Principal's Report

In this week’s newsletter:

News and Appreciations

• Easter Raffle
• Toy Story
• Blandford Street Pedestrian Gate - Opening Times
• STEM Program
• Facilities

Coming Up Tomorrow

• Assembly Tomorrow at 2:50pm

Coming Up During the Term

• Values
• Inform and Empower
• Mother's and Special Person's Day
• Industrial Action

Repeated Messages

News and Appreciations

Easter Raffle

We shared our appreciation at our final assembly of term with the traditional awarding of the lucky Easter Raffle winners.  We appreciate the work that our wonderful Parents’ Association volunteers do in preparing the magnificent hampers.  But this could never have been possible without the generosity of our community who of course donated all the prizes.  Pictured are the lucky kids whose end of term celebrations were made even more special.

So we’re back for T2 and it has already been busy from the start.

Toy Story

John from 4MP, pictured with his classmate Harrison, loves crafting and creating, using paper and cardboard as his preferred media.  He shared his latest creation Woody, that much loved Toy Story character with the office team this morning.

Blandford Street Pedestrian Gate - Opening Times

As announced at assembly at the end of term, we have now returned to the practice we had in place prior to the construction of the Eagle Building. The Blandford Street pedestrian gate will now be opened at 8:40am, at the same time as our other gates at the front of the school. This gate will now be closed at 3:40pm each afternoon. Access is no longer required for TheirCare users to attend the Dingo Building, consequently we have deemed that securing the remote gate requires additional work and has safety implications for TheirCare staff members.

STEM Program

Thanks to the many members of our community who answered Shannon’s holiday shout - out for resourcing to support this term’s exciting STEM program. We have received a great number of donations over the first few days of the new term.

Facilities

During the holidays there were some significant facilities works completed. Over the break, both Emu Corner and Koala received an exterior facelift and the timber decks at Koala and Bilby, along with Bilby’s exterior cladding, were oiled. Bilby’s exterior painted surfaces will be repainted over the next couple of weeks.  

Taleb removed the redundant water tank at the northern end of Dingo. For practical reasons, we have been unable to use the tank for several years for its original purpose of providing water for toilet flushing. The exposed area will have the fence realigned and the area re-purposed. We appreciate the work our Facilities’ Manager Taleb does to maintain our school facilities.  

Unfortunately, we have been unable to maintain the fish tank in reception. For many years former FWPS grandparents, Maxena and Dave looked after the fish, however they can no longer do so, as it is a physically demanding and time-consuming requirement. We have always appreciated their kindness and expertise, but we do not have the resourcing to find a suitable alternative. The remaining fish have been donated to a family who have their own home aquarium.

In addition to the improvements to the Koala Building, yesterday we installed additional bike hoops and two scooter racks. 

The gazebo area also looks markedly different due to the removal of the olive trees. 

This is part of our plan to reimagine this area as a shaded play area featuring water and sand, rocks, new paths, plants, shade and paving. The finalised plan is being shared with our Facilities Committee today and we are keen to see this be developed over the next two terms.

On another matter we have been disappointed that our verbal agreement to work with Maribyrnong City Council on opening our oval to community use, in a plan for mutual benefit, has not proceeded. It seems that despite our community’s lack of green space and the loss of Shorten Reserve for two years for re-development, this has not proven a strong enough motivation for our local council to follow through with their initial interest.  

One of the expectations for the funding for the construction of our new Eagle Building is provision for community use out of school hours. Community sporting/activity groups have had the opportunity to submit an expression of interest. This process concluded yesterday and we will work through these submissions over the next week or so. We will look forward to having the wonderful new space being used after school and on weekends in the near future.

Coming Up Tomorrow

Assembly Tomorrow at 2.50pm

ANZAC Day will be acknowledged with a commemoration that will be presented by 4LT as their assembly item. Our first Pupil of the Week Awards for term will also be presented.

Coming Up During the Term

Values

Our expectation for all in our community using and respecting our values of Belonging, Respect, Resilience and Responsibility never wanes, however we have found it purposeful to have a focus value for each term. This term our focus will be Respect and there will be some points of reference every week that we will share in the newsletter and at assembly.

Inform and Empower

The Term 2 Inform and Empower cyber safety interactive online incursions will be held for years 1-6 starting in week 3. There will be some lead-in activities for years 3-6. The Prep program always starts after the 1-6 program concludes. All families can expect program information to be sent home at around the time of the incursion.  

Mother’s and Special Person’s Day

Parents’ Association reps are planning to wrap gifts in the Bilby meeting room tomorrow and next Friday afternoon (12:30 to 4:00pm). Please assist if you can. The actual stall will be held during the day on Friday, 8th May. Make sure you look out for the Compass link that will soon be posted enabling families to pay for their child’s participation.

Industrial Action

Unfortunately, without a new Victorian Government Schools Agreement in place, the industrial action that started with the stop-work on March 24th will continue. There will be work bans in place and a localised half day stop-work proposed for Thursday, June 4th.  We will share the specific aspects in future news.

Best regards,

Brendan

Repeated Messages

Family Voluntary Contributions

Thank you to the continued contributions via Compass.  We would appreciate this trend continuing to ensure that we can afford the curriculum programs we have in place.

While the principle of a “free education” remains, the politicisation of parent contributions has had a significant impact on government schools. FWPS used to receive parent payments from approximately 95% of families. This figure now typically sits between 65% and 70%.

Although we have worked hard to keep contributions low and ensure value for money, receiving approximately 25% less revenue has a very real effect on our ability to provide the quality and range of resources we believe are necessary. In recent years, we have introduced programs such as Spelling Mastery, the Explicit Maths Program, and Inform and Empower. Each of these programs carries a per-student cost. When family contributions are not received, we must find funding elsewhere.

As I write this, I am very conscious that a number of families are experiencing financial hardship. Contributions may be made as a part payment rather than in full. If you are in a position to do so, please support the school by contributing to the best of your capacity.

Photographing, Filming and Recording Students

Our annual reminder that if you wish to adjust your current level of permission for photographing, filming or recording of your child please contact the office. Note the Policy page on our school website for more information:

 https://www.fwps.vic.edu.au/page/222/Policies-and-Child-Safe-Standards

Annual Privacy Reminder

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ privacy policy and the Schools’ privacy collection notice.

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students policy , available on the Policies page on our website, https://www.fwps.vic.edu.au/page/222/Policies-and-Child-Safe-Standards, describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn.

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use the Google Suite ( G Suite Information for Parents & Guardians ) safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ privacy policy: information for parents. This information is also available in eleven community languages: Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Gujarati, Mandarin, Somali, Sudanese, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese.

Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund Applications for Families

Please also make sure you look at the flyer in the newsletter regarding Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund applications for 2026. Applications close in June and are a great help for families. This year the amount has been increased to $400 per child. If you are eligible - DON’T MISS OUT!