Principal's Report

2026 NAPLAN Results to Shout About

Yesterday, you would have received a Compass communication with details of our 2026 NAPLAN results. They are our strongest results in recent years and reflect the change and improvements in our delivery of the Literacy and Numeracy curriculum, as well as structural and whole-school improvement initiatives.

Exceeding & Strong Results

The results below show:

• Our overall percentage of students whose achievement is Exceeding or Strong across all areas, is higher than similar schools.

Year 3 – Year 5 Learning Growth

• The results below show that our growth from Year 3 – Year 5 is higher than similar schools in 8 of the 10 testing areas, and is the same as similar schools in the other two.

Our participation rate remains very high, with 99% – 100% of students in Year 3 and Year 5 completing each test this year.

It is wonderful to see the impact that the recent changes have made to our learning outcomes. Our goal is to improve these further.

Upcoming School Review

This term, our school will be undertaking its School Review. Conducted every four years, the review provides an opportunity for the school to reflect on its performance and achievements over the previous four-year period, while also setting the direction for the next four years with the development of a new Strategic Plan.

Review dates:

• Tuesday 25th August
• Friday 28th August

School Review Panel:

• School Reviewer: Greg McMahon
• Senior Education Improvement Leader: Jane Greig-Hancock
• Principal Challenge Partners: Jacqui Abrahams (Diamond Creek Primary School), Carolyn Bamberg (Reservoir Primary School)
• School Council President: Hayden Gyles
• School Leadership Team: Paul Wallace, Nicole Rettke, Grace Clark, Binh Hoang, Sophie Ratcliffe & Cathy Turner

On Monday 27th June, we will host our Pre-Review Self-Evaluation Meeting, where we will examine our school data, and set the focus and agenda for the two review days.

Industrial Action

On the following page of this newsletter is a message from our Australian Education Union (AEU) members in relation to Thursday’s proposed stop-work action.

AEU members were required to advise me by 8am today if they intended to participate in the action. Based on the responses received, 83% of teaching staff and 67% of integration aide staff will be participating in the stop-work action. As a result, the school will operate on a significantly modified timetable on Thursday.

If these arrangements are likely to cause difficulties for your family, particularly if you are a critical services worker, please contact the school as soon as possible.

A separate communication regarding the industrial action will be sent via Compass.

2027 Foundation Enrolments

2027 enrolment forms are due to the school office by Friday 31 July. If you have a younger sibling who will be joining FPS next year, please complete and submit the enrolment form by this date.

Colour Fun Run

On the penultimate day of last term, we held our very first Colour Fun Run. What a day! What a spectacle! What an occasion! Most importantly, what a wonderful way to bring our community together.

There is always an element of the unexpected when you run an event for the first time, and this one certainly exceeded all my expectations. Students embraced the opportunity to run, climb, slide and jump their way around our transformed school grounds. At every turn, there was a parent (or superhero!) cheering them on and peppering them with colour.

There are many people to thank for making this event such a success.

Parent Helpers

• Nicole Van Dyk – graphic design, event planning and preparation, assistance throughout the day, and organisation of the sandpit sand.
• Laura Coutts – creation of the Rainbow Alley obstacle and preparation of the sandpit.
• Michael Cotter – construction of the cargo net obstacle and support throughout the day.
• Kate Jacobs – sandpit preparation, event set-up, and enthusiastic participation on the day.
• Justine Moss – bringing Sonic to life and assisting with pack-up.
• Romy Calati – creation of the maze obstacle, support throughout the day, and clean-up.
• Carol Verga and Mark Nowak – planning, set-up, supervision and pack-up.
• Every volunteer who managed stations, supervised obstacles and supported the event throughout the day. Your time, energy and enthusiasm made the Colour Fun Run a success.

Event Coordinators

A special thank you to FPS parents Tracey Lang and Marie Nowak, who did an outstanding job planning, preparing and coordinating every aspect of the event. From designing the course, sourcing equipment, setting up the online platform, coordinating the prizes and draws. Thank you Tracey and Marie!

Finally, thank you to our Year 6 PE Captain, Siena, whose vision for a Colour Fun Run was first shared with me at the beginning of the year. It is wonderful to see a student idea grow into a positive whole-school event.

We have raised approximately $30,000 through the Colour Fun Run, with the final figure to be confirmed when Nia, our Business Manager, returns from leave. This is a fantastic result, with funds going to our yard redevelopment. We look forward to providing an update on our overall 2026 fundraising total in the next newsletter.

We have devoted a page of photographs to the Colour Fun Run, where you can see the event in all its colourful glory!

Missing Compass Notifications

Compass is aware that some parents on Microsoft email addresses (Outlook, Hotmail, Live) may not be receiving email notifications when a communication is sent from the school. Compass is working with Microsoft on a fix.

Book Week Parade - Wednesday 26 August

Please make a note in your diary of Book Week (22 - 28 August), and FPS Book Day. On Wednesday 26th August, we will be inviting students to dress as a book character, as we hold our much-loved book parade on this day. 

The 2026 Children’s Book Week theme is ‘Symphony of Stories’. 

Well done to everyone for a fantastic start to term three.

Paul Wallace

Principal