Next Week @ TC

06/02/2026

• Principal’s message

• Change Week - how to change subject/s

• School tours are now open for current Year 5 & 6 students

• Important update on Panorama Bus use - bus capacity

• Driving through the school grounds - important information about traffic flow & safety

• Work experience & structured workplace learning – 2026

• Instrumental Music - limited places available

• Entry Bike Education program

• Relationships and Sexuality Education @TC in 2026

This week has been as busy as ever with Community assemblies starting, the Grad Camp, and auditions for this year’s musical. I visited the Grad Camp on Tuesday and was so impressed by the willingness of the students to engage in the activities and work cooperatively with the camp and school staff. As the cohort who missed out on the Entry Camp due to COVID, it was such a pleasure seeing the students enjoy this experience.

📅 Next week excursions begin. Information about the excursions and the ability to give consent is always communicated through Compass. At times it does seem that there is a lot of information, but I would like to stress the importance of regularly checking your Compass page for information about what is going on at TC.

☕️ Coffee with the Principal

The Coffee with the Principal sessions kick off next week and I am looking forward to meeting the first group of parents. Please make sure that you book a place if interested using the relevant link below:

☕Book for face-to-face sessions here.

🌐Book for online sessions here.

📵Mobile Phones

The students have taken well to the changes to the mobile phone policy at TC. We are still in the soft-launch phase where students will be reminded to store phones securely.

The new mobile phone policy will be circulated next week with full implementation commencing on Monday 16th February. The school will continue to communicate this policy to the students and families over the next few weeks to support the full implementation on Monday 16 of February.

Daryl Bennett 
Principal 

Next week is ‘Change Week’ where you can request changes to your current subjects. 

If you wish to change your subject/s, the responsibility is on you to ensure that you are across Teams messages and respond promptly to any communication as spots in classes fill up quickly. If you are too slow in replying the spot will be offered to the next student on the wait list. 

Subject change requests will NOT be accepted on the following grounds:

• Requests to be in classes with my friends

• Requests to change teachers

This form will close on Thursday 12 February at 5pm. No further changes will be accepted after this time. 

PLEASE NOTE: All requests are not finalised until you receive a chronicle confirming the change. You need to continue to follow your Compass timetable until the change has been finalised. 

If you need help filling out this form, please speak to your community team or connect mentor.

🎒 School Tours are now open for 2027 & 2028 siblings. Please click on the button below to book in for a tour with Principal Daryl Bennett.

🏫 TC School Tour (Grade 5 & 6 Students)

👨‍👩‍👧 All other families considering TC for their current Year 5 & 7 students are also invited to attend a school tour.

🎟️ Only 1 x ticket per student is required. Parents do not require tickets and attend with the student.

🚌🚌We are writing to let families know that some of our school bus routes are currently at, or near, capacity, especially in the afternoons.

This includes the St Helena, Research/Park West and Diamond Creek buses.    

The contracted Panorama buses have the priority to service students that are unable to access PTV Public Transport. We have up until this point been able to accommodate other students on the buses. 

To help manage demand, we are asking for your support to prioritise access for those who would not otherwise be able to travel to school via public transport and for Entry students on these buses that are at or near capacity. To do this, please consider the following PTV alternatives. 

🚏PTV alternative travel options to the Panorama buses: 

Students using the St Helena bus that get off at Bolton Street, please consider using the PTV route 293 bus service. To access this, exit the school via the gate behind S-Wing, walk to the corner of Montpellier Crescent and Williamsons Road. This bus will stop just at the base of Bolton street. 

Students travelling on the Diamond Creek or Research buses and getting off at the Eltham shops or Eltham Station are encouraged to use the route 902 PTV bus. To access this service, exit the school via the gate behind S-Wing, walk to the corner of Montpellier Crescent and Williamsons Road. This bus will stop in Eltham at the Eltham train station/Eltham Shops. 

✅All students can travel on PTV buses for free from January 1, provided they have a Youth Myki. These can be purchased for $5 from 7-Eleven stores or participating train stations or register online.  

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this. 

Any queries can be directed to me. Thank you and kind regards, 

Darren Irvine 
Assistant Principal – Innovation, Resources and People 

🚗🚗During drop off and pick up times traffic flow is strictly one way & drop and go only – no parking: 

⏰Mon, Tue, Thurs (8.30-9.15am & 3.15-3.45pm) 

⏰Wed & Fri (8.30-9.15am & 1.45pm- 2.15pm). 

🚦🚦During school hours all traffic must exit through the front gates.  

♿ Disabled parking spaces are reserved for families of students with a disability, and other permit holders, and should not be used for general drop-off or turning.

🚶‍♂️Additionally, traffic MUST give way to pedestrians at the marked pedestrian crossing just inside the school gates.

❌There is NO ENTRY for vehicles into the school via the back gate on Ridgeway Street. It is pedestrian access only.

🤝We appreciate your support in making our school grounds a safe place for everyone.

For the next three weeks students are doing Bike Education on the school grounds throughout the day. Please exercise additional caution at this time and give way to students on bikes.

We strongly encourage all students aged 15 years and over to consider completing a work experience placement in 2026.  

Work experience plays an important role in helping young people explore possible pathways and make informed decisions about their future. It bridges the gap between learning at school and the world of work by providing real-world insight that no amount of online research can offer. Through hands-on experience, students can test assumptions, explore different work environments, and discover what genuinely motivates them. 

Through work experience, students can: 

✅ Try an industry or role before committing
✅ Build confidence, independence, and self-awareness
✅ Develop essential employability (soft) skills
✅ Explore different industries and workplace environments
✅ Begin building professional networks
✅ Make more informed decisions about future study, training, or employment

Work experience is not simply a task to be completed — it is a valuable opportunity for students to actively explore their interests, strengths, and potential career directions, whether they are considering university, TAFE, an apprenticeship, or entering the workforce directly.  

ℹ️ Please note: Work experience at Templestowe College is opt-in. Participation is voluntary and occurs when a student chooses to take part and secures a suitable placement.  

👉 Further information about work experience can be found here: Work Experience @ TC 

 2026 Update – Digital Forms 💻

In 2026, Work Experience forms will transition to a new online platform. As this system is new, paper forms will still be accepted. If a placement is secured, students are encouraged to notify the Careers team so the online process can be used where possible.  

If students or families have any questions or would like support finding a placement, please reach out to Kate Buchanan in our Careers Team — support is always available. 

We have limited places available for late enrolments into our Instrumental Music program. 

• 🎻 Violin/Viola – 6 places
  🎸 Guitar Beginner – VCE – 5 places
  🎹 Piano Beginner – 1 place
  🎤 Voice – 1 place
  🎸 Bass Guitar Beginner & 1 year – 1 place
  💻 Music Tech – 2 places
  🎷 Saxophone – we need a minimum of 4 new enrolments

If your student is interested, please contact Kyle in the music office at kcl@tc.vic.edu.au for more information.

The Power of Music Education

🎵🎵Research shows that music education gives children a powerful cognitive boost — it exercises multiple parts of the brain at once, strengthening memory, language, reading and comprehension skills, and executive functions like self control and problem solving.

Musically trained students often:
✅ Learn language more quickly
✅ Develop stronger reading skills earlier
✅ Benefit socially and emotionally through collaboration and communication in group music‑making

In short, learning music builds the foundational brain skills that support better learning across the curriculum.

For more information about Music pathways at TC, watch our video below.

Dear parents and guardians,  

🚴One of the highlights of our Entry Physical Education program is our upcoming Bike Education (Bike Ed) program 

The aim of this unit is to further develop students’ bike riding skills, road safety knowledge, and safe riding behaviours. The program focuses on:
🚲 Building core cycling skills
💪 Increasing confidence on the bike
🛑 Developing road safety skills that students can apply in real-world settings 

This two-week program, delivered across all HPE classes, begins with students developing skills and confidence riding as a class group on school grounds. Skills are taught, developed and assessed before progressing to off-site rides in the final week, as learning to ride safely outside the school environment is a key component of Bike Ed. Off-site rides will take place along carefully selected routes that include dedicated bike paths and minimal traffic volumes.  

This program will commence week 3 or week 4 of this term, depending on your students HPE class. Students who demonstrate appropriate riding competence will have the opportunity to participate in off-site trail rides in week 5.  

✅Consent is required only for the off-site riding in Week 5 and can be completed via the Compass online portal.   

If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact your student’s Health and Physical Education teacher.  

Kind regards, 
Health and Physical Education Team 

In 2026 we are looking forward to continuing the Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) program Flexible Learning Environment cohorts. Classes have been designed to be developmentally and age appropriate and inclusive of consent education for all students, Entry-FLE3. 

Students will participate in classes promoting Healthy and Respectful Relationships and explore a range of topics relevant to RSE. Using a sequence of lessons will be included in the regular timetable for FLE students. FLE1-FLE3 including MAP students, will receive 3-4 sessions across the year. These will begin with FLE1 on a rotating timetable during cohort based English classes from Term 1 - Week 4. We will be scheduling Entry (Term 4), International, ESDP and VM student cohorts into RSE program later in the year. 

Classes in RSE may include topics such as:
✅ Physical, social, and emotional development
✅ Sex and safer sex practices
✅ Sexual and reproductive health
✅ Respect for others and oneself
✅ Consent, diversity and inclusion
✅ Personal rights and responsibilities
✅ Love, relationships and friendships
✅ Effective communication, abstinence and decision-making
✅ Help-seeking and accessing health services

🌐We also have a key focus across the FLE classes on safer online environments and increasing digital literacy and critical thinking skills. In Entry and FLE1 classes we will explore ‘socialising online’ including friendships online and gaming, and discuss potential issues such as grooming, geo-location tracking, safer online communication and unwanted contact and extortion, and how to seek help from trusted adults and service providers. In FLE1-3 the students will have opportunities to discuss and analyse a range of scenarios that might occur in inter-personal relationships, including non-consensual behaviours and technology-facilitated abuse. 

At TC we take a whole school approach and believe that relationships and sexuality education is a shared responsibility. Research shows your child’s sexuality education is most effective when you are also actively involved. We encourage parents/carers to follow up with conversations with your child according to your own values and beliefs. The Victorian Department of Education has great resources to assist parents with these discussions.

The RSE classes will be delivered by TC staff experienced in this teaching area, and we look forward to working with young people to strengthen their skills and understanding of RSE across developmental stages. 

We encourage and strongly recommend that all students attend these important life-skills classes. However, if you would prefer your child not to attend, please email your child’s Community Executive Team to opt out by 5pm Friday Feb 14th, 2025. Students who are not participating will go to another supervised space during these sessions. 

BLUE@tc.vic.edu.au RED@tc.vic.edu.au GOLD@tc.vic.edu.au GREEN@tc.vic.edu.au 

Andrea Carydias
TC Teacher: Health Promotion/RSE/Health Promotion