Newsletter

On Wednesday, 5th March, five students proudly represented Telopea Public School at the Merrylands/Parramatta Zone Swimming Carnival:

Sophie G - Year 4

Gian C - Year 4

Yechin K - Year 5

Sian P - Year 5

Yena K - Year 6

Competing in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events, they put in their best effort and gained a fantastic experience along the way.

Our students demonstrated incredible sportsmanship throughout the event, supporting each other and embracing the spirit of competition. A big thank you to the parents who attended and cheered them on, your support made the day even more special!

A huge shout out to the students of Telopea who have pledged to keep our school clean and tidy! Each student worked hard on Clean Up Australia Day to put all the rubbish in the bin, and have committed to keep our school environment looking beautiful. Well done team Telopea and thank you to Ms Michie for supporting this important initiative.

Gardening News March 2025  

Term 1 gardening lessons are in full swing! We have been up to a lot of fun and exciting things both in the garden and in the hall. 

Here is a list of all the fun we are having and all the learning we are doing: 

• Learning about the life cycle of a ladybug and observing the yellow powdery mildew-eating ladybugs we have at school on our zucchini and pumpkin plants. 

• Exploring different bush tucker plants and trying Finger Lime for the first time 

• Kindy and year 1 have planted grass heads so we have been watering, watching them grow and measuring how long the grass is getting – next week we will give them a haircut! 

• Years 3-6 have planted a new native garden to attract pollinators and birds and provide more habitat for our native fauna. We planted Woolly Bush, a variety of Grevilleas, some Tea-trees, a Hardenbergia and some native ground covers. 

• We have been watching our pumpkins grow and learnt about hand pollination to help set more fruit. 

• Started our winter vegetables in seed trays, including snow peas, broccoli, pansies and pak choi. Thank you again to the P&C for supplying us with seeds and seedling trays – we are putting them to great use. 

I am very proud to see students taking the time to observe the living things around us at recess and lunchtime too. Students are asking me what things are called and if I don’t know, we investigate and research together. Everyone is learning all the time! 

As you can see, we are busy bees here at Telopea! 

Mrs Andonenas 

Welcome back to the Library in 2025! This year we have a new library timetable:

Please remember to remind your child to return their library books on the correct day and include a library bag.

Students are only allowed to borrow if they bring a bag to help protect our books. If you don’t have  a library bag available a shopping bag will do the job 😊

I’m looking forward to a year of great reading and exciting activities in the library.

Mrs Ramsey

Teacher Librarian

Book Club Issue 2 - Due: 28 March 2025

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 Stage 2 extension literacy group have been reading the novel Matilda by Roald Dahl. On her first day of school the character, Matilda created a limerick. We decided to have a go at creating some too. Here are or limericks:

Gian was playing a game

When his little sister suddenly came

She knocked on the door

She kept knocking some more

So Gian’s temper began to enflame

                                                               Gian (Yr 4)

With always a smile on her face

Young Ruqaya was full of grace.

She was a wonderful friend

On whom you could always depend

To keep secrets in a safe hiding place.

                                                               Ruqaya (Yr 4)

There once was a boy named Patrick

Who played cricket and made a hat trick

The ball came down so fast

The batter could not last

Against the bowling of the boy named Patrick

                                                            Patrick (Yr 4)

Young Sophie was in Year 4

She was learning but wanted some more

To learn music and drama

And how to care for a llama

She just wanted to learn a bit more!

                                                        Sophie (Yr 4)

Please be advised that some items are currently out of stock.

We are awaiting stock of Sports Shirts (Sizes 6/8/10), Polo Shirts (Size 10) and Jackets (Various sizes). *Current at as of 12/2/2025

Once these items are back in stock we will notify you via Audiri. 

Alternatively if you would like to place an order, we can put these items aside for you once they arrive. 

We are currently running low on some items in our uniform clothing pool, particularly of smaller sizes. 

If you would like to donate any uniform items to our clothing pool which your child is no longer using, you can drop off these donations to the school office. 

We welcome these uniform donations. 

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. 

On Tuesday 25th February Telopea SaCC hosted the annual Statewide SaCC Network Day.

This event brings together SaCC Facilitators from across N.S.W. for professional learning opportunities and to network with colleagues.

Forty facilitators attended with an additional eight participants from State Office, an Assistant Principal and two guest speakers from outside the Department of Education. Our keynote speaker Paul Macdonald, owner of the Children's Bookshop, delivered an inspiring presentation:

* Building a Positive Reading Culture (in homes and Early Education). 

* The importance of reading, strategies to promote reading and recommended reads. 

I am happy to share this presentation, please contact me with your expression of interest. 

In addition, the day consisted of updates from the State Office Coordinators, the Early Learners Team with valuable afternoon sessions networking with SaCC Facilitators from across the state. I would like to extend a warm thank you to Sailah and Autumn for delivering the Acknowledgment to Country with confidence.

In addition, a thank you to Telopea Public School Administrative staff, teaching staff and students for their support in making adjustments to their day to accommodate such a large group. In particular I would like to thank Mrs Dooley for enthusiastically supporting this event and her unwavering encouragement for the SaCC Project.

If you have children up to five years and are interested to join SaCC initiatives, please contact me.

The SaCC Project has strong links with TPS and provides the perfect opportunity for you and your preschooler to settle into the school setting.

Phillipa (Pip) Martins

Facilitator - Telopea 'Schools as Community Centres' (SaCC) Project

Ph: (02)9898 3448

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

Jubilee Community Services provide Before School, After School and Vacation Care Services. 

For more information you can contact them on 0421 225 694 or yaoosh@jubileecs.org.au 

Below is the link should you wish to enrol your child/ren.

http://ccs-yatesavenueoosh.kinderm8.com.au/enrolment-form