Principal's Report

Updated School Vision

As part of our upcoming school review, we took the opportunity to rewrite our vision. Following multiple levels of consultation, the final vision is below.

Our vision is for students to embrace all learning opportunities enabling them to thrive both at school and beyond. Guided by our values of Excellence, Creativity, Community and Respect, we create an environment where students feel safe, valued, value others, and contribute with a sense of purpose.

We feel that this updated vision captures:

• Our commitment to learning. It was important for us to include learning in our vision, as our school improvement work continually revolves around student learning. 
• Our values guide all that we do. Our vision is for students to achieve excellence, demonstrate creativity and respect, and develop community mindedness.
• Our school provides an environment where students value themselves and others, promoting positive wellbeing for all.

Mini Assemblies

Our mini assemblies continue to be held twice a term. These assemblies are an opportunity to reinforce the SWPBS lessons taught in the classroom. As part of this term’s mini assembly (number 5), we revisited the topics that we have covered so far:

In a recent assembly I shared some safety signs, designed by students in 1C during a literacy lesson, that reinforce the mini assembly topics.

Literacy Across the School

Some of the Literacy learning taking place in the classrooms this term has caught my eye.

I have enjoyed seeing the novel studies that our senior students are reading. The rich and thought-provoking texts are inspiring thoughtful discussions, which students are then drawing upon in their own writing.

Year levels are reading:

• Year 6: ‘Lion: A Long Way Home’ by Saroo Brierly 
• Year 5: ‘Bindi' by Kirli Saunders
• Year 4: ‘Strangers on Country’ by Dave Hartley and Kirsty Murray

I encourage parents who have children in these year groups to ask them about the books they are reading and the connections they can make between the stories and real-world events.

Another impressive example of Literacy learning was the online books created by Year 6 students during their science fiction unit last term. Several of these books were featured in our previous newsletter, and are certainly worth taking the time to read.

ART FOR ALL Countdown

The countdown is on – we have less than 4 weeks to go until our ART FOR ALL weekend hits town! The billboards around the streets of Fairfield add to the excitement – many thanks to the families hosting the billboards. This year’s event is sure to be another big hit, with something for everyone.

ART FOR ALL is an event run by the community for the community. This means that we need your help.

• It's time to volunteer; see the details in this newsletter, including suggested class allocations.

• It's time to donate; we are looking for ArtZone supplies, jam jars, and cartons of soft drink. Find out the specifics here.

   

Thank you Bendigo Bank!

A shout out to Bendigo Bank East Ivanhoe for their generous sponsorship of ART FOR ALL. This year they donated $4400. Across the years, Bendigo Bank has supported Fairfield Primary to a total of $80,380. 

The Bendigo Bank operates a Community Bank model, which enables them to continue reinvesting in local schools, clubs, organisations and community initiatives.

Colour Fun Run Fundraising

We are pleased to share the fundraising results of our Colour Fun Run as we work towards our goal of $100,000 for our yard redevelopment project.

Thanks to the incredible support of our students, families and community, we raised an amazing $29,704 through the Colour Fun Run. This is a fantastic achievement and a wonderful reflection of our community spirit.

With this contribution, our total fundraising amount for the year is $52,445.

Final Prize Recipients

The final prizes awarded for the Colour Fun run were in recognition of the junior class and the senior class that raised the largest amount.

Congratulations 1C, who raised a whopping $3,525 and were justifiably awarded the junior prize of an extra specialist lesson. I took 1C for their awarded prize; they chose Physical Education to celebrate.

Congratulations to 3A, who raised a significant $1,730. To celebrate their fundraising efforts, students in 3A will take part in a teacher-student netball game this Friday. We look forward to seeing their fancy moves on the court!

Message from Kristen, our French Teacher

Dear Families, 

I would like to let you know that I will be away for the remainder of this term on a pre-arranged trip to Canada to attend to important family and personal commitments. During my absence, French classes will continue as planned with a replacement teacher. 

I have spent considerable time preparing engaging lessons, resources, and plans to ensure that learning continues seamlessly and that students experience consistency in the classroom while I am away. 

Thank you for your understanding and support. I look forward to returning next term and continuing our French learning together. 

Kind regards, 

Kristen Kotsopoulos

French will continue to run in Kristen’s absence. For the next two weeks we have Zanthy Diner teaching French. Zanthy is a secondary school trained French teacher.

Parent Teacher Interviews

This week, and next week for 6C, we are holding our mid-year parent teacher interviews. These interviews are an opportunity for you and your child’s teacher to discuss semester one reports, and for teachers to provide details in relation to the progression points that your children received, as well as their learning growth and next steps.

Years 6 Graduation – Tuesday 15 December

Our Year 6 Graduation will be held on Tuesday 15 December. This event will mark the completion of seven years of primary school for our graduating students!  Further details will be communicated in Compass shortly.

Congratulations Jayde!

Congratulations to Jayde Brownhill and Matt on the arrival of baby Leonard last week. We send Jayde, Matt and Leonard our best wishes from FPS.

Enjoy the rest of your week