Principals` Message
Week 8 News
Experiences and performances have been a rich part of the learning that has taken place over the past two weeks at Fitzroy Primary School.
Our students were an excellent audience during a special performance by the Lyneham High School band. Lyneham High School are from Canberra and their concert band was touring Melbourne performing at a range of venues; they had just performed at Parliament House before coming to Fitzroy Primary. Our students heard lots of different music and songs, learned about new instruments and their sounds, and enjoyed a great performance. Some children later told me they had never seen a band like that nor heard some of the instruments. It was a great cultural experience and supported the learning taking place in performing arts.
Our year 1/2 students took their inquiry learning into the real world on Thursday in their excursion to the Merri Creek. They participated in a range of learning activities about the environment of Merri Creek, which supports and reinforces learning from class time. They dodged the rain well and I have been told the best part of their day was the giant playground where they had lunch. Well done on a great day 1-2 students and teachers.
Our book week celebrations culminated with our wonderful dress up day and parade on Friday last week. I was very happy to see the majority of our students dressing up as a favourite book character or as an author/illustrator. There was a wide range of costumes on display, with a lot of effort and thought going into many of them. I was also very happy to have our families join in the parade and celebrating the joy of books as a community. Thank you to everyone who was involved in this great event.
Our recess and lunch activities have continued to grow and build for all our students. There are a range of club opportunities for children to join in each day. On Monday there will be jewellery making, on Tuesday crochet and knitting, on Wednesday basketball and soccer clinic, on Thursday Art & Craft, and on Friday there will be board games. Students also have access to a wide range of sports equipment to use at recess and lunchtime. Each break they can borrow equipment from the red sports bin to use with friends or by themselves. These opportunities provide positive activities for all students to engage in and have fun during their outside break.
Thank you to all our families who attended our second assembly for the year on Tuesday. Assemblies are an important part of Primary school life, building culture, celebrating successes and sharing important information with everyone. Our student speakers did a great job sharing with lots of people and the students showed mostly positive audience behaviour. Each assembly we will provide a special privilege of bonus playtime awarded to the class that shows our audience behaviours the best. Well done to 3-4D who were the first class to receive this reward and will enjoy their extra playtime one day next week. As we move into Term 4 there will also be values awards provided to those students who show our school values of Respect, Courage and Empathy. I look forward to continuing to build our assemblies across the year.
One very important item from assembly is the promotion of positive school attendance. Each assembly I will highlight those children who attended school for 100% of the previous week. We want all of our children to be at school every day, unless they are unwell or attending appointments. Positive school attendance is linked with good academic and well-being outcomes, and building social connections in being part of a community. If a child misses 1 day of school per fortnight that will add up to 4 weeks per year – missing a whole month of learning. Across their school life this will add up to 52 weeks, which is the same as missing 1 year and 1 term, which is a massive hole in a child’s education. Parents and Carers can help by ensuring their child/ren have a positive attitude to school attendance, are at school on time to maximise their learning and inform the office of any absences. If you have any concerns about your child’s attendance please speak with your class teacher or with our wellbeing team for support.
This week we heard the sad news that Cooper will be stepping down from his role at Big Childcare. Cooper has been an important part of the OSHC program at Fitzroy Primary for a long time and has made many positive relationships with children and families. We wish Cooper all the best for his future endeavours and hope to see him again in the future. Big Childcare are in the process of recruiting a new manager and will still have Lynton and Natalie caring for our students at OSHC.
As we head towards the end of the school term I would like to remind everyone that the last day of Term 3 is Friday 15th September and will be an early 2.30pm finish time.
-Nathan Moore & Andrea Hennessey