Newsletter

This Term, our school will be participating in the Partners in Learning parent survey, another part of the Tell Them From Me suite of surveys (student, teacher and parent surveys) on student engagement. The survey asks parents and carers questions about different factors that are known to impact on student wellbeing and engagement.

Running this survey will help our school understand parents’ and carers’ perspectives on their child’s experience at school. These include: communication between parents/carers and staff, activities and practices at home and parent/carer views on the school's support of learning and behaviour. This valuable feedback will help our school make practical improvements. 

The survey is conducted entirely online on smartphones, iPads, tablets, laptops or computers. The survey will typically take 15 minutes or less to complete and is completely confidential. The parent survey will be conducted over Term 3 and early Term 4. Although participating in the survey is entirely voluntary, your responses are very much appreciated.

More information about the survey is available at: education.nsw.gov.au/ttfm. To access the survey for our school go to: 

http://nsw.tellthemfromme.com/2kh7j

The survey is available in 23 languages.

On Thursday 31st August we celebrated Father's Day with our special breakfast and stall. Thank you to all the dads, grandads and father figures who came along to this lovely community event. A special mention also to Miss Pip for organising the breakfast and for cooking 300 sausages to feed our hungry students and parents.

Selective high schools cater for academically gifted students with high potential who may otherwise be without sufficient classmates at their own academic standard. Selective high schools help these students to learn by grouping them with students of similar ability, and by using specialised teaching methods.

If you would like to have your child considered for Year 7 selective high school entry in 2025, you need to apply on the internet using a valid email address (not the student’s email address).

Detailed instructions on how to apply and the link to the online form are available at https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-7

Applications open on 9 October 2023 and close on 20 November 2023. You must apply before the closing date.

You must submit only ONE application for each student.

The Selective High School Placement Test will be held on 9th May 2024.

During Semester 2, students will participate in the Check-in assessment.

The Check-in assessment is a NSW Department of Education online literacy and numeracy assessment available to support schools to assess and monitor student learning.

The assessment can supplement existing school practices to identify how students are performing in literacy and numeracy and to help teachers tailor their teaching more specifically to student needs. Students with disability may receive the same level of support during the assessment they would normally receive in the classroom.

· The assessment will be scheduled for our Year 6 students during Week 10 Term 3. Years 3, 4 and 5 will complete the assessments at the beginning of Term 4

· All students complete a reading assessment and a numeracy assessment. Year 6 students will also complete a writing assessment.

We are pleased to announce we have successfully transitioned over to School Bytes. The new student management system will allow a simplified finance system for both you and the school as well as provide access to online payments, statement of account, digital permission notes and attendance information. 

Parent Portal

To access the new system parents are required to register for the School Bytes Parent Portal. Please follow this link or scan the QR Code on the following page.

https://portal.schoolbytes.education

To ensure a smooth registration process and to link your account to your child/ren, make sure that you use the same email address that you have provided to the school. If you use a different email address, an SMS verification code will be sent to the mobile phone number on record for you at the school. 

Absences from school

We have transitioned to the digital attendance notification system. You may receive an SMS if your child/ren are absent from school. Once your parent portal has been set up, you will be able to click on the link and add the reason for absence. You will no longer need to send a physical note to school.

Via the Parent Portal you will now be able to advise if your child/ren are away from school and provide the reason for absence. 

Finance System

You will now be able to make payments and view previous payments in the Parent Portal. Please ensure that payments are made against active categories as shown. If an event or item is not appearing in your portal please contact the office so we can ensure that payment is correctly matched prior to making a payment. 

Kindergarten enrolment for 2024 is now due. If you have a child or know of anyone starting school next year who wishes to attend Telopea Public School please contact staff in the school office on 9638 1296 or complete an online enrolment form via the school website.

Last Wednesday Telopea PS held its Annual Athletics Sports Carnival. It was a fantastic day full of healthy competition and good sportsmanship. Students enthusiastically competed in age races. Novelty and Field events such as javelin, discus, shotput and Captain ball were enjoyed by all.

A highlight of the day were the Junior and Senior relays. The day was topped off with the infamous Tug of War. Year Six got the better of the teachers, but the teachers came back to pull the parents and carers over the line.

It was a close competition between the houses. However, it was Hendricks at the end of the day that came out on top.

It was an amazing day. A big thank you to all involved. Well done to the students on your fantastic sportsmanship and thank you to Parents and Carers for your support on the day.

Mrs Wallace and Mrs Moutzouris

Sports Carnival Organisers

"Thanks so much to all the parents and carers for their support during our fabulous Book Week.  The children looked amazing and clearly enjoyed becoming magical book characters. And, all our keen readers who purchased books and assorted goods from the Scholastic Book Fair, spent just over $1800. This included some of our kind staff who purchased books to donate to the library. A huge thank you from the library! - Miss Limburg"

Year 1 Quokkas have been reading the book ‘The Black Book of Colours’ by Menena Cottin and Rosana Faria. It is about a little book who can’t see colours but can hear them and smell them and touch them and taste them. After reading the story Year 1 decided to write some poetry about our favourite colours. We used adjectives to describe what the colour reminds us of by using our 5 senses and thinking of things and objects in our world that smell, taste, feel and sound like that colour. We are so proud of our work!

The text itself was also interesting to look at as it included raised line drawings and Braille letters. We then had a closer took at Braille which is a reading and writing system for blind and vision impaired people, made up of raised dots that can be ‘read’ by touch. We used the Braille alphabet to write our own names and tried and read the names of our friends.

Book Club Issue 6 -  Due: Now closed

There are now 2 easy ways to pay: CREDIT CARD (LOOP) or CREDIT VOUCHER.

Cash payments will no longer be available.

PAYING BY CREDIT CARD

1.    Simply grab your child’s Book Club catalogue and either sign in or register your account on scholastic.com.au/LOOP or download the LOOP app.

2.    Click on ORDER and then select your school and your child’s class.

3.    Add your child’s first name & last initial (so the school knows who the book is for)

4.    Enter the item number from the Book Club catalogue.

5.    All orders are sent directly to the school for submission to Scholastic. Books will still be delivered to your child’s classroom if you order by the close date.

6.    Afterwards, there’s no need to return paper order forms or payment receipt details back to your school!

PAYING BY CREDIT VOUCHER

If paying with a credit voucher, please enter details on LOOP when placing your order online.

All purchases made help the school earn REWARD POINTS which allows us to purchase new resources for the library.  

The City of Parramatta have organised some free activities during the September holidays. 

We are please to announce there are two activities held here at our school - Basketball and Hockey.

To register for these events and more, please scan the QR Code below.

If your child requires medication to be administered at school, please contact the office to ensure the appropriate forms are completed prior to the commencement of the medication. 

Medication is to be handed in directly to the office by a parent/carer to ensure safety.

COLLECTING STUDENTS FROM SCHOOL

A reminder that if you have made arrangements for someone to collect your child/ren that is outside of your normal arrangements, please ensure that you have notified the office so we are aware and can let other staff members know in a timely manner.  This applies to leaving early and for the end of the day. 

SAFETY

A reminder to all students and parents that entry to the School is via the Pedestrian gate on Chestnut Ave located near Block D. This is for everyone's safety. If you require disabled access there are two entry points into the school via the ramp into the school office and via the gate on the corner of Sturt and Manson Streets. 

NOTES SENT HOME

On occasion important notes will be sent home. Please ensure you remember to check your child's bag each day.

CELEBRATIONS

Here at TPS we enjoy celebrating student’s birthdays. You are most welcome to bring in something to celebrate but we ask that individual store bought small bite size cupcakes or individually wrapped sweets are brought in to school as this makes it easier for the students to eat. A large cake makes it difficult to distribute to their classmates. 

LOST PROPERTY

There are a number of items in the Lost Property box which do not have names on them. If your child is missing an item, please check this box which is located in the D Block breezeway.

CONTACT INFORMATION OR CIRCUMSTANCE CHANGE

Please ensure that your contact details are up to date. It is important that the School be able to contact you in case of your child being ill, a child not being collected from school or in case of emergency etc. If your family circumstances change, please also provide the school with any updated documentation. 

You can notify the school of any changes or updates via written confirmation or complete the template form located in the office foyer. 

MOBILE PHONES OR DEVICES

If you require your child to carry a mobile phone/device, you will be required to complete a permission note (please see the school office if you require this note). Student mobile phones/device are to be turned off and handed to the school office during school hours in the morning. Mobile phones/devices will be returned to the students at the end of each day. 

Uniforms can be purchased from the uniform shop every Wednesday between 8.45-11.00am. We thank you in advance for your patience during these busy times.

We are pleased to advise we now have the option of Eftpos for purchases. Alternatively cash is still accepted, the correct change is much appreciated. A current price list is located in the office foyer.

HANDY HINT: Ensure that you label all items of clothing (including hats) for your child/ren, this makes it easier to return lost items. 

The past few weeks at TPS have certainly been a hive of activity. Firstly I would like to thank our community....parents and carers, students and teaching staff for sharing in the success of the Father's Day Breakfast.It is so lovely witnessing the joy of family and community at our school. 

CLUBS 

This term Monday afternoon was filled with excited buzz as we joined our groups for Clubs. I particularly enjoyed engaging with the cross section students and feel the opportunity was so valuable for the students. I am looking forward to Term 4 adventures.A display of the Clubs groups is on show in the school foyer. ENJOY. 

SaCC initiatives

Recently the Supported Playgroup enjoyed playgroup at the park.We enjoyed using the Sturt Park play equipment, creating chalk artworks and bubble blowing. While we ate morning tea we shared group time with a story and some dancing. This term the SaCC Project welcomed students from the Green Trees Early Learning Centre to join Sing Rhyme and Story Time. This was a great opportunity for younger story time participants to follow role modelling of the preschoolers. In addition a few of the Green Trees students will be joining us next year as 2024 kindergarten students. We look forward to welcoming you and your family to our school.First Aid Course...previously mentioned twelve participants completed a first aid course. This newsletter includes a picture with a few of our newly certified TPS parents. CONGRATULATIONS!

Next Term:

Yoga class....The yoga class for parents and carers will move to Wednesday mornings in term 4.Priority is given to Telopea Public School parents and carers....if you would like to join this five week FREE program please call or email me as soon as possible. Places are limited to ten and the program will be advertised further afield in the coming weeks. 

Parent Program: 123 Magic and Emotion Coaching is suited for parents and carers raising children two to twelve years. The course is FREE with childcare educators available to supervise participants children (birth to five years).The program will equip you will tools to...

✓ discipline without arguing, yelling, or smacking 

✓ support good behaviors 

✓ manage challenging and testing behaviours 

✓ your strategy, the three choices 

✓ Use emotion coaching to encourage good behaviour 

✓ use7 tactics for encouraging good behaviour

Please feel free to call or email, visit me during Breakfast Club or in the SaCC rooms if you have any questions.

Pip

Phillipa (Pip) Martins

Facilitator

Telopea 'Schools as Community Centres' (SaCC) Project

C/- Telopea Public School

Chestnut Ave

Telopea NSW 2117

Ph: (02)9898 3448

email: phillipa.martins@det.nsw.edu.au