Principal Report - 

Mrs Cameron

It was wonderful to see so many of you at our recent parent coffee mornings and our first assembly last Friday. Family engagement has been and is an ongoing priority at Fyans Park and while we focus on our students’ sense of belonging, equally is our families’ sense of connection to the Fyans Park community.

Starting Right Program 

At the beginning of each school year and throughout each term, all classroom and specialist teachers work with students to revise our School Wide Positive Behaviour Supports (SWPBS) Expected Behaviours. 

For new families to Fyans Park, the Expected Behaviours were developed in collaboration with students for behaviour in all areas of the school. 

See below our latest signage for all toilets at Fyans Park, that details the expected behaviours both visually and in text as a reminder for all students aligned to two of our three school values – Respect and Responsibility. 

School Council Update 

Our School Council met earlier this week for the final meeting of the 2025 school term with our AGM and first official meeting for 2026 scheduled for Monday 23rd March.

If you have ever given thought to joining School Council, now is the time to consider this for 2026 with vacancies that currently exist due to retiring members, whose children are now in secondary school. I would be very happy to answer any questions so please do reach out either in person or via phone on 5221 3772 if you would like to know more about how you can support the school as a member of council. 

There are eight School Council meetings each year, all held on Monday nights at school, during school terms. The council plays a critical role in overseeing school governance and policy, and parent perspective is highly valued. 

Buildings and Grounds Update

You will now see temporary fencing surrounding the retaining wall along the Cook Street driveway. The school has been informed by the VSBA (Victorian School Building Authority) that an engineer has been engaged to redesign the wall and once complete, along with the funding application, a tender process will commence for the new/repaired retaining wall. Student safety is our priority and while the structure is sound, it requires extensive work to ensure its sustainability and the temporary fencing will remain to ensure students stay off the area.

Parent/Carer and Teacher Meet and Greet

Our teachers are enjoying getting to know the students in their grades and it will soon be time for us to learn more from parents and carers. 

Prior to our meet and greets, we ask you to consider the following:

• Your child’s strengths 
• Areas for support 
• Any other items you wish to share that you feel will help to support your child

On Wednesday 18th February we will be holding our Meet and Greet for families from 2.30pm – 6.50pm. Students will be dismissed from school at the normal time of 3.30pm. 

If you haven’t already, please book in a time on Compass to see your child’s classroom teacher. 

All Meet and Greets will be taking place in our 3/4 Building.

For parents and carers of students in Foundation, we are giving our students a little more time to settle in and your Meet and Greets with classroom teachers is scheduled for Wednesday 18th March.

The Compass booking system is now open. Please follow the link on your Compass app home screen to book.

The teachers and I look forward to seeing you there. 

NAPLAN 2026

Teachers are working with students in Years 3 and 5 this term in best supporting them to be prepared and confident as we head into the Naplan Assessment Period later this term. By allowing students time to ask questions about the purpose and expectations of NAPLAN, we are hopeful to alleviate any concerns or worries for students, prior to the assessments taking place. Our processes have ensured over the last few years, that students enter the assessments confident and ready to put in their best efforts. 

Rather than teach to the tests, our teaching teams prepare students by unpacking the skills required to respond to questions, use worked examples, we encourage the use of paper to show their working out, brainstorm strategies that can be utilised for different question types and discuss answers. This explicit focus in our teaching also impacts on students in years 4 and 6 who will be undertaking NAPLAN in 2027, so everyone benefits. 

The NAPLAN assessment program commences on the 11th March – 23rd March this year. 

Process for Parent Collection of Students – During School Hours 

To minimise disruptions to our school's teaching and learning programs, we request that all parents and carers collect students from the school’s office. 

If your child has an appointment or requires collection for any reason during school hours. Please see below for our school’s process. 

1. Parent/Carer to arrive at school front office and sign student out via the Compass kiosk or directly via admin staff. 

2. Admin staff will notify your child’s classroom teacher, and your child will make their way to the front office for collection.

    

We appreciate the support of all families with this process and in further strengthening our school’s child safe compliance.

School Council Elections

It is that time of year again, with preparations underway for School Council elections for 2026. 

School Council elections will take place this term and I encourage parents to read the information below and consider expressing interest for school council membership in 2026. We have an active and engaged School Council and welcome new members. 

For existing members of School Council, if you are at the conclusion of your term of office and are keen to continue on School Council you are still required to self-nominate and complete a nomination form which are available at the front office.

Please see below more information about School Council.

What is a School Council and what does it do? 

All government schools in Victoria have a School Council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the broad directions of a school in accordance with their constituting Order and the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. In doing this, a School Council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.

Who is on the School Council? 

For most primary School Councils, there are three possible categories of membership: A mandated elected Parent member category – more than one-third of the total members must be from this category.

DET employees can be Parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not engaged in work at the school.

A mandated elected DET employee member category – members of this category may make up no more than one-third of the total membership of School Council. The Principal of the school is automatically one of these members.

An optional Community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. DET employees are not eligible to be Community members. Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office for some of the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual School Council elections.

Why is parent membership so important? 

Parents on School Councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help inform and shape the direction of the school. Those parents who become active on a School Council find their involvement satisfying and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

Do I need special experience to be on School Council? 

Each member brings their own valuable life skills and knowledge to the role. However, councillors may need to develop skills and acquire knowledge in areas that are unfamiliar to them. What you do need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.

Code of conduct for School Councillors

School Councils in Victoria are public entities as defined by the Public Administration Act 2004. School Councillors must abide by the Code of Conduct – Employees issued by the Victorian Public Sector Commission. The Code of Conduct is based on the Victorian public sector values and requires councillors to:

• Act with honesty and integrity (be truthful, open and clear about their motives and declare any real, potential or perceived conflict of interest and duty)
• Act in good faith in the best interests of the school (work cooperatively with other councillors and the school community, be reasonable, and make all decisions with the best interests of students foremost in their minds)
• Act fairly and impartially consider all relevant facts of an issue before making a decision, seek to have a balanced view, never give special treatment to a person or group and never act from self interest.
• Use information appropriately (respect confidentiality and use information for the purpose for which it was made available)
• Exercise due care, diligence and skill (accept responsibility for decisions and do what is best for the school)
• Use the position appropriately (not use the position as a councillor to gain an advantage)
• Act in a financially responsible manner (observe all the above principles when making financial decisions)
• Comply with relevant legislation and policies (know what legislation and policies are relevant for which decisions and obey the law)

• Demonstrate leadership and stewardship (set a good example, encourage a culture of accountability, manage risks effectively, exercise care and responsibility to keep the school strong and sustainable).

   

Indemnity for School Council members

School Councillors are indemnified against any liability in respect of any loss or damage suffered by the council or any other person in respect of anything necessarily or reasonably done, or omitted to be done by the councillor in good faith in:

• the exercise of a power or the performance of a function of a councillor, or 
• the reasonable belief that the act or omission was in the exercise of a power, or 
• the performance of a function of a council.

In other words, School Councillors are not legally liable for any loss or damage suffered by council or others as a result of reasonable actions taken in good faith.

How can you become involved? 

The most obvious way is to vote in the School Council elections, which are held in Term 1 each year. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant. In view of this, you might consider standing for election as a member of the School Council or encouraging another person to stand for election. 

What do you need to do to stand for election? 

The Principal will issue a Notice of Election and Call for Nominations following the commencement of Term 1 each year. All School Council elections must be completed by the end of March unless the usual timeline has been varied by the Minister. If you decide to stand for election, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself in the Parent member category.

DET employees whose child is enrolled in a school in which they are not engaged in work, are eligible to nominate for Parent membership of the School Council at that school.

Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the Principal within the time stated on the Notice of Election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt via email or by hand following the receipt of your completed nomination.

If there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted during the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.I encourage anyone considering School Council to contact me at the office on 5221 3772 or in person, I would be happy to discuss how parents contribute to our school council or answer any questions you might have. 

School Council election process and timetable

Name of the School:  Fyans Park Primary School 

*** Please see Jane or Alison at the office for the nomination forms for School Council membership. To make this easier for families our admin team can also send these via email to be completed. 

Notice of election and call for nominations

The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:

Following the closing of nominations, a list of the nominations received will be posted at the school.

If the number of nominations is less than the number of vacancies, a notice to that effect and calling for further nominations will be posted in a prominent position at the school.

Remember

Consider standing for election to School Council this year.  Ask at the school for help if you would like to stand for election and are not sure what to do. We are more than happy to assist.

Welcome back for another terrific year, together at Fyans Park 

Mrs Cameron