Principals` Message

The past weeks have been momentous for our school, and indeed, for any school community. The incident that took place on 26th April was terrible and in the words of the police, ‘an extremely rare occurrence’. It is devastating to think that someone took advantage of our school community and the welcoming culture that we have been working to build. I realise how frustrating it must be for families that the full picture of what took place cannot be shared yet – we have so far been unable to have a full understanding from Police as the matter is before the courts. In due course this will change and we will share what we can until then. Although we still do not have the full details of what happened we have enough information to piece together the experiences of everyone involved to understand the events of the day. We have been working to identify where things did not go right and where improvements can be made. Thank you to those families who have spoken with staff, sharing concerns, feedback and words of support. Thank you also to those families who spoke with our school councillors about their feelings and feedback – this was shared at our most recent council meeting. 

Over the past week I have met with representatives from both Victoria Police and Department of Education Security division to discuss the event and complete a site walk of both George and Napier St sites. The purpose was to identify potential improvements that can be made to behaviours and the physical environment. We are waiting to receive the formalized feedback from these visits, however from discussions on the day we have identified changes that can begin to be implemented over the coming weeks. Changes to the physical environment will be a longer term intervention (such as changing the way locks operate and doors open, adding CCTV systems, improving fencing at Napier St) depending on the nature of the changes. Changes to behaviour can be put in place more quickly but will require time to become habit. These changes will affect both staff and families as we make adjustments to the way our school operates. Importantly, as we move forward we will need to decide where the balance will sit between ensuring this can never happen again and not losing our local community welcoming culture. We will keep families updated on these changes through Compass and the Newsletter moving forward. 

Coming out of this event I would like to express my admiration and pride in our school community, especially our families and staff. The response of families to support the affected family, on the day of the incident and in the days afterward, has been extraordinary. The support, whether material or emotional, has been immense and has made a big difference for the affected family. Our values of Courage, Empathy and Respect are usually discussed and emphasized with our students, however our broader community has modelled our values expertly and are an outstanding example for our young people. As a school we have activated a wide range of supports to help the affected family, as well as other students who might be affected. Should you feel your child needs someone to talk to please let our wellbeing team (Ben and Andrea) or the office know and we will facilitate this.

Currently in our society there are many issues that people have strong opinions about, which are expressed in a range of ways. The young people in our school are a part of our society and hear of events and words that take place around them. Children are naturally curious but often have a limited understanding of what these events/words mean and their impact on others. At Fitzroy Primary we value the diversity of culture, ethnicity, and faith of all of our students. We are proud of our diversity, and everyone is welcome at Fitzroy Primary School. Celebrating the diversity of our community makes us stronger, kinder and more creative. We are committed to making sure that students from all backgrounds feel accepted and supported and able to learn. To achieve our values and aims, everyone at Fitzroy Primary School plays an important role. This week, we have reminded students of our values of Courage, Empathy, Respect and the importance of upholding these in everything we do. To help us make Fitzroy Primary School a place where everyone feels welcome, respected and supported, we encourage you to also speak to you child about these values of Courage, Empathy and Respect, as well as the importance of:

-             Understanding that we celebrate diversity and multicultural inclusion

-             Understanding the importance of everyone at school being treated with respect

We teach all students according to our school values and implement the respectful relationships framework. This includes education around diversity and inclusion. We expect families to also display our school values when dealing with other members of our school community.

This week we received some great news for the ongoing development and improvement of our school. On Tuesday 7th May we had a visitor to our school, Enver Erdogan who is Member of Northern Metropolitan Melbourne and Minister for Justice. Minister Erdogan was very interested in our school and the changes that had taken place. Our student leaders Isabella, Rama and Abdul took him on a tour of both sites and discussed our school. During the visit the Minister informed us that we have received funding for the Stage 2 modernisation works at Napier St in the state budget. This confirms the total allocation of $6.6million for this part of the master plan and capital works. While the announcement is good news we now wait to see confirmed timelines for commencement. 

Lastly, we have some staffing news. We are excited this week to have Vicky Kezos begin work with our Year 5 and 6 classes replacing Courtney Spezza. Vicky will be teaching in English to Year 5 and will share the Year 6 class with Nick Smith. In the Office Julian Vescio will be taking leave for 12months from mid-May to move overseas. Julian will return in Term 3 next year and until then the Business Manager role will be split in two ways. We will work with the Schools Administrative Services Hub (A Department of Education service) to complete many of the business management tasks remotely. At school we have had Michelle Smith join us in a Finance and Administration Officer role, acting as the at school connection to the remote services. We wish Julian well for his leave and welcome both Michelle and Vicky to the team. 

-Nathan Moore & Andrea Hennessey