FPS Newsletter

Principal's Report

Junior Sports Day

In typical FPS fashion, the lead up to Junior Sports Day was all about whether the rain would hold off. After a wet and soggy few days last week, we were pleasingly able to host our Junior Sports Day as planned, and as usual, it was a big success.

 

Our Year 6 students led our Foundation – Year 2 students through the morning rotations, assisting and supporting them beautifully. Congratulations to our Year 6s.

 

After recess, our junior students had the opportunity to race against each other on the oval. The best part of this event for me is having all of our junior students coming together and cheering on one another as they dash towards the finish line. Our School value of Respect was definitely on display. And I have to mention the adults race at the end of the event, where we saw a number of our family members take the opportunity to get involved in the fun.

 

Thank you to everyone who came and watched the event. Well done to our students, particularly Year 6 for their leadership, and thank you to our PE Coordinator Geoff McShane, for planning and running the day.

 

Births & A Wedding

There is some exciting news to share about our staff outside of the classroom:

  • Serena King: Congratulations to Serena and Greg on the recent arrival of baby Leo.
  • Faye Soderstrom: Congratulations to Faye and her family on the recent arrival of baby Hadrian.
  • Kelly McKeown: Kelly will be heading home to the US to get married to her partner Ryan during the summer holidays. Congratulations to Kelly and Ryan.

 

Using Fundraising from Past Events

Sustainability Officer

You may recall reading in previous newsletters about how we are using our funds from past fundraising events. Part of the funds were allocated for our sustainability work, and you can read in this newsletter about how we are employing a Sustainability Project Officer to lead our sustainability projects.

 

Whilst our amazing parents within the Environmental and Sustainability Working Group and staff within the Sustainability School Improvement Team have made great strides, it has been recognised that to make the sustainable differences that we strive for, we need to have a dedicated person to lead this work.

 

Amelia Trompf has been selected for this role. Amelia has been heavily involved in past sustainability projects, and is already planning waste streams for the end of year ‘clear out’,  including recycling, rehoming and reusing the following:

  • Unwanted stationery, both new and used.
  • Lost property (clothes, lunch boxes, containers and drink bottles, miscellaneous items.) 
  • Books (unwanted/ out of date resource books, dated or damaged library books, and book that are okay to be donated.)
  • Christmas gift wrapping and ribbons from teacher gifts.
  • Classroom games with missing pieces (a local resident collects these and creates sets to be given back to the community). 
  • Laminating for recycling and reuse.
  • Unwanted  tubs, book boxes and containers.

 

FPS Reconciliation Action Plan

Fundraising money has also been allocated towards the development of our Reconciliation Action Plan. Following our first parent group meeting last term, you can hear more about what has been achieved to date and planned next steps from our Koorie Perspectives School Improvement Team in this newsletter.

 

Year 4 Camp – Date Change

Our Year 4 camp has changed dates (from early October) to Thursday 14 – Friday 15 November 2024. Please save this date to your calendars.

 

A Full Calendar – Upcoming Events

The end of the school year is arguably the busiest time on the calendar. There are a number of events and celebrations to look forward to, and we thank staff for their efforts in time and planning. See Compass for further details.

 

This week:

  • Wednesday 6 December – Year 3 – 6 Swimming Carnival
  • Thursday 7 December – Concert Band, Choir & Brass Festive Concert
  • Friday 8 December - Foundation 2024 - Meet Your Teacher session
  • Friday 8 December – End of Year School Picnic

 

Next Week:

  • Monday 11 December – Foundation End of Year Excursion (Rock Climbing)
  • Tuesday 12 December – Year 7 Orientation (Government High Schools)
  • Thursday 14 December – Year 1 & Year 3 End of Year Excursions (Cooper’s Settlement & Westgarth Cinema)
  • Thursday 14 December – Year 5/6 Concert ‘Porridge’
  • Friday 15 December -Foundation - Year 5, Meet Your Teacher session

 

The Final Week

  • Monday 18 December – Foundation Celebration of Learning & Year 6 Graduation
  • Tuesday 19 December – Year 5/6 End of Year Excursion (Funfields)
  • Wednesday 20 December – End of Year Assembly

 

This our final newsletter of the year. We will however, send a communication towards the end of the year to:

  • Farewell our Year 6 students and departing families.
  • Celebrate the events that have taken place.
  • Announce our 2024 Year 6 School Community Leaders and Specialist Captains.
  • Acknowledge the efforts of our students, support of our parents and the work of our staff.

 

Enjoy the rest of the week.

 

~ Paul Wallace, Principal