In this week's newsletter

Appreciations and News …
- Covid again
- Mother’s day stall appreciation
- Educational Support staff appreciation
- Prep information session appreciation
- IDAHOBIT Day acknowledgement
- Zoo Snooze - final appreciations
- Education Week activities held over for next week
Coming up
- Interschool sports tomorrow
- Assembly
- Prep 2024 Information final Session and Tour 9.30 am Tuesday, 30th May
- Grade 3 and 4 AFL clinics
- Prep information session (final)
Repeated (and updated) messages

Appreciations and News

Covid again - Unfortunately this week has felt a little bit like a return to the ‘bad old days’, with very significant Covid transmission across our staff and students. This has really challenged us in running our teaching and learning program across the school. Nevertheless, even with 8 teaching staff absent on Tuesday, classes and students were calm as Kim Tong and I toured the school with over 40 prospective 2024 Prep parents and many of their children. The challenges and costs for schools in managing staff absences would appear to continue for the foreseeable future. Relief teachers can be difficult to secure and the additional costs are entirely borne by school finances - there has been no increase to school budgets for this extraordinary expenditure. I am sure you can imagine that it is very difficult to predict and even more difficult to budget for. So we urge parents to again revert to using rapid antigen tests whenever their children are showing any symptoms, or you know or suspect they have been a Covid close contact. Even when in doubt, please keep your child home while symptoms persist. This morning I tested positive, so I will be working as best as I can from home for a few days. I will do my best to remain isolated from my family for 5 days when hopefully my symptoms will have fully cleared.

From the current Schools’ Operation Guide
Students (or their parents) should also report a positive result to their school, either through the COVID Test portal or by phone or written notification.
And if you are running low on RATs … Rapid Antigen Tests are also available for all Victorians from Council sites. People can get 2 free packs (10 tests) for themselves and 2 free packs (10 tests) for each of their household members.
And we continue to have hundreds of RATs available from the school office. Drop in or ask and we will send some packs home with your child.
Mother’s Day Stall - A wonderful team effort by our Parents Association members ensured last Friday all students had the opportunity to purchase up to $5 of gifts for their mums, or a special person. We can see pictured some of our satisfied students waiting with their gifts and Tim and Madi’s grades during their browsing and buying time.

Thank you to our ES Team - Despite missing many of our teachers to COVID and flu on Tuesday we still managed a small celebration for our wonderful ES staff on Education Support Staff Day! From our classroom-based support staff, to the office team, school nurse, maintenance, library tech, ICT staff, social worker and external supports such as the canteen and TheirCare, our school wouldn't be the remarkable place it is without these wonderful people. Our students are lucky and we feel privileged to work with them at FWPS. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, FWPS ES staff.
Appreciations to Kim and Brooke who were the only Prep team members well enough to be at school on Tuesday for the second of our 2024 Prep information sessions and school tour. It was a bit of a challenge to offer the full tour experience with 4 prep team members and 2 members of our specialist team unwell, so it was particular credit to Kim and Brooke for their commitment.
IDAHOBIT Day - Wednesday was the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) FWPS stands in support of our LGBTQIA+ students, staff, families and community members. Our local Maribyrnong Council supports diversity and cultural safety for all. I have included a link to Maribyrnong Council’s Anthony Tran’s acknowledgement from 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPTTuOMnnm8
Make sure you also read the notice from members of our Rainbow Families Group in today’s newsletter.
Our Grade 3 and 4 Zoo Snooze overnight camp experiences concluded on Wednesday. This week we acknowledge Michael, Carolyn, Caity and Towela for their support in ensuring each of our grade 3 and 4 students enjoyed an amazing and memorable camp experience. Once again, thanks to Jess Du Plessis and Liz Beasley for the extraordinary level of organisation and our office team for all the background support and communication with families. We simply could not have held our 8 overnight camps without their assistance. Some final images can be located on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/footscraywestprimary
Education Week activities - Due to the large number of teaching staff who have been absent this week, JSC conveners Brooke and Lee have made the sensible decision that the lunch time activities organised by the JSC will be held over until next Tuesday. A report will be included in next week’s assembly items.

Coming up

Interschool sport for the grade 6 cohort will be an away game competing against the students from Footscray Primary School. Games will be played at Footscray PS and Henry Turner Reserve (soccer) between 12.15 and 1.30 pm.
Assembly tomorrow will feature a grade poetry item presented by 4JD. Last week (pictured) are members of 4AF presenting their fabulous item at last week’s assembly. Families are welcome to attend our live assemblies, whether outdoors, or if the weather is not conducive, inside in the gallery space in the Dingo. When the weather does not permit an outdoor assembly, a small audience attends and it is broadcast to the classrooms. Assembly starts at 2.40 pm on Fridays.

Grade 3 and 4 AFL clinics started this week and will continue for a few more weeks. 4JD will provide a newsletter update next week.
The final 2024 Prep information session will be held at 9.30 am Tuesday fortnight, 30th May.

Stop Press

The Lunchbox Canteen apologises for a tech glitch that really was out of their control today. Staff opened up this morning to find their laptop that has a key role in the process of ordering online had been disconnected overnight. This led to a significant number of lunch orders not being queued for the staff members. They have worked to try and ensure that all students have received their lunch, however as lunch service times are very tight, please understand that there may be students who have waited for lunch or may not have received their preference. We will follow up with ancillary staff who were onsite after school and see if we can ensure this is a one off issue! If you do have any concerns, emails sent to the school email will be forwarded to our proprietor, Lindy to address.

Cheers,

Brendan

Repeated (and updated) messages …

Hearing your voice - In every newsletter we will add a feedback link. If you have a concern, suggestion or appreciation, or wish to specifically provide comment on school policies, rather than looking for the school email, you can just go to the link. This will not be the preferred option for detailed emails - the usual practice of using the school email: footscray.west.ps@education.vic.gov.au will still be the avenue, but for the concerns, suggestions or appreciations go to: https://forms.gle/dPnAN75bFVeM1i16A

Parent/Carer Volunteer Induction - This information has been ‘pinned’ on Compass so it remains easily accessible. You will currently find it as the second pinned item on your News Feed . For all new families or parents and carers who didn’t complete the online process last year, if you wish to assist in classrooms, excursions or camps, or volunteer for really any other purpose at FWPS, we need you to complete the modules online. For parents/carers who did this last year, all you need to do is sign the relevant form at the office.

Change of email - We are no longer using the school gmail addresses for communication to staff. Parents will be asked to communicate directly with staff using the email facility within Compass, or email the school email address at: footscray.west.ps@education.vic.gov.au ‘Attention staff member’s name’. Emails sent from the Compass app will be sent directly to the relevant staff members’ education email account. Please understand that staff are busy and will respond in a timely manner. If a matter is urgent, you are advised to call the school during office hours, or leave a message outside those hours.

Car park use - A reminder that the car park is open prior to 8 am and after 4 pm daily for parent access for the Their Care OSHC program. At other times, please appreciate that the car park is for staff use. Should you need to walk through to the Their Care location at Emu Corner, for safety’s sake we ask that you use the pedestrian gate next to the boom gate and make your way between Koala and the Wallaby buildings past Gecko via the basketball court through to Emu Corner.

Please check out the brief explanatory video at: https://vimeo.com/777907951

Photo Permission - When parents and carers first sign the enrolment form for school entry, they may be understandably reluctant to sign the photo permission section. We frequently use pictures and videos to share learning highlights and to maintain and foster school/home links. As we frequently include photos and videos of the students learning and playing we are regularly confronted by wonderful picture opportunities we cannot share in our newsletter and videos.

We would love you to review your decision so your child can be fully involved in the life of our school. Feel free to contact your child’s teacher or the office so they can make those adjustments on your behalf.

COVID information - As you will all understand, COVID continues to be transmitted within the community and remains a highly infectious illness. Consequently, it continues to be vital for families to remain careful when exposed to COVID or when demonstrating symptoms. While schools will no longer be providing Rapid Antigen Tests - We do have dozens of leftover packs that have at least 6 months left before their use by date. Drop in to the office, or send us a message and we will send some home with your child.

Many of you will have heard that this year RATs, while continuing to be supplied by the state government, will be distributed by local councils from venues such as our library locations.

Rapid Antigen Tests are also available for all Victorians from Council sites. People can get 2 free packs (10 tests) for themselves and 2 free packs (10 tests) for each of their household members.

People with disability and their carers can get up to 4 free packs (20 tests) in line with existing RAT distribution for people with disability.

Further information can be obtained at Council Rapid Antigen Test Program.

Rapid antigen testing

It is recommended that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are used by students and staff:

· If you have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild

· If you are a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19

· If you are a social contact of someone who has COVID-19.

The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians should report their positive RAT result to the Department of Health online, or by calling 1800 675 398.

Students (or their parents) should also report a positive result to their school, either through the COVID Test portal or by phone or written notification.

Physical Education News

Physical Education Teachers: Stratos Tzanoudakis & Andrew Tudor

Winter Sports