Principal's Report

2025 State Basketball Champions!

Year 4 boys basketball team – take a bow! What an incredible achievement, state champions in a competition where more than 500 schools entered. Below is an explanation of the event by our parent coordinator, Millie Lacey.

Across the year over 80 students from Fairfield PS participated in the annual Hoop Time competition run by Basketball Victoria. The students had a lot of fun playing basketball with their friends and showing off their skills. Congratulations to the Grade 4 Girls All Stars team and Grade 5/6 Boys All Stars team who won their first tournament and made it through to the Regional Finals held in Diamond Valley in November. This is a huge achievement with some incredibly strong players in the All Stars comp.

 

Huge congratulations also to the Grade 4 Boys Future Stars team who won the State Championships held last Thursday at the State Basketball Centre. The boys played in eight tough games throughout the day and were ultimately crowned State Champs.

Congratulations to all the students who participated and represented Fairfield PS so well. Thanks to the parents who volunteered their time to coach, score or support the teams on the various days. 

As this event is run by Basketball Victoria (rather than School Sports Victoria) we were reliant upon parents to coordinate, coach and attend, with assistance from Geoff and the office on the admin side of things. I am hugely grateful to Millie Lacey for taking the lead on this and giving the students from all age groups the opportunity to participate in the event.

Year 6 Leaders for 2026

Last week over 60 of our Year 5 students took the opportunity to present a speech about why they should be a school leader in 2026. They all did so well, as they tried to persuade the Year 4 and 5 listeners about why they should vote for them. All the speeches reflected their personalities, their care for the school, and their pride in having the opportunity to go for the positions.

We were impressed by all of the speeches, and the following students were voted into leadership positions:

Community Leaders

• Edmund
• George
• Juliette
• Angus
• Jamie
• Elizabeth

Specialist Leaders

• Physical Education: Siena
• Visual Arts: Eloise
• Performing Arts: Zach
• Library: Hattie
• STEM: Dash
• French: Mark

The leaders will be introduced to the school community at our welcome assembly at the start of next year.

Year 5/6 Concert

Another big event on the calendar was the Year 5/6 concert, ‘Mission Implausible’. Kew High School was the scene for this theatrical showpiece where our students displayed all of their performance brilliance to a packed house. Nobody would have noticed the nerves that the students all felt as they spoke their lines, danced to their songs, and performed with all round distinction.

The achievements that our students have in specialist settings, such as Hoop Time and the concert, are so rich and long-lasting. They are memories that they will retain for a long, long time.

End of Year Picnic

We had a great turnout for our end of year picnic last Friday. The weather was kind to us as families took the opportunity to lay down a blanket and chat with friends. The reminders and rules that we shared with the students about expected behaviours made a positive difference, with responsible behaviour on show all around. 

Unfortunately, there was a lot of litter, particularly food packaging, left on the ground after the event. Graham came into school on Sunday and was met with strewn food packaging, smashed glass and food waste. Ahead of our welcome picnic, we ask for parents and students to support the excellent work of our sustainability committee by taking waste home, or disposing in the bins. 

Thank you to the volunteers and organisers. If you didn’t volunteer last week but enjoyed the event, we would appreciate your support for our welcome picnic early next year.

MacKillop Christmas Appeal Thanks

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the MacKillop Christmas Appeal. 

The generosity of our community has been remarkable, and your support will help ensure that many children enjoy a brighter Christmas than they otherwise would.

Policies Approved

At the last school council meeting two policies were reviewed and approved:

• Asthma Policy
• Visitor Policy

As the Visitor Policy outlines child safety measures, we welcome community feedback on the policy. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let us know.

Mango Fundraiser

Tomorrow we receive our much-anticipated delivery of mangoes from our mango fundraiser.  We are expecting 288 trays, or somewhere in the vicinity of 4500 mangoes. 

This year, we raised $1576 – this money will go towards the seating in the ‘forest’ area of the playground.

Final Two Weeks of School

It’s hard to believe we are already at this stage of the year. Our students have achieved so much across learning, social, sporting, and artistic areas. While we are proud to celebrate these successes, we are also busy preparing for the year ahead. Next week I will share an end‑of‑year Reflection and Direction with families, outlining the key areas we will be focusing on in 2026.

Below are important dates to make a note of:

• Wednesday 10th December: Choir, band & brass festive end of year concert
• Friday 12th December: Foundation – Year 2 sports day
• Monday 15th December: Foundation – Year 5, meet your 2026 teacher & classmates
• Tuesday 16th December: Year 6 Graduation at FPS
• Friday 19th December: End of year assembly and early dismissal at 1pm

Enjoy the rest of the week and I look forward to seeing you at one of our exciting events.

~ Paul Wallace, Principal