Principal's Report

Talking the Talk: Sexuality, Respectful Relationships & Consent Education

You might remember last year being one of over 200 parents who attended Vanessa Hamilton’s Parent Information about our Talking the Talk Program. Introduced last year, Talking the Talk has been a huge success across our school, with teachers in Foundation – Year 6 delivering this program to students, with the assistance of Vanessa’s online content. The content of the lessons complies with the Australian Curriculum (in the areas of Health and PE, and Personal & Social Capability), is recommended by the Department of Education, and is focused on Respectful Relationships, Consent and Sexuality Education.

Two weeks ago, we were fortunate to have Vanessa present to staff. As this area is a constantly changing landscape, staff valued the opportunity to hear Vanessa discuss Relationships, Consent and Sexuality Education through the lens of:

Staying safe
Relationships
Human body and development
Understanding gender
Values, Rights, Culture
Health and wellbeing skills
Sexuality and sexual behaviour
Sexual and reproductive health

Below is an overview of the age-appropriate content that is covered through this program:

Foundation

What is safe and unsafe.
Body parts – Private vs public and naming simplest genitals.
Safety Network – Identify trusted adults.
Consent
Respectful Relationships: How to ask for help; Everyone can be strong and gentle; Anyone can choose.

Year 1 & 2

We all grow up - body changes.
I know my body - body parts including simple genitals.
Safe and unsafe; Body boundaries; Safety Network
Feelings and help-seeking behaviours.
Consent and Respect
Respectful Relationships: Using personal strengths to resist gender stereotyping; The opposite of violence is respect.

Year 3 & 4

We all grow up.
Naming body parts including genitals.
Sexuality diversity briefly introduced.
Introduction to puberty changes: Emotional and physical.
The amazing story of conception, pregnancy & birth.
Protective safety (body safety).
Consent
Respectful Relationships: Emotional literacy; Personal strengths; Positive coping; Problem solving.

Year 5 & 6

We all grow up.
Naming body parts.
Sexuality diversity revisited.
What is puberty?
Puberty changes: Emotional and physical.
Puberty continued - What happens and what you need in relation to reproductive capacity.
Conception, pregnancy & birth.
Protective safety.
Questions & answers
Consent
Respectful Relationships: Emotional literacy, Personal strengths, Positive coping, Problem solving, Stress management.

Vanessa speaks glowingly about our school, including the work of our teachers in delivering this important work.

More information about this program is available on the Talking the Talk website.

Year 4 Camp

Year 4 headed off to Mount Evelyn this morning for their two-day camp. The first school camp is always special and I look forward to sharing how it all goes in the next newsletter. Thank you as always to the teachers and parent volunteers who make the camp possible.

Referendum Day Sausage Sizzle & Cake Stall

Two weeks ago we were pleased to hold a sausage sizzle and cake stall on referendum voting day. A look at the polling numbers showed that we had over 2000 people vote at FPS – significantly greater than most other polling stations.

Knowing the importance of feeding the voters, we are thankful for the parent helpers who put together this event. Our coordinator (and School Council Vice President) Michelle Schwensen did a fantastic job of making the event happen, with great support from our cake stall coordinators Emily Creese and Regan Richards.

As Fairfield is not in the electorate where I live, I never get to see the ‘sizzle and cakes’ in action, but Michelle did a beautiful job of summarising in her email to the volunteers below:

On behalf of the School Council and the Social Club, a massive thank you to each of you for volunteering your time yesterday at our Referendum day BBQ and Cake Stall. You are all such wonderful humans!

Compared to the State Election last year, it was sooooo incredibly and relentlessly busy the entire day; from 8am right through to pack-up – what a ride. I'm pleased to say we sold out of all the sausages (excluding a few veggie options) and all of the amazing cakes baked by our families.

An enormous thank you to Huw & Aldi for donating our BBQ food, which has supported us to achieve a great fundraising result. You are a super star Huw! Thanks so much for your support and for getting us up and running on the BBQ yesterday (and staying longer than you were meant to).

Thanks Regan and Emily for organising the cake stall – the baked goods were an absolute hit. We really impressed locals this polling day compared to the last one I reckon. Our kids loved selling all the goods too, it was so great they were involved and enjoyed it.

Thank you:

- To the large majority of you who volunteered for much longer than you signed up to do because we were so super busy.

- To those of you that thought of things that I hadn't had a chance to think about, which meant we ran smoothly.

- To those who ran to the shops to buy extra supplies (please send me your receipts!)

- To those that provided delicious cakes for our voters

- And a special shout out to Dave who chopped up in excess of 20 kgs of onions to get us through the day – I'm in awe of you!

In summary, you're all legends!

Thank as always Sarah Moody for your support with comms, setting up Sign Up Genius and other logistics/jobs/advice leading up to the day too.

Our combined efforts on the BBQ and cake stall mean we raised $4604.10 to support the development and implementation of the school's Reconciliation Action Plan.

Acknowledgment of Country Plaques

When you enter the school office area or walk onto the Wingrove Street Campus, you will notice the installation of new Acknowledgement of Country plaques. The procurement of these plaques was led by the staff on our Koorie Perspectives School Improvement Team, and purchased through fundraising money.

This work forms part of our ongoing commitment to our reconciliation journey. Our goal of creating an FPS Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) hit a milestone last term when we held our inaugural RAP Working Group Meeting. It was great to see staff and parents working together as they completed and reviewed the RAP Questionnaire.

Our Year 5 Spotlight in today’s newsletter is focused on the Yarning Conference that they attended - another example of our commitment to acknowledging - another example of the community taking meaningful action to advance reconciliation.

Congratulations Brendan!

Congratulations to Brendan and Cath on the recent arrival of baby Miro. Wonderful news to share and celebrate.

Year 2 Letters

This week I read 2D’s fabulous letters and ideas for making the school a better place:

Louis, Kaia, Seb, Ted: Climbing trees
Max, Liam B, Aviva, Sonny, Jojo, Ella, Lara, Libby, Kasper: A canteen
Harriet, Ethan, Hendrix, Liam N: A swimming pool
Henry: Soccer crossbar
Lola: A cubby
Eve: A paint day
Duy: Higher footy goals
Eliana: A rock climbing wall
George: A popcorn movie at the end of term
Nell: More events

Preventing the Spread of Illness

It’s that time of year when schools generally experience increased infection and sickness amongst students and staff. As always, good general hygiene remains the best defence against infection. Our students have access to hand sanitiser in the classroom, are encouraged to wash their hands, and cover their nose and mouth if sneezing and coughing.

Last week we experienced an increase in the number of children with symptoms of gastroenteritis – there is a bug going around. Children with gastro are expected to remain at home until there has not been vomiting or a loose bowel motion for 24 hours.

You can find out more about illnesses and the ‘stay at home’ expectations here: https://www.health.vic.gov.au/infectious-diseases/school-exclusion-table

A reminder too, that an infectious disease may be nothing more that an itchy rash, persistent cough, or 'funny feeling' tummy to you/your children. However, due to the infectious nature of many illnesses, the spread can have severe consequences for others. We've had families contact us concerned about the spread of chickenpox – for those who are pregnant, those who are immunocompromised due to cancer treatment, and those who are now missing out on significant milestones due to illness (camp, a long planned for holiday, etc.). As a community, a reminder that our actions affect others.

Tickets with Humanitix

FPS has changed the ticketing platform we use to Humanitix – you may have noticed the change if you purchased a tray of mangoes.

As well as being an Australian company, they donate 100% of profits from booking fees to children's charities and educational programs. We felt this company’s social impact resonated with our school community and school values.

Curriculum Day – Monday 6 November

A reminder that we have a Curriculum Day (pupil-free day) on Monday 6 November. OSHClub will run on this day.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

~ Paul Wallace, Principal