In this week’s newsletter:

News and Appreciations

Asthma and anaphylaxis reminder
NAPLAN assessment update
Family Voluntary Contributions - Thanks to all families who have promptly contributed …
Prep Open Afternoons
Medallion Club ticket auction
Eagle Building Photographs

Coming Up...This Week

Assembly tomorrow - please aim to be seated by 2.45pm

Coming Up...Next Week

NAPLAN Continues
Harmony Day on Monday
Ride2School Day

Coming Up...Later this Term

Industrial Action Update
Curriculum Day

Repeated Messages

News and Appreciations

Asthma and Anaphylaxis Reminder

Families with students who are managing asthma and anaphylaxis conditions and have not provided updated plans to the office have all been sent reminders to do so. If this message is relevant for your family, please comply as a priority.

National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Update

As was widely reported in the media and communicated directly to our families, NAPLAN assessment for our year 5s was disrupted yesterday, the first day of the test. There was a problem with the online test platform that appears to have been widespread nationwide. The first day of the assessment was a writing task, as this is the one type of assessment that is still done using pencil and paper for the year 3s, their assessment was unaffected. With the issue now resolved, the writing assessment for Year 5s was successfully held this morning. The reading assessment will now be rescheduled to Friday. Testing then will revert to the original timetable next week. The year 3 assessment schedule will remain the same.

Family Voluntary Contributions

Thank you to the families who have made their contributions via Compass over the last week. 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 a right, 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.

Prep Open Afternoon Visits

Our second week of Prep Open Afternoon Visits was also well attended yesterday. It does provide a precious opportunity to see your child in their school environment. Families are invited to book one of the three remaining available afternoons on Wednesdays in March to visit their child's grade, where they can experience their child engaged with their peers and teacher in a literacy session. Open afternoons run from 2:40pm. To ensure that all families have the opportunity to attend, each child is able to have one pair of adults attend one of the sessions only.

Medallion Club Footy Tickets

Four tickets and parking were provided by PSW - our uniform supplier for the Bulldogs V GWS game this Saturday. Congratulations to Francisco Cisternas the successful bidder. Money raised will go towards a new freezer for PA’s use. Go Dogs!

Eagle Building Photographs

The architect and photography team who worked with our Junior School Council representatives for an extensive photo shoot featuring our Eagle Building last Friday were keen to pass on an appreciation to the students….

“Last week we spent the day taking photos of your new school gym building that we designed.

Seven children volunteered and had permission to participate in the photography.

We would like to thank Amelia, Aster, Akoi, Sia, Imy, Jeremy & Floyd for all their help.

They were fun, helpful and co-operative; they were great listeners and took direction well - we thank them so much for the time they gave us.

The kids did a great job representing your school and we will get the photos to Mr Millar when they are finished.

We think you have a terrific school and should be very proud of the community you have around you.”

When we receive copies of the photos we will look forward to featuring them on the big screens at a future assembly.

Coming Up - This Week

Assembly Tomorrow

Assembly will be held in the Eagle Gymnasium at 2.50pm sharp (please be seated beforehand).

This week we will:

Present our Pupil of the Week Awards and feature 4MP with their assembly item.

Coming Up – Next Week

NAPLAN Continues

NAPLAN 2026	Year 3	Year 5
Conventions of Language	Monday, 16th March - 9:00am	Monday, 16th March - 9:40am
Numeracy	Tuesday, 17th March - 9:00am	Tuesday, 17th March - 9:40am

* Note: Times are subject to change due to staffing or digital technology constraints.

Harmony Week

What our world desperately needs more of. We will acknowledge Harmony Week in classes on Monday.

Ride2School Day

Our Junior School Council will be promoting National Ride2School Day on Friday 20th March (next week). We anticipate that we will have a member of the Community Hub team visiting before school conducting a safety check on bikes. We will provide more details in next week’s newsletter.

https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/rides-and-events/ride2school/ride2school-day/

Coming Up - Later this Term

Industrial Action

Parents will be keen to know if the proposed Stopwork action will proceed on the 24th March - so are we! There are complex industrial relation requirements that need to be completed before any action is green lit. We will share any news regarding this as a high priority as soon as we become aware of the outcome of the ballot which was due to close today.

Curriculum Day

Our Curriculum Day on Thursday, 26th March (yes the same week as the proposed Stopwork) will be a student free day. TheirCare will run a full day program should there be sufficient need.

Best regards,

Brendan

Repeated Messages

Inform and Empower Cyber Safety Program

Parent Welcome Letter 2026

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 to contact the office. Please see 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.

From the Office Team