such as reading, writing and maths.  We were very interested in this data as we, as a school have been yet to influence student outcomes to a great extent at this school.  We will analyse this data and investigate areas of improvement that we can then use to plan into the future and to help our students be as successful as possible.

Reports

Reports were handed out through Compass at the end of Term 2.  Please run through this and organise for a meeting with your child’s teacher to discuss progress at your earliest convenience.

Have a great weekend

Darryl Spiteri

Principal

Stay well this winter

In Victoria, influenza (flu) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection numbers are high among children aged 5 to 11 years, particularly in those in their first few years of school. The Victorian Department of Health expects more respiratory infections over Term 3.

Most children with flu or RSV have a mild fever, runny nose or cough. Some children, particularly babies and children with underlying medical conditions, may have more severe illness.

Keeping our school community well

• Parents, carers and students are encouraged to:
• wash and sanitise their hands regularly
• avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
• cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
• stay at home if unwell and consult a general practitioner (GP) or NURSE-ON-CALL as needed
• stay up to date with flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Our school has masks for staff, students and visitors if they want to wear them.

Flu vaccinations

Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and your family from getting the flu.

Annual flu vaccination is recommended for everyone aged 6 months and older. As part of the National Immunisation Program, it is free for:

·         Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and older

·         children aged 6 months to under 5 years

·         people aged 6 months or older with underlying medical conditions.

Flu vaccinations can be booked through GPs, pharmacies or your local council immunisation service.

Find out more

For more information about staying safe this winter, refer to:

• Stay well this winter on the Better Health Channel, translated into 16 languages
• Influenza and immunisation on the Better Health Channel
• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) on the Better Health Channel
• Getting vaccinated against influenza.

Introducing the School Leaders

Yellow House Captains for 2023

Our Learning…. in STEM

Prep

Students are being introduced to the world of coding. So far they have been practising being programmers and robots, through a series of unplugged activities in preparation for using the laptops in the coming weeks.

Year 1/2

Students have begun making simple machines based on Rube Goldberg’s theory. This week they enjoyed investigating how they could move a toy car without directly touching it!

Year 3/4

Students are beginning to write sequential code to give basic commands to Root the robot. This will develop their understanding of algorithm concepts such as loops and events.

Year 5/6

Students have been engaged learning how to create an electrical circuit to light a light globe only using a battery, globe and 2 wires.

Anxiety – primary school aged children

Feeling worried or anxious sometimes is normal. But some children have excessive or repeated fears, worries and anxious feelings that can last for weeks or more. These strong feelings can interfere with typical daily activities, such as going to school or seeing friends, which children may try to avoid. When children’s anxiety is severe or long-lasting it may be an anxiety disorder.

For parents, it can be hard to spot the signs of anxiety as it can show up in a variety of ways. It can be difficult to know what a ‘normal’ amount of worry is, and when to seek further help. Avoiding a situation that makes your child anxious may seem best, but it can quickly become a pattern that is hard to break.

Common signs and symptoms

• Regularly avoiding everyday experiences and situations, such as school, social events, playing, sport, eating or sleeping
• Frequent physical complaints, such as tummy aches and headaches
• Sudden emotional or angry outbursts, tantrums or ‘meltdowns’
• Difficulty sleeping
• Changes in appetite
• Seeking reassurance often
• Being preoccupied or unable to concentrate
• Overplanning situations and overthinking things

Many children will show these signs from time to time, and they may not be related to anxiety. When these signs appear frequently, in an ongoing pattern and cause your child to struggle with everyday life, they may be indicators of an anxiety condition or disorder. Common types of anxiety disorders in children include social anxiety, separation anxiety and generalised anxiety.

Signs of anxiety (primary school aged children)

How to help your child at home

If your child is showing ongoing signs of anxiety, you can support them at home in the following ways:

• Encourage your child to talk about their feelings and let you know when they get overwhelmed. It might help to explain these feelings are common – we all feel worried or scared sometimes.
• If there is a particular situation your child finds challenging, support them to gradually do the thing that makes them anxious. For example, if going to a crowded shopping centre makes them anxious, start with short trips to the local shops, building up to visiting a shopping centre in a quiet period.
• Make a practical plan together for coping with anxious feelings in the future, such as breathing techniques or reassuring phrases to focus on.
• Take time out to have fun together and take the focus off feelings of anxiety.
• Help your child to have healthy routines that include enough good-quality sleep, regular outdoor exercise, eating well and avoiding excessive screen time.
• Prioritise your child attending school. Attending and participating in school will help your child develop important skills and knowledge to help them learn, as well as building their social and emotional skills.

If you are a parent or carer with anxiety, it is important to also care for your own mental health and seek help when you need it.

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

Keep up the great work!

Students of the Week – Ending 23/06

Students of the Week – Ending 14/07

Students of the Week – Ending 21/07

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

We hope you had a lovely day!

Rehmat 12E
Frankie 12E
Mannat 34C
Charlotte PD
Ava 12B
Zach 34C
Beniam 56B
Adrian 34A
Keziah PC

School Term 3

Monday 10 July 2023 – Friday 15 September 2023

Monday 24th July – Road Safety Incursion – Year 1 & 2

Friday 4th August – Incursion – Year 1 & 2 – ‘The Place Where I Live’

14th August – 18th August – Science Week

Friday 25th August – Years 3 & 4 -Earth Crusaders Incursion

21st August till 25th August – Book Week – Theme – ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’

28th August – Literacy and Numeracy Week

School Term 4

Monday 2 October 2023 – Wednesday 20 December 2023