In this week’s newsletter:

Appreciations and News
- An appreciation to the leadership team
- School Saver Bonus information
- Reception fish tank
- Books ‘n Boots donations
- Emergency Management practice held this afternoon
- Lunch service in lieu of canteen in 2025
- Salvation Army Christmas Appeal
Coming Up
- Assembly tomorrow
- Prep (and 1LL) swim program concludes tomorrow
- Working Bee volunteer booking link
- Grade 1 Museum excursion on Tuesday
- Prep 2025 2nd transition visit

Appreciations and News

An Appreciation to the Leadership Team

Thanks to the parents and students who have welcomed me back after 5 weeks of leave. I feel fortunate to feel this relaxed at the halfway point of what is considered the busiest of terms! I was able to take leave in the knowledge that with Liz sitting in my chair (figuratively) and with the expertise and support of Carolyn and the leadership team, our school was in very good hands. I did wonder how the Vision and Values launch was going as I was in transit and it was terrific to return to see the big value posters in the Wallaby corridor, talk to the students and staff about the day and note innovations, such as our upgraded Pupil of the Week certificates.

School Saver Bonus

Many parents and carers will be looking forward to accessing the one off Government school saver bonus for the 2025 school year that was an ALP election promise for students attending government and low fee independent schools. The $400 can be used for students at primary and secondary school to assist payment for camps, excursions, school uniforms and textbooks. While there has undoubtedly been a great deal of planning for this program to be rolled out, as with any initiative of this nature, the implementation becomes logistically challenging. On 26th November you will receive an email from the Department of Education to the email address that you have provided in your child’s enrolment documentation. Please check your spam folder if you do not receive this email.

Please follow the instructions contained in that email to activate your School Saving Bonus account.
On ‘From the Office Team’ page in today’s newsletter you will find detailed steps on what every family must do to activate their funding.

A Big Appreciation to Maxena and Saxon

Our fish tank in reception has delighted kids for many years. Thanks to former FWPS grandparent, Maxena and her son Saxon for swinging by on Tuesday to again volunteer hours of time to thoroughly clean the tank and change the water. Thoughts are with Dave, Maxena’s husband who is struggling with ill health at the moment. All the best Dave.

Books ‘n Boots

Pictured are John and Tara from the wonderful charity Books n’ Boots who I chatted to in our office when they arrived to collect the latest trove of marvellous donations of high quality student books provided by our families. Our FWPS community is generously assisting John and Tara achieve their goal of Closing the health and literacy gap, one book at a time.

Emergency Management Drill this Afternoon

Each term we plan a whole school emergency management practice. As posted on Compass yesterday:

We will run a DRILL emergency lockdown (recall from the yard) on Thursday (14th November) at FWPS, from 2:20pm, for up to 30 minutes. This drill will allow students to practise being recalled from the yard during the recess break, and then locking down in their classrooms. At the end of the drill, students will return to normal learning and activities.

Lunch Service in 2025

A few weeks ago, we let our community know that we were moving to an experienced off site canteen delivery provider for our 2025 lunch service, given that we will not have a canteen during the period of the gym build. At the time, the School Council had gone through a process to identify a suitable supplier. This process was based on our understanding of the requirements given it was an interim measure until the new facility is available in 2026. We have since been informed that the required procurement process involving an Expression of Interest (EOI) is still recommended, which is currently advertised on our school’s website. https://www.fwps.vic.edu.au/page/294/Lunch-Service-2025---Expression-of-Interest

The EOI will close on Friday, 22nd November, and we anticipate being able to confirm with our community who the preferred 2025 supplier will be after Friday, 29th November.

In the meantime, our current canteen operator, The Lunchbox, continues to provide an onsite service. We recommend that families do not close their accounts at this stage, to ensure continued access to the FWPS canteen services.

Salvation Army Christmas Appeal

Our JSC is collaborating with the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal, an appeal our community has actively and generously supported annually. Please note the message from the JSC in today’s newsletter and please give generously.

Coming Up

Assembly Tomorrow - Friday 15th November

We are hopeful of fine weather tomorrow to enable the grade 2 classes to present their assembly item, curated by our grade 2 team Italian teacher, Kerrie Ahrens. If we are required to hold an indoor assembly (broadcast to classrooms) it will be impractical to provide the presentation due to the large number of students involved. As usual the front gate will be opened at 2:30pm at the end of recess to enable our parents and carers to attend the assembly that is due to start at 2:40pm.

Prep (and 1LL) swimming program concludes tomorrow

A successful swim familiarisation program over the last two weeks has been held at the MAC and will conclude tomorrow. We appreciate the excellent organisation and effort of our teachers and parent and carer volunteers to enable this exciting opportunity for the children.

Working Bee - Sunday, 17th November

A final reminder that our Facilities Committee of our School Council is planning for a general working bee to be held from 9:00am to midday on Sunday, 17th November. Planned works include gardening, painting and general maintenance.

Due to Child Safety requirements, the working bee component of the day will be an adult only event. Attendees will be sent OH&S induction requirements prior to attendance.

Following the working bee, families of participants are invited to join us onsite for a pizza lunch using our outdoor pizza oven. The school will provide pizza bases, basic ingredients and soft drinks. You are welcome to bring along some additional ingredients, if that suits. This will be a family friendly, alcohol-free event.

If you can attend for some or all of the working bee and lunch, please register your details on the link below.

Link: https://forms.gle/ZHLFmoFstz2cWE4D7

For us to run the working bee we do need to have enough volunteers to make it viable. A decision on whether the working bee will proceed will be made by midday tomorrow and communicated via a Compass post.

Grade 1 Museum Excursion on Tuesday

Excursions are an exciting opportunity for our students to experience amazing learning opportunities beyond the school. We are cognisant that the cost of excursions have increased markedly over the past few years and that is a major reason that we need to choose wisely. Consequently the grade 1 team is looking forward to next Tuesday’s trip to Melbourne Museum for a comprehensive program for each of the classes focussing on their mini beast unit with each grade participating in the It’s a Bug’s World program, as well as teacher guided tours of the other permanent programs. A big thanks to Jess Smart for coordinating the preparation and the onerous compliance documentation!

Prep 2025 2nd Transition Visit

We appreciate the fabulous work that our K-P Transition coordinator Karri with the support of Liz and the office and Prep teams to provide a comprehensive and well received program. The students in grade 5 (pictured) have been preparing some wonderful artwork for the new prep welcome bags that will be distributed to the families at the next orientation visit to classrooms next Tuesday.

Cheers,

Brendan

REPEATED MESSAGES FROM PAST NEWSLETTERS

Leaving FWPS in 2025?

If your family is planning to leave for another school next year, we would really appreciate you emailing us at: footscray.west.ps@education.vic.gov.au using the subject line (above) and letting us know your child’s new school so we can process the transfer.

From the Office Team

School Saving Bonus

Parent Payment Arrangements 2025