Newsletter

31st July 2024

Dates For Your Diary!

DateEvent 
1 August100 Days of Kindergarten celebration
2 AugustGreen & Gold Day
6 AugustK-6 Athletics Carnival
15 AugustBook Week Parade & Education Week Open Day
21 AugustP&C Meeting 6:30pm
*Dates subject to change. Please ensure you regularly check for updates.

What's Due?


Activity AttendeesPayment and Permission Due Date 
Athletics Carnival PermissionAll YearsThursday 1st August
Lunch Orders for Athletics CarnivalAll YearsThursday 1st August
School Fees All Years

*OVERDUE* - Friday 10th May

Sportspro Sports Program Term 2All Years *OVERDUE* - Wednesday 8th May


From the Principal

A very warm welcome back to school for Term 3. Our staff had a very productive School Development Day last week, finalising our new School Behaviour Support and Management Plan and collaborating in teams to plan for the term ahead. We continue our whole-school focus on delivering explicit teaching practices to improve student results in literacy & numeracy and in developing & sustaining positive relationships among students, staff and the wider community.

Student Wellbeing

At Telopea Public School, we are committed to ensuring a safe learning and teaching environment to encourage healthy, happy, successful and productive students. As part of this commitment, staff have worked during Semester 1 on developing our new School Behaviour Support and Management Plan in line with the NSW Department of Education’s revised policies which came into effect at the start of this year. Details of our new plan are available to view on the school website by following this link:

Supporting our students

Please follow this link to view a full copy of the plan:

Telopea Public School Behaviour Support and Management Plan

I invite all members of our school community to attend our next P&C meeting on the 21st August, where I will provide an overview of the plan and invite community feedback.


Positive Behaviour for Learning

Over the last week, we have re-launched our school expectations with the students:

Be Responsible

Be Safe

Be a Learner

Teachers will explicitly teach what this looks like in each setting at school. Students will be praised and rewarded for demonstrating our school expectations. Thank you to Mr Irvine who installed our new Positive Behaviour for Learning signage around the school during the break to help remind our students of the expectations at school.

Book Parade and Public Education Week

On Thursday 15th August we will celebrate our wonderful school with an Open Day and Book Parade. I extend a warm welcome to all members of our school community to join us on this day. Students are invited to dress as their favourite character from a book.

Attendance

This term, I encourage families to focus on arriving at school on time each day. Students who are late miss the morning messages and that crucial settling and connecting time with their class teacher. A few minutes lost each day adds up to many hours of learning lost each year.

Kindergarten Enrolments for 2025

Now is the time to enrol Kindergarten students for school in 2025. We are currently finalising the details of our transition to school program and will share these with the community very soon. Please encourage friends or neighbours with students turning 5 to visit our school website or office to enrol for school. I am always happy to meet with prospective families to discuss enrolment and tell them about the wonderful things happening at our school. 

Safety Talk

Today we welcomed Matt and Erica, our Police Youth Liaison Officers to the school to conduct a safety talk with our Stage 3 class. They gave the students some very important information about respectful relationships and strategies for keeping kids safe online. We look forward to welcoming them back very soon to visit our Stage 2 classes and to join us for some yummy treats at Breakfast Club. 

Mrs Erin Dooley

Principal (Relieving)

Library News

During 2024 the library has been updated with the purchase of new furniture, shelving and books to make our Library a place for all students to read and learn together. Thank you, Mrs Dooley, for organising such a lovely learning space. Below are some photos of our students enjoying their time in the library.

Mrs Ramsey

Gardening News

Welcome to the last month of Winter! The end of Term 2 and the start of Term 3 have been full of learning and eating. We were privileged to have Isha from Fresh for Kids at Sydney Markets come and prepare a fresh, green chopped salad with every class and teach us about the farm-to-plate process and the importance of eating vegetables. The salad scored 10 out of 10 for taste!  

Schools Tree Day was celebrated on Friday 26th July so we planted a native tree in our garden during Garden Club. This tree, Eucalyptus viridis 'Winter Light', will flower in Autumn/Winter to keep our pollinators happy during the colder months. We also tried out a propagation method called ‘air layering’ to create a cutting of our delicious white and red mulberry trees. Fingers crossed the branches develop roots over the next few months. 

Year 4 is lucky enough this term to be growing their own mushrooms! We set up our mushroom kit last week and are taking turns to spray the casing layer with water every day. Students will be learning about mushrooms and then cooking the mushrooms we grow.  

Mrs Andonenas 

What's Happening - Kindergarten

Today Kindergarten celebrated 100 days of school! The day was filled with excitement  and creativity as the children enjoyed a special crown-making activity, proudly displaying their achievements with colourful crowns. To add to the fun the little ones dressed up as 100-year-olds, embracing the theme with costumes and playful accessories.

A huge shoutout to our amazing Kindergarten students for their hard work and resilience over these 100 days. They are truly 100 days smarter and brighter. We can't wait to see all the wonderful things you'll accomplish as you continue to grow and learn. 

School Bytes Parent Portal

School Bytes is our student management system. 

School Bytes allows for a simplified finance system for both you and the school as well as provide access to online payments, statements of account, digital permission notes and attendance information.

Please follow this link or scan the QR Code on the following page to register;

https://portal.schoolbytes.education

Important Reminders

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. 

Schools as a Community Centre

Dear Telopea SaCC and Telopea Public School Communities,

Quick hello from the SaCC Project as we resume Term 3.

Breakfast Club

TPS students are welcome and encouraged to enjoy breakfast at school every Monday and Thursday morning 8:30-9:00am. To support prompt morning assembly attendance final breakfast served at 8:50am. Toast, cereal, banana smoothies, baked beans and canned spaghetti is offered FREE.

Choir

The newly established choir is meeting again this term for practice Wednesday lunchtime. We are not looking for perfect voices!!!....all that's required is enthusiasm and commitment. Choir is the perfect opportunity for students to support and represent our school. If your child is keen to join however shy, please ask them to see Mrs Moutzouris or Pip. We are here to help. The choir will be performing at the Education/Book Week Event Thursday 15th August.

SaCC initiatives

Playgroup families have resumed meeting in the SaCC rooms for Term 3. We have been practicing name recognition and name writing skills, shape and colour activities. Puzzles, block building, cutting and pasting activities. We are looking forward to joining TPS Green and Gold day to acknowledge our Olympians. If you have children birth to five years and would like to join any SaCC programs please contact me directly. The SaCC Playgroup is the perfect environment for children to familiarise themselves and become comfortable in the school setting. If you have a child starting school next year call Pip. 

'Sing Rhyme and Story Time'.....we have been exploring Julia Donaldson books recently. We love the Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and Stick Man but our most recent favourite is The Paper Dolls. 

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

13YARN

Telopea Public School

''Success through Endeavour''