Telopea Topics No15 2025

REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR

Dear Telopea Park School - Lycée Franco-Australien de Canberra families,

Two years ago, on 11 September 2023, we were fortunate to organise and take part in the 100th anniversary of Telopea Park School. A wide range of events were held to mark the occasion, and we all remember it fondly*. It’s not every day that a school reaches its centenary, and the binational character of our school makes it all the more unique. In September 2023, we also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the government agreement between Australia and France that established the Lycée Franco-Australien de Canberra.

(* One of the centenary events was the creation by primary students of the book Momo and Lolotte and the Rainbow Serpent. Copies are still available. Please contact patrice.piche@ed.act.edu.au  if you are interested. Thank you.)

Two years have passed, and the school turned 102 years old last week. This year there was no particular celebration, but the school’s age was mentioned at student assemblies. The school is thriving and continues to educate future global citizens, whether Australian, French, or of any other nationality, with the perspective, vision, and approach that only a binational and multicultural school can offer.

At the end of 2025, Telopea Park School / Lycée Franco-Australien de Canberra will once again be in the spotlight as it hosts the 10th annual conference of AAFEBS (Association of Australian French English Bilingual Schools) from 19 to 21 November. More than 50 teachers and school leaders from French- Australian binational or bilingual schools, including those in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, will gather in Canberra to share ideas on a range of topics such as innovative teaching projects, the teaching of FLSco (French as a Language of Schooling), classroom practices connected to both the Australian and French curricula, including written expression, as well as the national start-of-year assessments. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit some classes and experience first-hand what makes our school unique.

In the meantime, as we look forward to a fourth term full of events, with La Grande Fête on Saturday 1 November as its highlight, I wish everyone an excellent end of term and a very well-deserved break, for both students and staff.

Best,

Patrice

LE MOT DU DIRECTEUR

Chère communauté de Telopea Park School - Lycée franco-australien de Canberra,

Il y a deux ans, le 11 septembre 2023, nous avons eu la chance d'organiser et de participer au 100e anniversaire de Telopea Park School. De nombreux événements avaient été prévus pour l'occasion et nous en gardons tous un souvenir ému *. Il n'est pas commun en effet de célébrer le centenaire d'une école et le caractère binational de cet établissement ajoute à son unicité. D'ailleurs, en septembre 2023, nous avions aussi célébré les 40 ans de l'accord gouvernemental entre l'Australie et la France qui scellait l'existence du Lycée franco-australien de Canberra.

(* Un exemple d'événement prévu lors du centenaire : la création par les élèves de primaire du livre Momo et Lolotte et le serpent arc-en-ciel. Des exemplaires sont toujours disponibles : contactez patrice.piche@ed.act.edu.au si vous êtes intéressé.e, merci.)

Deux années ont passé et l'école a désormais 102 ans depuis la semaine dernière. Cette année, il n'y pas eu de célébration particulière mais l'âge de l'école a toutefois été mentionné lors des assemblées d'élèves. L'école se porte bien et elle continue à former les futurs citoyens du monde, qu'ils soient australiens, français ou de tout autre nationalité, avec cette sensibilité, cette vision et cette approche que seul un établissement binational et multiculturel peut offrir.

En cette fin d'année 2025, Telopea Park School - Lycée franco australien de Canberra sera encore à l'honneur et accueillera la 10ème conférence annuelle des écoles membres de l'AAFEBS (Association of Australian French English Bilingual Schools), du 19 au 21 novembre. Plus de 50 enseignants et responsables d’établissements des écoles binationales ou bilingues franco-australiennes, notamment celles de Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane et Adélaïde, se réuniront à Canberra et échangeront sur différents thèmes tels que les projets pédagogiques innovants, l'enseignement du FLSco (Français Langue de Scolarisation), les pratiques pédagogiques en lien avec les programmes australien et français, notamment la production d'écrit, ou encore les évaluations nationales de rentrée. Aussi, les participants auront l'opportunité de visiter certaines classes et se rendre compte des spécificités de notre école.

Dans cette attente, et dans l'attente d'un quatrième trimestre riche en événements, avec en point d'orgue La Grande Fête le samedi 1er novembre, je souhaite une excellente fin de trimestre à tout le monde et de très bonnes vacances bien méritées, pour les petits et pour les grands.

A bientôt,

Patrice

PRIMARY NEWS

Year 1
 On Friday, September 12th, Year 1 students had a very special visit from Aaron Chatfield, who shared his knowledge of Aboriginal culture and storytelling.

The children learned how Aboriginal symbols are used to tell stories and were guided in creating their own stories. Each student then decorated a boomerang with their story, carefully illustrating it with traditional symbols and designs.

Back in class, the children extended this experience by rewriting their stories in French, making wonderful connections between cultures and languages. Inspired by what they had learned, many students went on to create their own creative artwork, experimenting with Aboriginal patterns and storytelling through art.

This experience was both educational and deeply meaningful. The Year 1 students embraced it with enthusiasm and respect, producing thoughtful and creative pieces that celebrate the richness of Australia’s First Nations culture.

Step into the Limelight

On Thursday 11th and Friday the 12th of September the Years 5 and 6 Choir participated in an IMPs Step into the Limelight. The theme for 2025 was: ENTER THE UNKNOWN. It was a night full of powerful voices, beautiful smiles and an electric sense of possibility. Telopea joined in with over 60 other public schools in Canberra.

Students sang with confidence and heart, bringing the audience on a journey through the unknown. This event was more than just a performance; it was a celebration of creativity, teamwork, and the bravery it takes to step into unfamiliar territory. For many students, it was their first time performing at such a huge stage, and they rose to the occasion with grace and joy.

Congratulations to all involved for representing the school with such spirit and excellence. Special ‘thank you’ to the wonderful team of teachers that made this possible: Magali, Sam, Zoe and Clara. The future may be unknown but with voices like these, it’s sure to be bright.

Year 6 Market Day

On Monday 8th September, Year 6 students celebrated the culmination of their unit on business studies, financial maths, and data with a vibrant and unforgettable Market Day. The event showcased their creativity, teamwork, and entrepreneurial spirit in full colour.

Stalls were bursting with delicious treats including Vietnamese spring rolls, banh mi, crepes, cupcakes, jelly, biscuits, and even a classic sausage sizzle. Alongside the food, students offered a wide variety of handmade arts and crafts, each reflecting their unique flair and planning.

The playground transformed into a buzzing marketplace with activities like ring toss, treasure hunts, hair styling, temporary tattoos, face painting, and so much more. Laughter and excitement filled the air as students proudly ran their stalls, greeted customers, and managed their earnings, all while applying the skills they’d learned in class.

It was a joyful celebration of learning, creativity, and community, and a day that will be remembered for its energy, flavour, and fun. Year 6 students raised more money for their end of year celebrations than ever before. Congratulations to all the students and staff that made this day so special and enjoyable.

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Festival Rideau Rouge

This year, Telopea Park School is thrilled to be launching our very first Puppetry Festival, “Le Festival Rideau Rouge”, proudly supported by the Australian Association of French-English Bilingual Schools (AAFEBS).

This is a project where students step into the magical world of theatre. From creating an original story, writing their own French dialogues, designing and building puppets and sets, to rehearsing and performing, our students are experiencing every part of the creative process.

We are especially excited that the Festival has grown into an international celebration of creativity and bilingual learning. This year, 9 Telopea Park School classes are participating alongside students from a French School in Auckland, the Lycée Condorcet of Sydney, and Taren Point Public School in Brisbane.

At Telopea, our performers include 4 Kindergarten classes, 1 Year 2 class, and 4 Year 5 classes, and we are all busily working on our projects.  Each class performance will be filmed and entered into the Official Selection of the Festival. We can’t wait to share their imagination, teamwork, and French language skills on this inspiring stage. It will be a wonderful showcase of talent, collaboration, and cultural connection, as well as an opportunity to celebrate our students’ creativity and the power of bilingual education.

NOUVELLES DU PRIMAIRE

Classes de CP

Le vendredi 12 septembre, les élèves de CP ont eu la chance de recevoir la visite d’Aaron Chatfield, qui leur a fait découvrir la culture aborigène et l’art du conte.

Les enfants ont appris comment les symboles aborigènes permettent de raconter des histoires et ont été guidés pour inventer la leur. Chaque élève a ensuite décoré un boomerang avec son histoire, en l’illustrant soigneusement à l’aide de symboles et de motifs traditionnels.

De retour en classe, les enfants ont prolongé cette expérience en écrivant leurs histoires en français, établissant ainsi de magnifiques passerelles entre les cultures et les langues. Inspirés par ce qu’ils avaient appris, beaucoup d’élèves ont poursuivi leur créativité en réalisant leur propre œuvre d’art, explorant les motifs aborigènes et l’art de raconter à travers le dessin.

Cette expérience a été à la fois éducative et profondément enrichissante. Les élèves de CP l’ont accueillie avec enthousiasme et respect, produisant des travaux réfléchis et créatifs qui célèbrent la richesse de la culture des Premières Nations d’Australie.

Step into the Limelight

Les jeudi 11 et vendredi 12 septembre, la chorale des élèves de CM2 et 6e a participé au spectacle Step into the Limelight. Le thème de cette année était : Entrer dans l’Inconnu (Enter the Unknown). Ce fut une soirée emplie de voix puissantes, de sourires radieux et d’une énergie électrisante. Le lycée franco-australien s’est joint à plus de 60 écoles publiques de Canberra.
Les élèves ont chanté avec assurance et passion, entraînant le public dans un voyage vers l’inconnu. Cet événement a été bien plus qu’une simple représentation : il a célébré la créativité, le travail d’équipe et le courage nécessaire pour oser s’aventurer hors de sa zone de confort. Pour beaucoup d’élèves, c’était leur première prestation sur une scène d’une telle ampleur, et ils ont relevé le défi avec élégance et joie.
Bravo à tous ceux qui ont représenté l’école avec autant d’esprit et d’excellence. Un grand merci à l’équipe formidable d’enseignants qui a rendu cela possible : Magali, Sam, Zoe et Clara. L’avenir est peut-être inconnu, mais avec des voix pareilles, il s’annonce éclatant.

Le marché des élèves de 6e

Le lundi 8 septembre, les élèves de 6e ont clôturé leur unité sur l’économie, les mathématiques financières et l’analyse de données avec un Marché haut en couleur et inoubliable. L’événement a mis en lumière leur créativité, leur esprit d’équipe et leur fibre entrepreneuriale.

Les stands regorgeaient de délicieuses spécialités : rouleaux de printemps vietnamiens, banh mi, crêpes, cupcakes, gelées, biscuits et même un traditionnel sausage sizzle. Les élèves proposaient également de nombreux objets d’artisanat faits main, chacun reflétant leur originalité et leur sens de l’organisation.
La cour de récréation s’est transformée en un véritable marché animé avec des jeux d’adresse, des chasses au trésor, de la coiffure, des tatouages temporaires, du maquillage, et bien plus encore. Rires et excitation remplissaient l’air alors que les élèves tenaient fièrement leurs stands, accueillaient les clients et géraient leurs recettes, tout en mettant en pratique les compétences apprises en classe.

Ce fut une fête joyeuse où les apprentissages, la créativité et le sens de la communauté ont dominé, une journée mémorable pour son énergie, sa saveur et son esprit festif. Les élèves de 6e ont levé plus de fonds que jamais pour leurs célébrations de fin d’année. Félicitations à tous les élèves et enseignants qui ont rendu ce jour si spécial.

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Festival Rideau Rouge

Cette année, le lycée franco-australien / Telopea Park School est ravi de lancer son tout premier festival de marionnettes, Le Festival Rideau Rouge, soutenu par l’Association australienne des écoles bilingues français-anglais (AAFEBS).
Ce projet plonge les élèves dans l’univers magique du théâtre : inventer une histoire originale, écrire des dialogues en français, concevoir et fabriquer marionnettes et décors, répéter et enfin jouer leur spectacle. Les élèves expérimentent chaque étape du processus créatif.

Nous sommes particulièrement fiers que le Festival ait pris une dimension internationale, devenant une véritable célébration de la créativité et de l’apprentissage bilingue. Cette année, 9 classes du lycée franco-australien / Telopea Park School participent aux côtés d’élèves d’une école française d’Auckland, du Lycée Condorcet de Sydney et de Taren Point Public School à Brisbane.
Au lycée franco-australien / Telopea Park School, ce projet concerne nos jeunes artistes de 4 classes de maternelle, 1 classe de CE1 et 4 classes de CM2, tous très occupés par leurs projets. Chaque performance sera filmée et intégrée à la Sélection Officielle du Festival. Nous avons hâte de partager leur imagination, leur esprit d’équipe et leurs compétences en français sur cette scène inspirante. Ce sera une magnifique vitrine de talents, de collaboration et de liens culturels, ainsi qu’une formidable occasion de célébrer la créativité de nos élèves et la richesse de l’éducation bilingue.

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT

All English Stream students have recently completed a Mathematics summative assessment task which covered concepts students have been focussing on throughout the term. Hopefully your child had the opportunity to receive the feedback from their teacher and been able to reflect on what they have achieved and where they could improve. The mathematics team is looking forward to speaking to parents/carers at the upcoming parent/teacher interviews. Your child is encouraged to come along to hear from their mathematics teacher at these interviews and raise any questions with the teacher at this time.

Mathematics Competitions

A variety of mathematics competitions have been offered to students throughout the year. These competitions are recommended for any advanced student and should be entered by students in the Advanced Mathematics classes. Students have already been given their results in the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking (CAT) Competition. A few outstanding results included:

Year 9 Distinctions – Aiden Lai and Jean Park

Year 10 Distinction -  Xavier Douglass

Student results from the AMT challenge have recently been received. This competition is a very high-level challenging competition where students are given a booklet of six mathematical questions to complete over 3 weeks. Telopea had 87 students enter this competition in 2026 and there have been a number of outstanding results including:

Year 7:

High Distinction (top 10%) – Minh Nguyen, Avi Gupta and Vinara Bogahawaththa

Distinction (top 25%) – Xavier Yu, Gino Yang, Prodipta Shil, Siya Lyu, Justin Li, Muhammad Kashif, Jigisha Jhamb, Xavier Huynh, Vihaan Gupta, Thulya Gammampila and William Bergan

Year 8:

High Distinction (top 10%) - Ting Kwan Louie, Nekeisha Lokusooriya, Raina Kang and Afsa Chowdhury

Distinction (top 25%) – Irina-Angel Zheng, Sidhant Velan, Yew Sim, Eric Moir, Yale Li-Di, Shanmukha Kuchimanchi, Hannah Ganter, Joan Eben and Avro Dewan

Year 9:

High Distinction (top 10%) - Chi Lok Yu

Distinction (top 25%) - Maximilian Hutchens

It is pleasing to see students participate in these challenging competitions and congratulations to all students who attempted problems in this competition. We have had a significant number of strong results and hope to continue this trend next year with more students entering this competition and challenging themselves mathematically.

Term 4 Mathematics Executive

For most the Term 4 (until Week 8 Term 4), Stephen Read will be acting Mathematics Executive whilst Phillip Lewington is on Long Service Leave. Stephen is looking forward to leading the mathematics team during this time and having the opportunity to work with students in a different capacity. Should you have any questions for the mathematics executive during this time please contact him by emailing: Stephen.read@ed.act.edu.au

Break the Safe Challenge for all families to discuss:

The mathematics team have purchased a safe but have lost the code. Fortunately, they remember a few things about the code:

-It’s a four digit code and the digits can be written in any order

-The code begins and ends in an odd number and has two even numbers in the middle

-The numbers 19 and 519 are factors of this number

Would you be able to open the safe with this information? SOLUTION CAN BE FOUND IN COMMUNUTY NEWS

The Mathematics team hopes all students have enjoyed Term 3 and we hope all students have a restful break with their families these school holidays – we look forward to working with you next term. 😊

Phillip Lewington and the Mathematics faculty.

PE - Snowsports

COMMUNITY NEWS

Safe parking behaviours

Unsafe driving and parking behaviours increase the potential road safety risk for children around schools. Road safety is a shared responsibility, it is important the road rules are followed near our school to ensure the entire school community feels safe.

Please remember children are more at risk than adults around schools because they are smaller and less visible to drivers. They are also less predictable and less experienced, which makes them more likely to make errors of judgement.

Failing to follow simple road rules like parking on the verge, in no stopping zones, in bus stops, near children’s crossings, on footpaths or across driveways increases the risk to children around schools. Please do the right thing to create a safe environment around our school.

More information about safe driving and parking is available in this traffic management around schools brochure.

Spring October Holiday Program

Open to all players aged 5-12

What's Included?

Professional Coaching

Skill Development

Football Fun

Small Sided Games

Safe & Friendly Environment

Build confidence, teamwork, and make new friends.

Enrolments through the link below.

https://sportstaracademy.com/football

9861 

P&C NEWS

Comité des Parents et Citoyens (P&C)

HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR SCHOOL WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING?COMMENT SOUTENIR VOTRE ÉCOLE SANS EFFORT ?

Rebel Sport – Nominate Telopea at the checkout or on your Rebel loyalty card. The school will earn credits to obtain sporting goods from your purchases. 

Désignez Telopea à la caisse ou sur votre carte de fidélité Rebel et l’école recevra des crédits envers des équipements de sport.

Athletes Foot – Canberra Centre – Nominate Telopea as your school when purchasing shoes or add Telopea to your loyalty program. School will receive $5 for each pair of shoes purchased.

Désignez Telopea à la caisse ou sur votre carte de fidélité et l’école recevra 5 $ pour chaque paire de chaussures que vous achetez.

2nd Hand Uniform Shop – Donate your old uniforms and shop at the 2nd hand uniform shop. All sales from the shop go directly to the P&C Committee. Items available include hats, jackets, summer dresses, skirts, shirts, blouses and polos of various sizes. Only $5 per piece of clothing. 

Opening Hours:

Tuesday: 9am - 9.30am

Friday: 9am - 9.30am  

Location: at the P&C storeroom

Faites don de vos vieux uniformes et achetez des uniformes d’occasion au magasin d’occasion. Toutes les ventes du magasin vont directement au Comité des Parents et Citoyens. On y trouve des chapeaux, pulls, robes d’été, jupes, et polos de tailles diverses. 5 $ par article.

Heures d’ouverture :

Mardi : 9 h – 9 h 30

Vendredi : 9 h – 9 h 30

CONTACTS

For contacting other staff members, please contact below: firstname.surname@ed.act.edu.au

Email: info@tps.act.edu.au

Ph: (02) 6142 3388

Other important emails

School Board Members 2024 (to be updated after the next board meeting)