Principal's Report

In this week’s newsletter:

Congratulations and Appreciations

• Congratulations to Lauren Baker

News

• School Council News
• Prep Teddy Bear's Picnic
• Easter Raffle 
• Parents' Association Second Hand Uniform Stall
• Inform and Empower
• Liz on Leave
• Building Works
• Ride2 School

Coming Up

• Friday Assembly
• Kids’ Share
• Hoodie Up for Autism
• Prep Open Afternoon (final)
• End of Term

Reminders and Repeated Messages

• Pen Recycling Location at Office
• Student References
• Inform and Empower Program / Raising Kids in a Digital World Information Evening
• Road Safety Reminder
• School Saver Bonus
• Curriculum Contributions
• Photo and Video Permission Form

Congratulations 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Lauren Baker and wife Jess on the wonderful news of the birth of their first child August Flynn. He was a bonnie weight of (old school) 9 lbs and 1 oz.  Lauren and bubs are doing well.

News

School Council News 

Our 2024 School Council membership met at school on Monday evening, welcoming new members Andrew Jago and Kate Riley. At the first meeting the first business is the election of the executive. We are pleased that our current office bearers were returned to the positions they had held: congrats to Andrew Newman (President), Paul Gregg (Vice President) and Alison Thistlewaite (Treasurer).  

Prior to each School Council meeting, a comprehensive list of attachments is forwarded to membership for the purpose of preparing members with background for all items of general business, as well as reports on any sub committees that have met. 

We then covered the following aspects:

• The Annual Report to the School Community is a requirement for all government schools to prepare a report that shares and explains data sets from the previous year.  They focus on School context, Student learning, Engagement, Wellbeing and School finances.  The report was approved by Council. Once it is attested by the Department of Education, we will upload it to our website. We are then required to present the report for a public meeting. That will likely occur in an online format prior to our next School Council meeting in May.
• The Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) is a requirement for leadership in government schools to prepare a thorough plan for curriculum and wellbeing priorities and targets for the school year. It is based on the School Strategic Plan that was developed in our 2023 School Review. The 2025 AIP was presented and approved by School Council on Monday.
• Parents' Association President, Clare Mitchell-Crow provided a comprehensive breakdown of PA plans for the school year. It is a requirement that School Councils approve the program that will include fundraising and community events. They have done a marvellous job in setting us up for a terrific year.
• The finance report included a recommendation for the installation of air conditioning for the Dingo library and gallery spaces. This significant, school funded infrastructure will be installed during a holiday period this year, in order to reduce the disruption for students and staff. We anticipate that installation will be prior to the return of hot weather in term 4.
• Our ComPol report recommended the adoption of an updated School Council policy relating to food sharing, especially with regards to celebrations such as birthdays. A summary of the reasons for the development of the policy and how we anticipate this will apply from the start of term 2, is included on the School Council News page of today’s newsletter.

Prep Teddy Bear’s Picnic Video 

A wonderful montage of our prep students with their favourite teddies and furry friends.  Thanks to the prep team, in particular Hayley for preparing this presentation.

Easter Raffle

The Parents’ Association and office team have been delighted by the generosity of our community in donating a terrific amount of chocolate and Easter related goodies, in particular over the last week. We were pleased to also receive an offer from our TK Tuckshop, our current food delivery service for a donation of 40 Cadbury chocolate blocks. Awesome!  

Parents’ Association will be meeting in the Art room at 2:00pm next Wednesday to create the hampers for every class. Thanks to the parents and carers who have volunteered to assist. The hamper prize winners will be announced at our final assembly on Friday next week.

Parents’ Association Second Hand Uniform Stall 

The old container that has been the site of the second hand uniform stall, was moved by necessity from behind the Gecko building to its new location at the southern end of the Bilby building at the front of the school. While we have managed to improve the look by having it spray painted, the PA’s plan to turn it into an absolute visual highlight is soon to become a reality.  The Hey Nice Murals team provided a couple of brilliant themed designs and these were shared with our student leadership groups (Environment Team, JSC and Marrung) and they voted overwhelmingly in favour of this design.

Hey Nice Murals staff are due to paint the design onto the stall on the week starting 5th of May. A big appreciation to the PA team and the support of our student representatives.

Inform and Empower 

Staff professional learning this week required teams to view a recent presentation from Inform and Empower, the team who have been bringing our students timely, relevant and engaging cyber safety messages this year. It is a reminder that the fabulous range of resources available through the Inform and Empower website include a video of the presentation provided to FWPS parents and carers in February and listed (below) in Reminders and Repeated Messages.

Liz on Leave 

Assistant Principal, Liz Beasley will be going on leave next week and will return in week 4 next term.  All who have worked or interacted with Liz will appreciate how hard she works and how much she deserves a wonderful break seeing amazing places and capturing wonderful memories with her highly accomplished photographer's eye. Bon Voyage!

Building Works 

Following some quiet days due to the priority of NAPLAN assessment, works have returned with gusto this week. Plumbing and concrete slab preparation has involved the creation of major earth works. Pictured below:

Ride2 School 

While many students did take the opportunity to ride their bikes or scooters to school on Friday, unfortunately the weather didn’t comply and with no indoor facility available we were unable to have the Community Bike Hub staff check the safety and make minor repairs of the kids’ bikes.  We did stress that we considered this postponed rather than a cancelled event. I have contacted Amy, the Bike Hub convener, to see when we can arrange another date next term.

Coming Up

Friday Assembly 

Friday’s assembly will include this week’s Pupils of the Week and our assembly item will feature a presentation from the students in 3DM, and reports from the Environment Team and JSC, as well as the presentation of the Pupil of the Week awards.

The forecast is for warm and dry weather, so we look forward to returning to an indoor assembly after the hybrid assembly held last week. 

Kids’ Share 

For families of students in grades 1-6, we invite you to attend your child’s classroom(s) after school next Tuesday between 3:30pm and 4:10pm. This time allows parents and carers, along with their children, the chance to visit multiple classrooms if needed. The purpose is for your child to welcome you into their learning space and take ownership by showing you around. While class teachers of course will be in attendance, this is an informal visit and not another parent / teacher meeting. Since we introduced Kids’ Share we have found it very well supported. We hope to again see this well patronised next Tuesday.

Hoodie up for Autism 

In recent years our Junior School Council have been the drivers for this annual recognition of autism as a regular aspect of all societies. People with autism have different strengths and challenges and what families most strive for is understanding. The Amaze Foundation helps families and through JSC promoting Hoodie Up for Autism Day each year we can assist in increasing all our understanding. Students are encouraged to wear a hoodie as part of a casual dress day next Wednesday, 2nd April.  We also encourage the donation of a gold coin in class. All money raised will be distributed to The Amaze Foundation to assist them meet their goals.

Prep Open Afternoon Visits 

The final Prep Open visit will be held next Wednesday straight after recess. These staged visits over the last few Wednesdays should have enabled all families the opportunity to attend a visit to see their child and their peers engaged in Learning through Play.  We appreciate the strong level of interest from our families with the support of our fabulous Prep teaching team.

End of Term 

Our first term finishes at the earlier time of 2:20pm next Friday, 4th April following assembly. The Their Care program starts earlier on this day.

Reminders and Repeated Messages

Pen Recycling Location at Office 

The Environment Team is supporting a pen recycling program and this was reported on at last week’s assembly. While the students were focussed on the many hundreds of pens and textas that eventually wear out at school, you're welcome to send in some from home. 

Student References 

Due to an ever-increasing workload and in agreement with our local network schools, FWPS teachers and leadership will no longer provide written letters of recommendation / support for scholarship applications for students who are transitioning to independent or Catholic schools. This applies for Year 6 to 7 transitions, as well as transitions in earlier year levels. With written consent from parents/carers (via an email to the school office), we are able to pass on copies of school reports and have a conversation with a students' new school for the purpose of supporting the transition process. 

Inform and Empower Program / Raising Kids in a Digital World Information Evening 

A replay of Marty and Carley’s first rate presentation and family resources are available here: 

Road Safety Reminder 

A week rarely passes without multiple examples of worrying behaviour from motorists during the busy drop off and pick up times. The rush to do so often leads to students being put at risk by being encouraged to walk between double parked cars and crossing Argyle Street away from the pedestrian crossing. We can all recall the tragedy that occurred at a Melbourne primary school last year. No one wants to see a similar experience at FWPS.

School Saver Bonus 

The office team and in particular our Business Manager, Sandra have continued to be busy every day assisting parents and carers in making sure that they are registered and able to access the $400 one off School Saver Bonus. If this has got away from you, or you just need some assistance, please contact the office team for some practical assistance. The team loves to help. We want every family to fully make use of this opportunity.

Curriculum Contributions 

A parent / carer payment contribution Compass post was sent to all families early in term. We really appreciate your support in making this payment for each of your children as soon as possible. Funds received are directed to subsidising the many curriculum costs in managing a school of this size. FWPS is a school that is underfunded based on the Schooling Resource Standard https://www.education.gov.au/recurrent-funding-schools/schooling-resource-standard for Australian schools. At FWPS we receive a lower rate of equity funding due to our local demographic than many other western suburbs schools. This may be deemed as fair from a systemic perspective, but doesn't help us pay the bills!  With annual fees topped at $300 (prep) we really think our community can do better than the 69% of families (grades 1-6) last year who contributed their expected contribution. There is an opportunity to pay by instalments. Please contact the office team if you would like more information or assistance.

Photo and Video Permission Form 

The Department of Education now requires parents and carers to sign this permission form annually (this used to be a requirement only when students started school, or moved to FWPS). This requirement has made a ‘once off task’ for every child now a x7 task for every child. That is a lot of parent time and you can imagine how that is magnified from a schools’ administration perspective. If you haven't done this yet, please make this a priority to complete and return to the office (or classroom). 

We really wish to encourage parents and carers to tick all 3 boxes to enable pictures or videos from class events (incursions, excursions, assemblies, sporting events and camps) and special moments (such as presentations and reports from assembly) to be able to be shown (or linked) in the newsletter and official school Facebook page.

Warm regards,

Brendan