We have 2 weeks left until the end of Term 3.  These holidays are always welcome as it ushers in Spring and we get to experience the AFL and NRL Grand Finals during this period.  School ends for Term 3 on Friday 15th September at 2.15pm.  As always there will be an assembly at 2.05pm.

Hats

In Term 4 we expect all students to be wearing a hat.  Those students who are not wearing a hat will not be permitted to play and will be asked to sit on the benches during play time.  Wearing hats is necessary to protect students from the sun during the warmer months.  Hats are available from our uniform supplier at Dobsons and all students are expected to wear this uniform item.  Please ensure your child has their name on their hat as many of them are misplaced during play.  Baseball caps and other hats will not be accepted.

Bikes and scooters

Many students are riding their bikes and scooters to school, which is fabulous to see.  Unfortunately, many children are still not wearing helmets to school and run the risk of being seriously injured if hit by a car or if they fall off their bikes.  I would also ask that parents reassess the need for electric scooters as a means to get to school as they are a high theft item and reach speeds that are dangerous for young children in particular.

Lateness

Please ensure your children are at school and on time each day as it will increase your child’s chances of having our School Mascot – Ripwell in their classroom.  We have had a pleasing increase in the number of students who have been attending school each day and those who were previously late are now on time, however we can still do better in this area.

Book Week

I want to congratulate the entire community for your participation in our Book Week celebrations last week.  We raised over $800 in books during our Book Fair and the children thoroughly enjoyed watching the performance on Monday.  I thank all the staff and students for dressing up and getting into the spirit of the event as it created a real community atmosphere.

Canteen

We launched our canteen last week and it has been a huge success.  I would ask that you organise hot lunches through the QuickCliq App to ensure your children receive their lunch and they don’t have to line up for hot food.  Several students are lining up for long periods only to then create a lunch order.  This can be avoided.  I would also ask that you discuss the options at the canteen with your children.  Many students are walking up to the counter and are unsure of what they want or what they can buy, which slows down the line considerably causing some people to miss out.

New Staff

We would like to welcome Melissa Thomas to our team for Term 4.  Melissa joins us from Donnybrook Primary School as an Education Support staff member.  We know that you will make her feel welcome.

Parent Meetings

Please contact your child’s teacher through Class Dojo if you are yet to meet and discuss your child’s progress this year.  These meetings can be held face-to-face, over Webex or over the phone.  It is an opportunity to gain an update on your child’s academic gains and future goals and enables you to align with the posts you are being sent through Class Dojo.

Have a great weekend.

Darryl Spiteri

Principal

Lost Property

A reminder that students are responsible for their own belongings. Please put name labels on all clothing items, jackets, lunchboxes and drink bottles to prevent loss and reduce waste.  

Compass

Have you lost your user name or password on Compass? Please contact the office so we can assist you on 03 8764 3990.

Updating Student Information

It is important that the school maintain an accurate and up to date record of family/carers email, home addresses and telephone numbers for all children. Please notify the school immediately with changes to your contact details by sending an email thornhill.park.ps@education.vic.gov.au, or phone 8764 3990

Students Arriving Late

At the beginning of the day students are informed of the day’s program, events and important instructions are often given. Students arriving late to school (after 8.50am) also disrupt the class they are in, as they get organised and settled for the day. Your co-operation on this matter would be greatly appreciated. 8.50am is the cut off time for late arrivals. After 8.50am students will be recorded as being late for school.  A student arriving late to school must sign in at the office and their late arrival will be recorded on the daily attendance roll. Parents/Guardians must provide a reason for their child arriving late to school.

Absence Hotline

Please call 03 8764 3990 follow the prompts to record your child’s absence.  Please say their name clearly and class.  Alternatively, you can submit an absence through Compass. 

Students Leaving Early

If you need to collect a student from school early, can you please call the office to give us time to have the student at the office for when you arrive.

Big Childcare

The Out of Hours School Care Program is organised and run by Big Childcare. Appointed supervisors/assistants conduct this at school from 6:30am-9:00am and 3:25pm-6:30pm each school day. Enrolment must be completed if you wish for your child to access this facility on a regular or casual basis and charges apply.

For more information visit www.bigchildcare.com or email thornhillpark@bigchildcare.com

Our Learning in Grade 5 & 6

Over the last few weeks, the grade 5 and 6 students have been learning to identify equivalent , proper, improper and mixed fractions. They have also learned how to add and subtract fractions with the same and different denominators, as well as solve problems with fractions.

In writing, the students have chosen a topic of interest and have written information texts. Topics included countries, famous people, cultures, animals, and inventions.  When researching their topic, they have used their own words or paraphrased their information. After writing their drafts, students have spent a lot of effort on editing their writing. They watched their teachers model how to add, change, and substitute words and sentences, as well as add punctuation.  Check out some of these amazing pieces of work.

In reading lessons, students have focused on paraphrasing which is when you place any text into your own words.  We also celebrated Book Week by having a performance performed by the Books to Life company of the book “Jorn’s Magnificent Imagination”. Students found out that Jorn Utzon designed the Sydney opera House.  Check out the pictures to see some students taking part in the action.  The students and teachers thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

In Inquiry, we have continued to find out about natural disasters including floods, earthquakes and cyclones.  Now we are busily researching and paraphrasing a natural disaster for our projects.  We look forward to sharing these at the end of the term.

Introducing the School Leaders

Year 3 & 4 Class Captains

Hi my name is Affan and I’m one of the SRC students who represent the school. Being a class captain means I show people younger than me what to do.

Hello, my name is Aun, I am one of the 3/4 Class Captains. Being on the SRC feels good and you have a big responsibility to represent the students.

Hi! My name is Menaal. I am one of the class captains. I like being a class captain because I get to run fun things and I get to go to meetings.

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.

Week Ending: 25^th August

Congratulations to 34C, who had the best classroom attendance for the week ending 25^th August.

Week Ending: 1st September

Congratulations to 34C, who had the best classroom attendance for the week ending 1^st September.

Adding Absence Notes on Compass

Figure 1 Parents can add absence notes by clicking ‘Shortcuts’ and selecting ‘Submit absence note’.

Figure 2 If you have more than one student at the school, you will be required to select which child the note is being added for.

Figure 3 In the note screen, you will need to select the reason from the available options listed.

Figure 4 Add any applicable details/comments and click on the ‘Start Date’ and/or ‘End Date’ fields to add in the correct information for the absence note.

When all content is added to the absence note, click ‘Add Attendance Note’ button and the absence note will be added to the student’s record.

Our Wellbeing Space

At Thornhill Park Primary School, we have programs and support to ensure all children can thrive.  Our wellbeing team support our students at their point of need. We ensure we use a broad range of strategies and supports to enable our students to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Our dedicated wellbeing space promotes the healthy development of children’s emotional self-regulation, particularly for students whose needs may not easily be met in the classroom environment. Our approach is to ensure all students, whatever challenges they are facing, are fully integrated into the classroom, maintaining a climate of inclusion for all students.

The Wellbeing space is a great space to build and maintain self-regulation strategies, support the sensory needs of our students and to promote the social and emotional development and wellbeing of our students.  The space is a place to recharge and reset when experiencing difficult emotions or challenging circumstances.  With permission from their teacher, the students can come to the space, normally for 10 minutes, where they are supervised and supported to self-regulate.  They may want quiet time, they may want to chat to a trusted adult, or they may utilise one of the many resources, by themselves, or with a friend,  At the end of their 10 minutes, they return to class ready to learn.

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

Keep up the great work!

Students of the Week – Ending 25/08

Students of the Week – Ending 01/09

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

We hope you had a lovely day!

Muhammad 12D

Abhijot 56C

Samay PB

Siera 12B

Samarth 12C

Momcilo 12C

Grace 34C

Zac 12C

Rosalee 12C

Rob 56A

Rafael PD

Yovin 12E

Simon 56B

Nikita 56C

Marcus PD

Raphael 34A

Aferata 56A

Ella 56B

Sophia 56C

Sherbir 34A

Te Rina 34C

Gurdarshan 34A

Yuvraj 12D

Eric 34B

Shadrach 56A

Yuvi 56B

Jayan PC

Seerat 34B

Esmeralda PB

Ethan 56C

Rydah PB

Darren 34B

Skyla 34B

Jap 12B

Steven 12B

Ekamjit 34C

School Term 3

Wednesday 6th September – Year 5/6 SES Incursion

Friday 15th September – Last Day of Term – Casual Clothes Day (Gold Coin Donation) / Early finish for students at 2:15pm

Friday 15th September – Last Day Term 3 – Assembly at 2.05pm

School Term 4

Monday 2nd October 2023 – Wednesday 20 December 2023

Thursday 12th October – Prep 2024 Transition – 9:00am -10:45am

Wednesday 18th October – Regional Athletics

Thursday 19th October – Year 5/6 Rugby Union (Macpherson Park)

Friday 20th October – Prep 2024 Transition – 9:00am -10:45am

Wednesday 25th October – Year 5/6 Rugby Union (Macpherson Park)

Thursday 26th October – Prep 2024 Transition – 9:00am -10:45am

Monday 6th November – Curriculum Day (Student free day)

Wednesday 6th December – Year 6 Excursion to Fun Fields

Tuesday 12th December – Prep 2024 Transition – 9:00am -10:45am

Thursday 14th December – Year 6 Graduation

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