Appreciations

Giuliano has been in a state of anticipation and pent up energy as he has strained every creative neuron in preparation for a memorable and highly anticipated Multicultural Day. The excitement of the day is in full swing as I edit the newsletter and with this in mind, may I also say thanks to the Specialist team (in particular) and the staff, students, parents and community members. I trust everyone who can spare the time will have made the effort to visit this morning for the welcome and costume parade, or in the afternoon, for the Grand Parade and performance and presentation items. A special appreication to our friends at IGA Barkly Street for the wonderful donation of the Callipo's to finish off our Multicultural Day!

News ...

Multicultural Day … is occurring as I write. I’ve included a few pics from this morning’s welcome and costume parade, as well as some views of the dance groups in action. We will be looking forward to the afternoon Grand Parade on the basketball court that will conclude our day – all welcome.

Corona Virus – It seems the ironic quote, ‘May you live in interesting times,’ could have been coined for 2020. Even before the bush fire crisis had subsided, the prospect of coronavirus began to occupy the media. Currently the news focus on ridiculous adult behaviour, such as supermarket toilet paper wars, challenges those of us who prefer to view the world and indeed our fellow citizens in an optimistic light. I was heartened when chatting with our young leaders yesterday afternoon in preparation for Multicultural Day. They appreciated my comment that age in itself does not equal wisdom and good sense. I am confident our young leaders will not be replicating the sorts of anti-community adult behaviours recently reported!

At FWPS we believe providing practical examples and appropriate role modelling are really important for the students in assisting maintain a positive and problem solving attitude. For instance, by doing a chore for the Multicultural Day a gold coin donation will be directed towards supporting wildlife habitat reconstruction. Additionally, we will value remaining sensible in dealing with an expectation that coronavirus will be a hurdle for our community to navigate during the year. With this in mind, we will be increasing our school focus on personal hygiene before eating and after attending the toilet. In fact tomorrow, the Junior School Council will be considering from a student perspective how we can better meet these needs. We appreciate that some students have brought hand sanitizer to school and we are very happy for the kids to use this whenever appropriate.

Kanga Cricket Big Blast – Fifty grade 5 and 6 students accompanied by Kim, Bre and Russell will be attending Hansen Reserve tomorrow for the annual event. Representatives will present at Monday’s assembly.

Coming up … next week

Swimming – The grade 1 and 2 intensive 9 day swim program will begin on Monday and will conclude on Thursday 26th March. The program has been very well supported with 198 participants attending.

Assembly … Preps will join us for their first assembly on Monday in the Gecko building. There will still be only one assembly held for the final fortnight of term, as due to the 1/2 swim program, the grade 1 and 2 swimmers won’t attend assembly. This will enable the Preps to join us without the need to run a concurrent assembly this term. For their first school assembly, the preps will observe the presentation of the Pupil of the Week awards and then participate the following week. We can anticipate simultaneous assemblies occurring regularly during term 2.

Sausage Sizzle … will be held on the last Tuesday of term (March 24th) and the notes are due to be returned with money by Tuesday of next week (March 17th). As per usual practice, each term the sausage sizzle fundraiser will coincide with a mufti day when all students are invited to wear casual clothes in return for a contribution of a gold coin which supports our annual graduation for the senior students, a long term tradition at our school. By raising money over the 4 terms, the graduation event is subsidised for all families. Our sausage sizzles are reliant on the voluntary support of our parents and community members, liaising with the office team. Thanks to those of you who have already offered to assist for a couple of hours on Tuesday, 24th March. We still would welcome some additional assistance. Please note this on the return slip, or contact the office.

Facilities – Our Facilities subcommittee of school council is open to any parent or community member who wishes to contribute to the improvement of our school’s buildings and grounds. We will meet for the first time this year in the staff room next Wednesday, March 18th at 6.30 pm. There will be discussion about recent improvements, plans and … challenges, our next working bee, and some refreshment and food. If you are new to our school community and these aspects are of interest, we would love to see you. Drop me a line beforehand, or just turn up. You will be made very welcome.

Grade 6 Social afternoon … will be held during lunch and the final session Friday of next week. This is the first of the social events run by the grade 6 teachers and the captaincy team that will culminate in the graduation event late in the year. We wish to see the students enjoy the privilege of being our senior students and to collaborate in a positive and active social setting. The students are grouped into table teams and are required to organise the catering for their tables, whilst the captains are required to organise the entertainment including games, dances, music and appreciations. It is a great school tradition that continues because of our teachers deep commitment to supporting our students in so many ways.

Reminders – Students entering or leaving the school should not ride through the car park at any stage. Students walking in the car park should be directly accompanied by their adult carer and only when on their way to and from the Their Care OSHC program before 8.00 am and after 4.00 pm. For parents, the boom gate operates from between 8.00 am and 4.00 pm daily. Please respect these rules and do not ‘piggy back’ staff vehicles into the car park during these times.

Cheers,

Brendan

The West Weekly

Issue 6 · 12 Mar 2020

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