Next Week @TC

07/03/2025

• Panorama Buses inc New Stop

• Wrap up of attendance information

• NAPLAN next week

• School Photos Mop Up Date

• Entry Camp Week 8 Traffic Delays on Monday and Wednesday

• We are hiring! We are currently looking for a Grounds Maintenance Assistant

Panorama Buses

We have recently engaged with Panoroma Buses regarding some disruptions and general servicing issues reported to us by students and families. Our priority is that this service is reliable and safe for our students. If you have any concerns about the Panorama services, please direct them to Darren Irvine, DIR@tc.vic.edu.au, who is now the liaison for these matters. 

NEW STOP - The morning St Helena Service - 7:58 Sherbourne Rd. before Rattray Rd roundabout, Right Karingal, Right Weidlich.

For all detailed stops please visit our transport page.

Wrap up of attendance information

For all messages about attendance please visit - TC - Attendance and Absences this page covers:

• General Attendance

• Late Arrival Process

• Leaving the College Grounds

• Leaving Early

• Unexplained Absences

• VCE/VM & VET Attendance

NAPLAN Next Week

A reminder to families of Entry and FLE 2 students NAPLAN testing runs Wednesday 12th Match - Friday 14th of March.

Any students who have not withdrawn but are absent from testing due to illness or other reasons will be able to sit the catch-up sessions in week 8.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Cassidy Trousdale by email CTR@tc.vic.edu.au

TC Photo Day

This week's photo day was a wonderful success! Complimentary to our approach at TC, where students are encouraged to express themselves freely and embrace their individuality, our photos often depict a more eclectic mix than other schools might experience and are a highlight for most students.

For students who missed out on their photos, we will hold our Mop Up photo day Tuesday the 1st April

Also, if any families wanted to get a sibling photo but didn't purchase this before photo day, our photo mop-up day is your next opportunity. Families wishing to pursue this will need to contact admin.nem@msp.com.au directly to place an order for the mop-up day session.

Entry Camp Week 8 - Traffic Delays on Monday and Wednesday

We hope our Entry students are excited about their upcoming camps in week 8.

Entry Camp #1 - Green and Red
Monday 17th of March to Wednesday 19th of March
Students meet outside SWING by 8:20am
Departure between 8:45-9:00am (PLEASE NOTE: TRAFFIC DELAYS FOR WHOLE COMMUNITY MONDAY - None camp students it is suggested to drop students on Lynwood parade instead of coming into the school grounds. Entry families, parking is available in the oval for drop off)
Return to school arrival approx. 3:45pm

Entry Camp #2 - Blue and Gold
Wednesday 19th of March to Friday 21st of March
Students meet outside SWING by 7:50am
Departure 8:15am
Return to school arrival approx. 3:15pm

We are hiring! TC is currently looking for a Grounds Maintenance Assistant

Seek - https://www.seek.com.au/job/82531539?ref=cm-ui
Recruitment Online Job No. 1466880

Last Weeks Announcements

• Community call out - help needed at Manningham Festival

• Parents Onsite

• College Council AGM

• School Saving Bonus (SSB) - Allocation to student activities

• Student Led Electives - Semester 1, 2025

• Come and work with us! TC is currently looking for an Animals Technician

Community call out - help needed at Manningham Festival

One the weekend of Sunday March 16 the Rotary club in conjunction with the Council will run the Manningham festival. This is a big event and the Rotarians are after help setting up and packing down, if any parents, students or staff would like to volunteer their time to help out please email David Rosenwax (david@acefilters.com.au) with the job you are able to assist with. David has been supporting TC students in VM with their community projects and visits TC regularly.

Jobs Rotary club would like support with:

• Saturday 15th 8 to 9.30am - to load our van at the council depot end of Blackburn Road (4 people)

• 9.30 to 11.30 - set up gazebos (6 people)

• 10 to 1pm - set up boundaries with star pickets and mesh (6 people)

• Sunday 16th 6.30 to 7 - unload truck (2 people)

• 5pm - dismantle pickets and re load van etc (6 people)

• Monday 7.30am - at council depot to unload Van into our 20 ft storage containers (4 people)

Parents Onsite

Just a friendly reminder that any parents coming onsite need to go to the General Office and sign in before being accompanied to where they are going. We do this for the safety of all of our students and Community in line with our Child Safe Practices.

TC COLLEGE COUNCIL AGM 

Notice is hereby given for the TC College Council AGM taking place on Thursday 27th  March 2025, starting at 6pm. This is an open meeting that we are holding in person. The link to register will follow separately. This will help us plan for an appropriately sized room. 

The agenda is: 

1. Acknowledgment of Country 

2. Report of Key Activities and Achievements of College Council

3. Presentation of Annual Report  

   1. School Context

   2. Wellbeing and Engagement

   3. Achievement 

   4. Finance

4. Introduction of the 2025 – 2026 College Council members 

5. Meeting closes 

Questions will be collected electronically before the meeting. 

Following on from the meeting, there will be the first College Council meeting for the year which is a closed meeting. 

School Saving Bonus (SSB) - Allocation to School Activities

Great news, parents! You have the power to decide how to use your $400 School Saving Bonus (SSB) to support your child’s education. You can allocate the funds to:

✅ Online or in-store purchases of textbooks and uniforms
✅ School activities, events, and extra-curricular programs

💡 Important: Once you allocate your funds, the choice is final. But don’t worry—any unused or unspent funds will automatically become a credit on your child’s school account for activities starting 1 July 2025.

How to Use Your Bonus for School Activities

1️⃣ Visit the SSB Portal: www.schoolsavingbonus.vic.gov.au
2️⃣ Enter your bonus code (provided by the Department of Education) & email
3️⃣ Click on the "School Activities" tile and follow the steps
4️⃣ Your funds will be transferred to your child’s Templestowe College account (allow 48 hours)

🚨 Using SSB for specific activities? Since Compass doesn’t track available SSB funds, please fill out our online form here OR contact our Accounts Department at (03) 9850 6333 (option #3) or accounts@tc.vic.edu.au.

Need help? We’re happy to assist! Let’s make the most of this opportunity for our students! 😊🎓

STUDENT-LED ELECTIVES – SEMESTER 1, 2025

We’re thrilled to offer a fantastic selection of Student-Led Electives for Semester 1, 2025! These hands-on, user-pays programs give students the chance to explore their passions and develop new skills.

Invoices for the following electives have now been added to the "Payments Centre" in Compass:

🐾 Animal Industry Skills – $80.00
🌿 Backyard Permaculture – $120.00
💃 Dance – $110.00
🦜 Feathers & Fur – $120.00
🐠 Fish – $120.00
💪 Fitness & Training – $165.00
🐍 Reptiles – $120.00
🤖 Robotics – $120.00

📌 Need More Information?

• For details on payments, please refer to our Parent Payments Policy (TC - Payments).

• To allocate SSB funds, please complete our online form: https://forms.office.com/r/RvBbDJTn0r.

• If you have any questions or need to discuss payment options, feel free to reach out to our Accounts Team at (03) 9850 6333 (option #3) or accounts@tc.vic.edu.au.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Come and work with us! TC is currently looking for an Animals Technician

Templestowe College is seeking an enthusiastic and reliable Animals Technician to support the existing Working with Animals program. This program is divided into three elective subjects; Feather and Fur, Reptiles and Fish, with a diverse range of animals maintained onsite in repurposed classrooms and in our urban farm. 

The position is currently for Tuesdays and Wednesdays, including school holidays, but could increase to include casual hours on other days.

Species in our program include native and exotic fish, pythons, turtles, dragons, monitors, skinks, amphibians, invertebrates, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, chickens, native and exotic bird species, alpaca, goats, sheep and pigs.  While experience with all of these animal groups is not required, confidence and experience with reptiles, fish and stock animals is highly desirable. Additionally, the willingness and ability to work alongside High School aged students is a must. 

View on Seek - Animal Technician Job in Melbourne at Templestowe College - SEEK
View on School Jobs Vic. - Job No:  1467413 

Previous Weeks Announcements

• NAPLAN Key Dates and Withdrawal Process

• TC Community Events - Term 1 & 2

• Fighting Extinction School with Zoos Victoria

• Work Experience Information

• Clubs Term 1

• Relationships and Sexuality Education at TC

• 2025 School Council Elections

• Calendar for Families of Key Term 1 Dates

TC Community Events, Term 1 & 2

Each year we have a vast range of Community events taking place.

For term 1 we have still to take place:

• March 20th – Community Soccer Competition

• April 3rd – Grad Vs Staff Netball

In term 2 there will be Community Spikeball, Chess, Athletics, Spit, Volleyball and Drama competitions as well as the whole school Athletics day.

Details of these events are put on Compass on the Community Teams channel. 

Fighting Extinction School with Zoos Victoria

TC aims to become a Fighting Extinction School with Zoos Victoria by completing a project which raises awareness or takes action for threatened species.

Our project is inspired by the Zoo's Safe Cat, Safe Wildlife campaign which works to find solutions that will keep both cats and wildlife safe and happy. 

Over the coming weeks, you will hear more about our project and have the opportunity to get involved. However, before we get started, we would love to hear from you! This will help us understand what the community would like to get out of this project and allow us to hear your opinions.

Please help us with this project by completing this survey: Fighting Extinction School Project. We appreciate your contribution to becoming a Fighting Extinction School!

Work Experience Information

NEW work experience resources have been created with information for students and families. Information can be found on the TC - Subject selection website. https://www.subjects.tc.vic.edu.au/work-experience

CLUBS

Relationships and Sexuality Education at TC in 2025 

The TC Community Integrated Learning team will be continuing the Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) program in 2025 for our Flexible Learning Environment cohorts. Classes have been designed to be developmentally and age appropriate and inclusive of consent education for all students.

In 2025 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, International, ESDP and VM student cohorts into RSE program later in the year.

The term Relationships and Sexuality Education 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, decision-making, help-seeking and accessing health services.

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 - https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/physed/Pages/forparents.aspx 

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/Developmental Learning 

2025 School Council Elections

Information for parents and students

TC’s School Council Elections will run from Friday 7 February and conclude by 27 March 2025.

What is a school council and what does it do?
All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the broad direction of a school, in accordance with Ministerial Order 1280 Constitution of Government School Councils, and the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. In doing this, a school council may directly influence the quality of education for students.

Who is on the school council?
For most Secondary school councils, there are several possible categories of membership:

• A mandated elected parent member category –members of this category generally comprise more than one third of the council’s total membership. Department employees can be parent members at their child’s school providing that they are not engaged in work at the school.

• A mandated elected school employee member category – members of this category make up no more than one-third of membership. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.

• An optional community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experience. Department employees are not eligible to be community members.

For all schools with a Year 7 and above cohort, there is an additional category of membership:

• A mandated elected student member category, two positions.

Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.

TC College Council meetings are held on the 4th Thursday of each month, onsite from 6.00pm. We hold approx. two meeting per term with a maximum of 8 meetings held per year.

Do I need special experience to be on school council?
Each member brings their own valuable skills and knowledge to the role, however, to successfully perform their duties, councillors may need to gain some new skills and knowledge.

It is important to have an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future. Training is available for all School Council members.

Please click on this link 2025 School Council Elections to access more information on each category and complete Nomination forms for the parent or student category.

All Nomination forms can be returned to connect@tc.vic.edu.au or dropped off at the front office.

Calendar for Families of Key Term 1 Dates

Please find below a print out from Compass of some of the key dates for term 1. This could be printed out and put on your fridge!

On this are:

• Student Parent Teacher Interviews – no classes run on this day due to the size of the school and the logistics for everyone to be able to see their teachers

• Term end dates

• TC Pool Party – this event is one that students should be attending. No classes run on this day but it is one that gives students a great opportunity to take part in something (whether water based or not) and build connections

• Photo day and mop up photo day dates

• Community Launch assembly dates and times for students

Welcome Back TC!

Welcome to the new school year of 2025! TC is thrilled to welcome both returning and new students back to campus, with many exciting activities planned to kick off the year!

Community assemblies were held throughout the past two weeks to discuss what's happening here at TC, so let's take a look.

Legally Blond is our school production this year and auditions for roles are being held throughout the next few weeks. Rehearsals are held on Fridays after school, 2:15 - 3:30 pm and increasing to 4 pm later in the year. If you're interested in joining you can find more information on your community teams page.

Exciting community events such as dodgeball, basketball, and the TC pool party are coming up, and we encourage everyone to participate! These events are a fantastic opportunity to meet new people, foster community spirit, and have a great time with friends. The TC pool party offers clubs and classes a chance to set up market stalls for extra funding. It's a great way to showcase your group and engage more students.

As we kick off the school year, we’d also like to remind everyone about the updated mobile phone policy. In line with government guidelines, students are not allowed to have their phones out during the school day, including while walking or sitting, in the classroom or recess and lunch. The policy does not apply to smartwatches and headphones only mobile phones. For those who need to use a phone for health reasons, provisions have been put in place to support these students. We appreciate everyone working towards a focused learning environment for all. More information on this policy can be found on our website TC - Mobile Phone Policy.

Here at TC, we also have an amazing range of clubs, both after school and during lunch times. Whether you're interested in sports, arts, technology, or community service, there's something for everyone! These clubs are a great way to explore new interests, make lasting friendships, and contribute to the vibrant spirit of our school. Be sure to take a look at the flyers around the school to find out what clubs are available, and get involved in something that excites you!

You might have already heard, but this year, we're improving Connect. Our Alpine group, which lived at Dinner Plain for the majority of term 4 in 2024, has been working hard with teachers to create a more engaging class. During our back-to-school community assemblies, Alpine representatives Jessica and Dara pitched and explained our CLP to the students and the rest of the school so everyone can stay informed with the latest updates.

"We decided to focus our CLP on Connect because we have noticed and experienced the lack of consistency across all Connect groups, which has led to students becoming disengaged, " they explained. Our idea to implement Connect Leaders is still relevant, and this term we've been working hard to confirm the role of the Connect Leaders.

They will be students from FLE 1 and above who serve for one semester, with a new leader chosen each semester. Initially focused on older students, connect leaders will plan activities, promote community events, and attend biweekly meetings for support. Their role is crucial for fostering change within the Connect groups so that everyone is empowered to learn.  

"Over the coming weeks, each Connect group will be required to choose one leader. Your group will be able to choose how you want to select your leader, and your teacher will be given a PowerPoint resource to help you. If you are interested, start thinking about what you could do to help your Connect group – the possibilities are endless, and we are really excited to see what everyone can do!"

We'll be working on this over the next few weeks, so stay tuned for more information and to find out how YOU can apply to help run connect!

As we dive into another year full of possibilities, we’re excited to see everyone embracing new opportunities, making memories, and building a stronger TC community. Here’s to a year full of growth, success, and fun—let's make it the best one yet!

By Ruby Egan Douglas and Mietta Palmer

Dive Into the Fun: TC’s Biggest Pool Party Yet

The most exciting event of the year is just around the corner! On Tuesday, March 4, TC students and staff will dive into a day of fun, competition, and community spirit at Aquarena for our annual Pool Party. As part of our Step Outside theme, this festival-style event promises something for everyone!

The day is filled of fun exciting activities from the Grad's costume parade to live music by TC's very own bands and performers. Student-run-stalls and delicious food from the pool canteen will also be available on the day, so make sure you bring some cash!

The day also includes swimming competitions and games, or just a free swim and of course friendly community competition to go towards the community cup!

"The Pool Party is a great event because it has so many different events and things going on, so there's something for everyone," Says Gold community leader, Jessica Ryles.

What's Happening?
From traditional swimming races to novelty events and Laps For Life charity swims, there are plenty of ways to get involved in the water. Not a swimmer? No worries! There will be face painting, water slides, art, circus performances, and live music running all day long. Whether you're competing, cheering on your friends, or just soaking in the atmosphere, this is an unmissable event!

Students will begin the day at TC as usual, checking in with their Connect groups before walking down to Aquarena with their Connect Mentors. The event will run until 2:30 PM, at which time the school buses will be departing directly from Aquarena. Please note that no school buses will leave from TC on this day, so all students should make appropriate travel arrangements accordingly.

To ensure a comfortable and enjoyable experience, students should come prepared with their swimmers, a hat, and sunglasses. Given the outdoor nature of the event, it is also essential to bring sunscreen and a water bottle to stay hydrated throughout the day and remember the Slip, slap slop rule. Slip on protective clothing, Slop on sunscreen, Slap on a hat. Additionally, students should pack food and snacks to keep their energy up, as there will be plenty of activities to participate in. Being well-prepared will help everyone make the most of this fun-filled day.

"It is a great day to be hanging out with your friends at the pool and I would definitely recommend coming along!" says Jessica.

So, get ready for an unforgettable day of swimming, music, art, and fun. With an incredible lineup of activities and entertainment, this event is one of the highlights of the school year.

How do I get involved?
That's the easy bit! You're getting involved just by being there and taking part in the event. Try to give everything a go and get all you can out of the amazing day. If you want to go even further and run events or a stall fill out your business proposition on your community team page and if you have any questions please message Em Cormack or Meg Bailey on teams.

By Mietta Palmer