Greetings from Covid land! Whilst I sit here in the land of runny noses and dry coughs, I look forward to being back on board and seeing you all in the yard next week . Although this is not my normal week of newsletter writing, we have had some exciting things happening at FNPS over the past week that I thought important to communicate.

International Baccalaureate – Primary Years Programme

We are excited to announce to our community that, on Monday of this week, we received official acceptance into IB – PYP candidacy. The process for becoming a candidate school was lengthy and extensive; requiring the school to demonstrate its philosophical and pedagogical alignment to the IB values and philosophy.

As we move into Term 2, the school will begin putting together an Implementation Action Plan. This will include a detailed plan of what IB Units of Inquiry will look like in classrooms, along with a professional development plan to support teachers in building their capacity to deliver the Victorian Curriculum to our students using IB methodologies.

This is such an exciting time for us all at FNPS. This truly is the next step in realising our strategic vision and a significant milestone for us all! Teaching and learning is our core business at FNPS and ensuring our gaze remains fixed on improving the academic and social outcomes of our children ensures we are ‘keeping the main thing, the main thing’ (that’s my favourite piece of wisdom from Stephen Covey)!

School Council Elections

Following the close of the nomination period for the Fitzroy North Primary School School Council in 2024/25, nominations have been counted.

Through the counting process, it has been identified that the number of nominees for the parent category (7) exceeds the number of positions available (5) for the upcoming period and, therefore, a ballot will be required.

The following candidates have been nominated for the 2024 / 25 School Council.

Name	Parent of	Nominated by
Nicole Marson	Oliver (Y2) and Henry (Prep) Mills	Self
Lincoln Gray	Kingston (Y4) and Luna (Y2) Gray	Self
Anna Brown	Winnie Brown (Prep)	Self
Suzy Schmitz	Hugo (Y5) and Max (Y3) Gibson	Self
Steven Wood	Audrey (Y3) and Alex (Y1) Wood	Self
Elena San Roman	Diego Pascual San Roman (Prep)	Self
Melissa Lim	Olivia (Y6) and Halliday (Y2) Murfett	Self

NB: The order of the candidates listed above was determined by the drawing of lots

The election timeline will be as follows:

Event	Date
Date by which the list of candidates and nominators will be posted	Friday 8 March 2024
Date by which ballot papers will be prepared and distributed	Tuesday 12 March 2024
Close of Ballot	Tuesday 19 March 2024 – 4pm
Vote Count	Wednesday 20 March 2024
Declaration of Poll / School Council Membership Announced	Wednesday 20 March 2024
First council meeting to elect office bearers	Wednesday 20 March 2024 – 6pm

To support the ballot and allow the electorate to gain some background information about each person standing for election, candidates have been invited to prepare a brief statement to be distributed with ballot papers.

As we move into the election period, candidates and community members are advised of the following (from the DET School Council Elections Guide):

“…in the parent member [category]… no campaign literature in support of candidates or groups of candidates may be distributed or posted in the school. No school resources, whether human or material, may be used to support particular candidates or groups of candidates.”

Further details about the election and ballot will be communicated on Tuesday 12 March 2023 when ballot papers are distributed.

The joy and benefit of reading with your child

Research indicates that reading to and with your child each day can have profound benefits on their academic, creative, personal and social development. Children who read for just 20 minutes per day are exposed to approximately 1.8 million words each year, strengthening their language and literacy skills, igniting their curiosity and building their love of literature and reading. (Nagy and Herman, 1987)

Keep on Reading

While many of us tend to stop reading to and with our children once they are able read independently, this is definitely the time to keep reading together. Reading together strengthens family bonds, fosters a love of books and literature and assists your child in continuing to develop a deep and rich vocabulary and understanding of texts.

The graphic below outlines some of the benefits of reading for just 20 minutes each day to and with your child.

Reading with your child: It’s the most important 20 minutes of your day.

Finally, thank you all for being such integral threads in the tapestry that is Fitzroy North Primary School. Your unwavering commitment to your child’s education and improving our school each day is truly our greatest strength.

Go gently,

Tania

Grade 5 Newsletter