Newsletter –Term 3, 2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term 3. The P-2 children have had a productive start to Term 3. It’s great to see the Preps have established routines and the grade 1/2 students are being great role models. The students are demonstrating mature, responsible behaviours by taking care of their own belongings and organising themselves when they enter the classroom by changing their reading books and getting ready for learning.

We hope you enjoyed reading your child’s report on Compass and hearing about their progress in learning. Please do not hesitate to see your child’s teacher if you require clarification of the report.

Term 3 is a 10 week term with many cold days. Please ensure your child comes to school with the appropriate clothing to keep warm when playing outside. Many students come to school with an extra jacket. Please make sure clothing is clearly labelled with your child’s name and room number as many items can become misplaced and end up in lost property.

Term 3 is a term filled with lots of fun activities and learning.

Staff in the P-2 classrooms

Room 2       Samantha Rovtar

Room 3       Sue Hrovat  (Team Leader) & Alicia Bartholomew (Thursdays)

Room 6       Silvana Skender 

Room 5       Val Orsillo & Milly Taylor (Thursdays & Fridays)

Rights and Responsibilities: At Thomastown West we have developed the following ‘Rights’.

• At this school everyone has the right to feel comfortable and safe.
• At this school everyone has the right to work and

All classrooms are using these rights to establish class and playground standards of behaviour.

Values – At Thomastown West we focus strongly on Responsibility, Respect, Resilience and Empathy as well as Honesty, Cooperation, Kindness and Striving to be our Best. We teach the children that:

• Values guide the way we think, speak and behave.
• Values help us to decide what is right and what is wrong.

You can help your child develop these values by discussing them at home and encouraging them to make good choices.

A FEW REMINDERS:

• Water bottles: children will be allowed to have access to a water bottle during class time. However, we ask that bottles be no larger than 600mls and that the water not be frozen. The water bottle will also be taken out during P.E. sessions.
• Uniform: A reminder that children must wear the correct uniform at all times. Please remember to label your child’s clothing. The uniform shop is open Monday before school and Thursday after school.
• Punctuality: School begins at 8.45 am. Please ensure your child is at school on time. Late children disrupt the learning of other children and also miss important instructions. Often late children become upset and take longer to settle into school.
• Absences: School attendance is compulsory; however, we do not encourage sick children to come to school. If your child is absent, please provide the classroom teacher with a note for the absence. Lessons taught in the classroom are sequential and often when a child is absent, they will have gaps in their learning. Many absences may mean huge gaps in a child’s education.
• Art Smock: please make sure your child has an art smock or shirt at school for weekly lessons in the Art room.
• Library Bag: the school library is now operational, and the children have started to borrow books during their weekly lesson - a bag.

• HATS!

  All children are expected to be in full school uniform every day, including school hats. School hats are to be worn in from Monday 31st August until the end of Term 4. Please make sure that your child has a wide brim hat/bucket or legionnaire style hat with them at school. If your child has lost their hat, they can be purchased at the office for $14.

WHOLE SCHOOL CONCERT

This term, the whole school is working together to present our Make the Earth Happy whole school concert.

✳ This performance will be an opportunity to showcase the children’s many skills and talents in The Arts. They are busy learning their songs, making costumes and props, practising dance steps and working on short skits. Everyone is bubbling with enthusiasm! It’s sure to be a SENSATIONAL Night! 
✅ 5:30pm Wednesday 2nd September 2026
✅ Students Need To Be At School By 5:00pm
✅ TICKETS $25 EACH : More information will be sent home later this week!
✅ Children under school age may sit on parents’ laps.

-Tickets need to be purchased by Tuesday 26th of August to attend the event as seating and space will be limited. The ticket will be a wrist band and sent home the day before the concert, Tuesday 1st of September.
- Families will be offered a maximum of 2 tickets initially.
- Families may place their name on a waiting list, and additional tickets (if available) will be offered.

CURRICULUM PROGRAM FOR TERM 3

Following is an outline of the work the children in grades P-2 will be involved in this term.

Inquiry Unit:

•  Students will learn about the changes in seasons and weather. They will discuss the need for different clothing, the activities, both indoors and outdoors available during Winter and the changes in nature.
• This Term our Inquiry unit will have a science and technology focus. Students will investigate observable changes that occur in the sky and on the land. They will describe the sun’s path in the sky and the appearance of the moon and the stars at night.
• Students will observe and record seasonal and daily weather changes and identify how they influence their daily lives.
• A strong focus this term will be on our Whole School Concert later in the term. Keep up to date with information to follow!

Mathematics:

• In Number we will focus on multiplication and division. There will be a strong focus on developing the children’s ability to use mental strategies and the relationship between multiplication and division will also be explored. Counting and place value activities will continue to occur on a daily basis.
• In Space we will be learning to follow directions and move objects to different locations within a space. We will also look at the features and attributes of 2D and 3D shapes.
• In Statistics we will collect, sort and compare data represented by objects and show various ways to represent data such as lists, tally marks, and symbols.

Literacy:

Literacy: Preps

• The children will continue working on phonemic awareness- hearing sounds in words. (Please note, that the focus is on the sounds of letters and not the letter name.)
• Students will segment the sounds (c/ a/ t) and make connections with sounds and symbols-written letters and writing 3 and 4 sound words.
• Students will work at their own level and practice level sound combinations.
• Ongoing teaching of Sight words will continue in conjunction with the program to develop high frequency words and sight vocabulary.
• Students will begin writing simple sentences using the sounds and words taught and use decoding taught to assist with unfamiliar words.
• In addition, children will learn what makes a letter, word and sentence. Looking into, ’what is’ a capital letter and full stop and using 1:1 pointing when reading.
• Daily handwriting practice will give students the opportunity to form letters correctly focusing on shape, direction and placement on dotted thirds lines.

Grades: 1/2

• Reading - Reading groups will focus on developing comprehension strategies as well as developing fluency and expression. Children will work through the Sound Waves program - children are expected to read to an adult every night and change their home reading book every day.
• In Grammar we will revise and further extend the children’s understandings of nouns, adjectives and verbs. We will develop sentence structures by using conjunctions, punctuation and the use of pronouns.
• In Spelling we will focus on ensuring that the children can read and write all of the Soundwaves words as well as working on phonemic awareness activities.
• In Writing we are developing sentence structures and looking at ways to enhance sentences to make them more interesting. We are also focusing on developing the structures for narrative and persuasive. Handwriting is important so we will be practising copying from the board with the focus being on correct letter formations, proper pencil grip and posture, and making sure children are writing on the lines correctly.

Homework:

This term children will receive weekly homework. Every Monday children will be given their homework for the week. They will be required to complete a section every night. Homework will be required to be completed and returned to school be the Friday for correction. Children will be practising the work taught in classes.

Home Readers:

Children will borrow and complete home reading every night. Home readers are to be signed nightly.

Class Dojo

At TWPS the P-2 Team use an App which can be downloaded onto your device as a means of communication. Each child will be given a Dojo emoji to represent them. These are used as reward systems and to communicate electronically with parents. Parents will have received an invite. If you haven’t accepted the invite, please do so    to join our class dojo so you can be kept up to date with class messages.

Term 3 Important Dates

At Thomastown West Primary School, we believe that education is a partnership between teachers, families and the wider community. We work together to ensure all students experience success. When sharing the responsibility of improving children’s learning, effective communication is vital for teachers, parents, and carers at TWPS to work in a positive and productive partnership. Our school utilises a range of multimodal communications with all key stakeholders within and beyond our school community. Our weekly newsletter is emailed to you via Compass every week and it can always be accessed on our school website:

https://www.thomwestps.vic.edu.au/enews/ 

We hope you all have an enjoyable term and thank you for your continued support.

Kind regards,

Silvana Skender, Sue Hrovat, Aicia Bartholomew, Val Orsillo, Milly Taylor and Sam Rovtar.

Newsletter –Term 2, 2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to term 2. The children have all settled well and seem rested and ready for learning. Term 2 is a 10 week term. The teachers have planned many great learning activities.  Each term we are going to keep you informed about the teaching and learning that is happening at our school. This term families will be receiving their children learning progress via a written report. Please see your child’s teacher or the Team Leaders if you have any concerns.

Staff in the 1/2 classrooms

Room 2       Samantha Rovtar

Room 3       Sue Hrovat  (Team Leader) & Alicia Bartholomew (Thursdays)

Room 6       Silvana Skender 

Room 5       Val Orsillo & Milly Taylor (Thursdays & Fridays)

Rights and Responsibilities

At Thomastown West we have developed the following ‘Rights’.

• At this school everyone has the right to feel comfortable and safe.
• At this school everyone has the right to work and

All classrooms are using these rights to establish class and playground standards of behavior.

Values

At Thomastown West we focus strongly on Responsibility, Respect, Resilience, Empathy and Striving to be our Best, as well as Honesty, Cooperation, and Kindness.

We teach the children that:

• Values guide the way we think, speak and behave.
• Values help us to decide what is right and what is wrong.

You can help your child develop these values by discussing them at home and encouraging them to make good choices.

A FEW REMINDERS:

• WHOLE SCHOOL PHOTOS: Tuesday 26th May
• Water bottles: children will be allowed to have access to a water bottle during class time. However, we ask that bottles be no larger than 600mls and that the water not be frozen. The water bottle will also be taken out during P.E. sessions.
• Art Smock: please make sure your child has an art smock or shirt at school for weekly lessons in the Art room.
• Library Bag: the school library is now operational, and the children have started to borrow books during their weekly lesson - a bag.

Punctuality is our whole school goal this term: School begins at 8.45 am. Please ensure your child is at school on time. Late children disrupt the learning of other children and also miss important instructions. Often late children become upset and take longer to settle into school.

Absences: School attendance is compulsory; however, we do not encourage sick children to come to school. If your child is absent, please provide the classroom teacher with a note for the absence. Lessons taught in the classroom are sequential and often when a child is absent, they will have gaps in their learning. Many absences may mean huge gaps in a child’s education.

Uniform: Children must wear the correct uniform at all times. Please remember to label your child’s clothing. The uniform shop is open every alternate Tuesday from 1-4pm.

CURRICULUM PROGRAM FOR TERM 2

Following is an outline of the work the children in grades P-2 will be involved in this term.

Inquiry Unit:  

• Students will learn about the changes in seasons and weather. They will discuss the need for different clothing, the activities, both indoors and outdoors available during Autumn and the changes in nature.
• This term the students will develop an understanding of the term ‘Change over time’. They will learn and investigate what life was like in their parents and great grandparent’s days. They will identify changes these people have seen in their lives and in the local community.
• Students will complete a mini project about their personal timeline starting from birth to their current age. Students will be required to collect photos/information from home of different milestones in their short life.
• Living/ Non-Living Things, through the ‘Australian Animals’ theme. Students will also investigate characteristics,features and habitat of animals. An excursion to Ballarat Wildlife Park will be organised later in the term, to complement the topic studied.  More details to follow.

Mathematics:

• In Number we will focus on addition and subtraction. There will be a strong focus on developing the children’s ability to use mental strategies and the relationship between addition and subtraction will also be explored. Money activities will be introduced with a focus on counting collections of coins and on learning how to give change. Counting and place value activities will continue to occur on a daily basis.
• In Measurement we will be learning how to tell the time to the minute on both analogue and digital clocks.

Literacy

Literacy: Preps

• The children will continue working on phonemic awareness- hearing sounds in words. (Please note that the focus is on the sounds of letters and not the letter name.)
• Students will segment the sounds (c/ a/ t) and make connections with sounds and symbols-written letters and writing 3 and 4 sound words.
• Ongoing teaching of Sight words will continue in conjunction with the program to develop high frequency words and sight vocabulary.
• Students will begin writing simple sentences using the words taught and use decoding taught to assist with unfamiliar words.
• In addition, children will learn what makes a letter, word and sentence. Looking into, ’what is’ a capital letter and full stop and using 1:1 pointing when reading.
• Handwriting is important so we will be practicing copying from the board with the focus being on       correct letter formations, proper pencil grip and posture, and making sure children are writing on the lines correctly.

Grades 1/2:

• In Reading we will continue to build on the children’s phonemic awareness skills and introduce phonics (sounds and spelling patterns) in a step-by-step manner. We will provide children with many opportunities for repeated practice. We will be working on developing comprehension strategies as well as helping the children develop fluency and expression.
• In Grammar we will revise and further extend the children’s understandings of nouns, adjectives and verbs. We will develop sentence structures by using conjunctions, punctuation and the use of pronouns.
• In Word Study we will continue to work through commonly used words (Oxford) these words will often have very tricky spelling patterns.
• In Writing we want the children to learn to work through the writing process – planning, composing, recording and revising their work. These processes will be further developed this term – children will be taught how to write good beginnings and endings and practice describing characters, settings and events in greater detail.
• Handwriting is still a major focus. We will continue to use the letter formation phrases to help with correct letter formation and introduce capital letters. Children will also learn the correct placement of letters on lines.

Homework:

This term children will receive weekly homework. Every Monday children will be given their homework for the week. They will be required to complete a section every night. Homework will be required to be completed and returned to school by Friday for correction.

Home Readers:

Children will borrow and complete home reading every night. Home readers are to be signed nightly.

Class Dojo

At TWPS the P-2 Team use an App which can be downloaded onto your device as a means of communication. Each child will be given a Dojo emoji to represent them. These are used as reward systems and to communicate electronically with parents. Parents will have received an invite. If you haven’t accepted the invite, please do so to join our class dojo so you can be kept up to date with class messages.

At Thomastown West Primary School, we believe that education is a partnership between teachers, families and the wider community. We work together to ensure all students experience success. When sharing the responsibility of improving children’s learning, effective communication is vital for teachers, parents, and carers at TWPS to work in a positive and productive partnership. Our school utilises a range of multimodal communications with all key stakeholders within and beyond our school community.

Our fortnightly newsletter is shared with you via Compass, Class Dojo and Facebook every week and it can always be accessed on our school website:

https://www.thomwestps.vic.edu.au/enews/ 

We hope you all have an enjoyable term and thank you for your continued support.

Silvana Skender, Sue Hrovat, Alicia Bartholomew, Val Orsillo, Milly Taylor and Sam Rovtar

Important Dates