PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

The year is rapidly passing by with the completion of term three culminating in the parent teacher interviews to discuss student progress, in this last week. Thank you to the many parents and carers who were able to attend the interviews. These discussions between parents and teachers are generally a valuable factor in supporting our students to experience success in their studies, through acknowledgement of their achievements and identification of areas requiring further effort and improvement.

Year 12 Trial Exams

Our Year 12 VCE students have completed their trial exams this week as a practice run for the statewide exams commencing on Wednesday 31 October. These trials are important for students to experience performing under test conditions and the pressure it can involve.

From now until the 31st October is a crucial time for students to focus on maximising their revision, and this will certainly be the priority of the teachers in the time leading up to the 31st. Students are encouraged to take full advantage of  the support the teachers are more than willing to give in these last weeks, and we wish them the very best for these final exams.

Footscray Learning Precinct - Funding Commitments for FCC and Gilmore

As reported earlier via Compass, we received some excellent news on the 28th August when the Minister of Education, James Merlino announced a funding commitment of $20.2 million for FCC and Gilmore College.

The Minister specified the funding was for:

A new three storey building at Gilmore

A major upgrade of Science/STEM facilities ar FCC

The three storey building at Gilmore will front onto Barkly Street located to the right of the main red brick building, and is estimated to cost approximately $13 million.

FCC will receive approximately $7 million for the Science/STEM refurbishment. The plan is to relocate the Science area from upstairs to downstairs where we currently have the Futures Centre and Lower C School. The thinking behind this relocation is to have all of the learning areas that require specific purpose spaces - Science, Technology, the Arts - positioned on one level, leaving the upper level for all of the required general classroom spaces. The Library and Media Centre will also remain on this upper level. The location of Science, Technology and the Arts in close proximity is also intended to support the further development of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) programs.

To date, there is no timeline for the release of the committed funding, but it is presumed it will commence in 2019, and of course, is likely  to be dependent on the November election outcome. Nonetheless the commitment is there and it aligns with what our school council was seeking when it conveyed its serious concern and disappointment when there was no funding for FCC or Gilmore in the May budget. As stated previously in the Compass release, I believe it is appropriate to acknowledge the actions and impact  of school council in strongly representing the need for funding for FCC and Gilmore, if the Precinct vision for the new 3 campus secondary school are to be realised. Council is very pleased that the Minister has seen fit to make this initial funding commitment. He also stated that this was only the beginning of the funding, so we look forward to more to come over time to provide our community with a secondary school that is befitting of the envisioned iconic learning precinct offering exceptional educational opportunities to our students.

Mobile Phone Policy

As a result of feedback from some parents and teachers, an updated mobile phone policy was developed and released this term. The  policy was explained to all students in year level assemblies to ensure full awareness of its detail. In brief the policy acknowledges that students may bring a phone to school, but they must be used responsibly and within the policy guidelines.

Within the classroom, phones must be switched off and out of sight. The only exception to this will be when a teacher authorises their use for a specific learning activity. The policy also emphasises that responsible use of mobiles precludes any usage relating to bullying and harassment. The consequences for any inappropriate use are outlined in the policy.

There is also a section on parent-child communication via mobiles. While we understand that mobiles provide a useful mode of communication between parent and child, the policy requests that parents confine this mode of contact to before and after school. If there is a need to contact your child about any urgent or necessary matter you can contact the General Office and your message will be relayed immediately to your child.

If you would like to read the policy in full please open the attachment provided. It can also be found on Compass under the Community icon via  Documentation - FCC Policies.

Highlights of Term Three

A traditional highlight of term three is FCC’s annual production, and the staging of the musical The Wedding Singer certainly reached the level of high quality performance we have come to know with our students. A very big thank you to Malcolm Fretz as director, and the other performing staff who creatively led and supported our students to reach this level of accomplishment. Thank you, as well , to the parents, friends and former students who supported the production through the voluntary contribution of their special skills and expertise. Congratulations also  to our talented students - on and behind stage - who brought the magic to this absolutely delightful execution of The Wedding Singer.

Another major highlight of the term was Intercultural Week celebrating the diversity of our school community - a proud and long-standing hallmark of our college. Thanks and appreciation goes to Natasa Ciabatti (Head of Languages) and her team of Language teachers, and the students from the SRC who worked collaboratively to bring together such a rich and varied program of intercultural activities for all students to experience. This week was invaluable in representing and reinforcing a core aspect of our school values - celebration of, and respect for diversity.

You can read more about these two highlights, as well as many others in the articles to follow.

Finally I would like to draw attention to a major college event in the first week of term four - the FCC Art Show to be held at VU’s Metro Gallery. Further details are provided in this newsletter and we would love you to attend and enjoy the creative expressions of our students in the visual arts.

Looking forward to a successful end to the year for all, in term four.

Best wishes

Maria Bawden - Principal