Welcome back for Term 2

The weather was on our side as we commenced the week with 3-6 Athletics held at Landy Field. A day that was enjoyed by students, staff and the many parent volunteers who kindly offered their time to support. The event was seamless with the high levels of support and thorough planning and organisation, with big thanks to Ms Van Ooi and all teachers and parents who helped on the day. Students progressing to the next round of Athletics will be notified by Ms Van Ooi next week.

Fyans Park Celebrates National Families Week

It was terrific to see so many FPPS families enjoying the activities, coffee van, bake sale and second-hand uniform sale kindly organised by our Families and Friends Assoc (F&F).

The aim of National Families Week is to not only celebrate the vital role that families play in Australian society, but to also reflect on the critical role that families play in teaching, supporting and nurturing children as they grow.

This year’s theme "Lending a Hand to Thrive", supporting each other, highlights the importance of connection, care, and resilience within families. It’s an opportunity to reflect on the strength of family bonds, reconnect with loved ones, and embrace activities that bring us together. No matter what family looks like for you, at Fyans Park, we know the power of support and the difference we can make for each other.

A big thanks to our Families and Friends Association and our student leaders who assisted with setting up all of the games enjoyed by students.

Lightning Premiership Success

Today our 5/6s headed to their respective sporting grounds to participate in the Winter Lightning Premiership. Sports included Netball, T-ball, Football and Soccer.

A big congratulations to the following teams who are going on to Division Lightning Premiership days later this term.

Mixed Netball
Boys Soccer
Girls Soccer
Boys Football

Also, a big congratulations to our Boys Soccer B team who had a sensational day winning all their games and to all of our 5/6s who participated today.

Inclusive Schools – Building works Update

Slowly but surely the building works are coming together, and we anticipate construction being concluded at the end of Term 2. The footings for the new structure were created over the school holidays with a few items found underground that were not on the original plans. This is to be expected and did slow progress slightly. Next up will be the concrete pour and then the new structure being built in the coming weeks. It has been exciting for students to see things progressing.

We have also had the start of our school amphitheatre on the outer edge of the school oval and progress on this has been swift with WXT landscaping on the job. We will have this new space ready to enjoy in the coming weeks and I am confident it will be well loved by students and teachers.

School Wide Positive Behaviour Update

You will recall from our last newsletter, that we have launched two of the tools we use at Fyans Park in Bullying Prevention. All students have been explicitly taught the STOP, WALK, TALK strategy and this is an ongoing teaching strategy used by staff in classrooms and on yard duty.

FPPS goes BLUE for Dolly

Our Student Voice Team are planning a very special out of uniform day on Thursday 5th June and we will be going blue for Dolly.

There will be blue activities and students will be invited to wear blue for Dolly. At the beginning of 2018, the country was devastated by the untimely death of 14 year old Dolly Everett who took her own life after an extended period of bullying and cyber-bullying. Inspired by her spirit and fuelled by hope, Dolly's parents set out on a mission to create a kinder, safer world for every child.

Dolly’s Dream is committed to changing the culture of bullying by addressing the impact of bullying, anxiety, depressions and youth suicide, through education and direct support to young people and families.

If you would like more information on this incredible organisation, please visit their website at: https://www.dollysdream.org.au/

Please also see below very helpful information for both teachers and parents in managing and supporting students with Bullying and Cyberbullying.

10 Steps to Deal with Bullying and Cyberbullying

Recognise that bullying matters – because it hurts in the short and long term. It’s everybody’s responsibility.
Be clear about what bullying is. It is an ongoing misuse of power in relationships through repeated aggressive verbal, physical and/or social behaviour online or offline, which intends to cause physical and/or psychological harm, distress or fear. Bullying almost always occurs alongside cyber bullying.
Bullying is not mutual conflict between equals, single acts of nastiness or aggression or social rejection or dislike unless it is deliberate, repeated and intended to cause distress.
Watch for the following signs because many children will rarely say what is happening to them (trouble at school, drop in academic performance, sleep and/or eating disorders, withdrawal from social activities).
Never ignore a bullying or cyber bullying situation. Respond to it as a parent or teacher with respectful listening, noting down the particulars of the situation and how the young person wants it resolved. Usually, they are not interested in punishing the person who is bullying them; they just want it to stop.
Encourage young people to tell someone who can help and not to ignore bullying; it will not go away on its own.
Explain to young people that retaliating physically or aggressively will most likely make things worse.
Strategies young people can practise to cope with bullying include walking away, acting unimpressed, or pretending not to notice. Online strategies can include blocking, strategic ignoring of the behaviour and saving evidence via screenshots.
Encourage young people to have diverse friendship groups. It’s too easy to be excluded or sidelined if you only have a couple of friends.
If bullying or cyber bullying is particularly serious (physical or deeply personal), the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner or the police can be contacted. Before then, you might want to contact the Dolly’s Dream Support Line on 0488 881 033, Kids Helpline on 1800 551800 or Lifeline on 131 114.

The below graphic titled “Is it Bullying?” is being used to support students, staff and families in generating a shared and consistent understanding of what bullying is and isn’t. Our Bullying Prevention policy ratified by our School Council last year outlines the school's process in preventing, while also managing, incidents of bullying.

All current policies are located on our website at https://fyansparkps.vic.edu.au/our-school/policies/

The staff and I appreciate the ongoing support from families and will continue to work in partnership with families to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students.

2026 Transition

Despite it being early in the year, we have already received requests for school tours for 2026. With this in mind, the following school tours have been arranged for new families who are residing in our local neighbourhood zone as we continue to be at full capacity with regards to enrolment numbers.

Families can very quickly access the Find My School website to identify their local neighbourhood school at https://www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au/

Our student leaders will be assisting me in facilitating school tours this year and welcoming new families and students to our school.

Our upcoming available School Tour dates are listed below.

I welcome new families from all year levels to attend.

Wednesday 28th May at 9.30am

Have a great week everyone

Mrs Cameron

Community News