Safe Play Outside

I recently sent a communication to Year 1 families about a conversation I had with students on the importance of playing safely. This has led to broader conversations with members of the school community, and I thought it worthwhile to share some of the key points in this newsletter.

The school yard is a place for learning. It is where students develop the ability to compromise, negotiate, overcome differences, and work towards a resolution in moments of disagreement and conflict. At FPS, we encourage students to consider how they can help solve a conflict themselves as most playground disputes are minor and can be resolved in the moment.

How serious is the problem/rough play? Is it a ‘Bump, Hill or Mountain’?

Sometimes we ask students to think of a problem in terms of issues being a ‘Bump, Hill or Mountain’.

A Bump Problem can be resolved by the students themselves.
A Hill Problem can be resolved with the support of a trusted adult (e.g. teacher or parent).
A Mountain Problem can be resolved with the support of a team of adults (e.g. teachers and/or parents and/or school leadership).

What can students do to help?

Say “Stop it. I don’t like it.”
Move away from the space where the rough play is happening.
Ask for help from a yard duty teacher. Yard duty teachers always wear hi-vis vests.

Moving Forward

Our SWPBS Team are currently designing a series of actions and responses that students can implement during playground disputes. This will be communicated at a later date.

What is – and isn’t – Bullying?

At FPS, we are aware of the short and long-term impact that bullying can have on the physical, social and psychological health of a person. We are fortunate that we do not experience many instances of bullying at our school, due to the high levels of respect that our students show towards each other.

As a staff we have revisited our Bullying Prevention Policy. It is important that we all have a good understanding of the definition of bullying, to ensure that we are using this term correctly when talking with the children.

Bullying has three main features:

It involves a misuse of power in a relationship.
It is ongoing and repeated.
It involves behaviours that can cause harm.

Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying.

There are four main types of bullying behaviour:

Physical
Verbal/written
Social
Cyberbullying

Where do I find more information?

Bully Stoppers is a great resource for all community members, including what to do if you're being bullied, have witnessed bullying, or have been called a bully.

Wellbeing Room

If you turn right at the corridor by the school office, you will walk past our staff room then to our wellbeing room, which is opposite the 3B and 3C classrooms. This space is regularly used by students (with staff) for a range of reasons:

It provides a quiet and calm space during recess and lunchtime.
To have a break from the classroom if feeling anxious.
To have ‘big body breaks’.
To redirect their focus by engaging in fine motor tasks.

This room has been a welcome addition to the school, and it also doubles up as a meeting space, including for our monthly school council meetings.

Cybersafety/ThinkUKnow Parent Seminar

Last Thursday, parents were invited to a cybersafety information session, presented by the Victorian Police. I am sure that everyone who attended the session learned lots about the online world from our presenters, Andy and Toni-Mae.

The presentation was pro-technology and addresses topics including self-generated child abuse material, online grooming, sexual extortion, and importantly encourages help seeking behaviour.

Click to watch the recording of this presentation. Please note, this presentation is for adults only.

Trivia Night Thanks!

Our school community once again displayed their creativity, talents, energy and enthusiasm as we hosted our Annual Trivia Night. The reports that I received were ‘fandabidozi’! It sounded like a spectacular night with the music, costumes, trivia and atmosphere making it a night of revelry and fun.

These events take lots of preparation and planning, starting months in advance. As a school, we are forever grateful for every single hour that is donated to assisting in the lead-up, during, and after the event. You are all phenomenal. And of course, thank you to all the attendees who created the party atmosphere.

A special mention to the following people for their coordination:

Scott Vandonkelaar (intro video)
Vanessa Vandonkelaar and helpers (silent auction)
Yuki Cheong (decorations)
Todd Rogerson and Michael Pascoe (AV)
Dave McNab and Paul Nunan (scoring)
Paul Agius (DJ)
Erin Nunan (event organiser)
Everyone/organisation/business/person who contributed to the silent auction!

And of course, a huge thanks to our parent band – North Side Hustle: Evan Webster, Gemma Cosgriff, Abby Douglas, Mish Wischer, Sam Roberts-Thompson and Steve Russell. You rock... literally!

We are in the process of finalising the profit from this event and will communicate it the next newsletter. With the funds raised, we will purchase a purpose-built interactive screen to enable Geoff to demonstrate a range of skills and activities. We will also purchase iPads for the French and Science programs, to ensure an iPad ratio of one device for every two students.

Thanks to everyone for supporting this fundraiser, which enables FPS to make purchases that benefit all our students.

Staffing Updates

At the end of this term we will be saying farewell to Tam Shama. Tam is a Year 1 teacher who joined us at the start of last year. Tam will be leaving FPS at the end of this term, to focus on and explore other priorities outside of school. Thank you to Tam for your dedication and commitment during your time at FPS, and we wish you well for the future.

Grace Clark (Foundation – Year 3 wellbeing leading teacher) is taking long service leave for the first three weeks of term three. During Grace’s absence, our learning specialists Sophie and Binh will support wellbeing in the junior years.

Michele Fraser (2A) is taking long service leave for all of term three. Michele will be replaced by Vanja Franich.

End of Term Two

It is incredible to think that we are nearly halfway through the year. The fact that it has gone so quickly tells me that it has been a hugely successful semester.

As a school, we continue to be proud of our achievements and the opportunities that we provide to our students. We also recognise our next steps as we strive to be the best school that we can be.

Thank you to everyone for your support; students, staff, parents.

I’m sure that I will see many of you before we move into the holidays, including at our end of term assembly on Friday 4 July at 9am at the Fig Tree Courtyard.

~ Paul Wallace, Principal

Community News

Petition: Traffic Safety Audit in Thornbury