Principal's Report

In this week’s newsletter:

Appreciations 

• Parent’s Association members and volunteers for their efforts on Friday

News

• School Council was held on Monday

Coming Up 

• IDAHOBIT Day tomorrow
• National Walk to School Day
• Grade 6 Winter inter school sports Round 3
• Assembly tomorrow
• Final Prep 2025 information session and tour will be held on Friday fortnight

Appreciations

Parent's Association Members and Volunteers 

A huge appreciation to our parents and carers who planned, ordered, wrapped and staffed the wonderful Mother’s and Special Person’s Day stall last Friday.  

News

School Council 

School Council met on Monday night, welcomed new staff representative Joanna Innes and discussed the following:

• Our ComPol sub committee reported on our homework policy and communication of the launch of our change of uniform items. I will expand on this aspect later on.
• Finance meets the week prior to Council and the report was tabled. We have our confirmed budget in place to manage all our expected costs for the remainder of the school year. 
• Clare representing our Parents’ Association reviewed the activity agenda for the year and discussed the possibility of a Trivia Night being held.  School Council acknowledged the wonderful effort associated with the successful Mother’s and Special Person’s Day stall last Friday and appreciation for funding and organising the marvellous mural that has turned the second hand uniform container into a work of art. This is particularly important now that it resides at the front of the school.
• Facilities reported on approval to resurface the Buddy Bus Stop area with a comfortable mod grass to replace the scoria that goes…everywhere. This is another initiative that the Parent's Association has generously agreed to fund. I discussed the positive progress of our own major building project and consideration for projects directly relating to this, as well as plans to replace the synthetic surface of our basketball court at the earliest possible time following the conclusion of the project.  The principal team was due to meet again with the project team for our fortnightly meeting this morning. There was another important milestone today with the pour of concrete for the slab. This was being very effectively managed this morning and was expected to conclude before the end of the school day. This work will be followed over the next few weeks by steel fabrication. The size of our new building is really becoming apparent.

• In General Business, Council members attested that they had viewed the annual mandatory Child Protect presentation. Leaders reported on curriculum developments and professional learning for staff comprising teacher peer observations, feedback from the Maths Symposium and the regional launch of Positive Management Strategies in schools. 
• Uniform refresh – response to feedback. We understand that when school councils or leadership teams make decisions that directly affect families that we are unlikely to have everyone agree. I have received several communications regarding elements of the launch of our uniform ‘refresh’. I will endeavour to expand on the reasons for this School Council decision. The current uniform has remained predominantly the same for about 15 years. Much of the item selection predates that time. When I started at FWPS there was feedback that the yellow shirt is hard to keep and remain clean. That feedback has never abated. Leadership and Council considered how we can adjust the uniform items predominantly to address this issue and to provide a jacket that was more durable and effective in cold weather. Like the polos, there is no requirement to make a change in a hurry. We view a period of a year to consider progress with a likely 2½ years changeover period, as a reasonable time frame to move from the yellow to green polo. We are considerate that the green bomber jacket may extend past that time, and we are fine with that. Schools and other organisations need to make decisions, and it is neither practical nor required to seek parental approval - that is indeed the role of the School Council. In coming to this decision, we have followed DET procurement procedures and taken into account that as a school we are contracted to purchase unique uniform items once a uniform item has been deleted. This has been the reason that the yellow polos have been available at a discount for months via our supplier. The School Saving Bonus was not an initial factor in our decision, as we were unaware of its existence nor its scope. When it is all said and done, we are only endeavouring to smarten up our school uniform and do this while being cognisant of challenging economic circumstances. 

Coming Up

IDAHOBIT Day Tomorrow 

We are acknowledging IDAHOBIT at our school on Friday in an age appropriate and inclusive way. IDAHOBIT - the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia marks the date in 1990 when the World Health Organisation stopped classifying homosexuality as a disease. For our community it is a day to acknowledge and celebrate everyone, no matter who they are or who they love. It's a day to remember that everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. We celebrate IDAHOBIT at FWPS because we want all our students, staff, families, and friends to feel welcome in our community. This day is a practical example of how we live and breathe our school values of Belonging and Respect. We warmly encourage our community to wear or display rainbow colours on the day.

Walk to School Day

Friday is also national Walk to School Day, a day to encourage children and families to participate in physical activity at the start of the day. This year marks the 26th anniversary of the event, championed by the Pedestrian Council of Australia and at FWPS by our Junior School Council. The initiative raises awareness of the health, road safety, transport, and environmental benefits of regular walking and active transport, encouraging children to walk not just on May 16, but every day. To participate you may walk from home, drive and park and walk to avoid busy streets, or ride your bike or scooter. Class teachers have all been provided with some neat temporary tattoo decals to share with participants.

Winter Interschool Round 3 

Tomorrow the Grade 6 sports teams will participate in a second successive home fixture, this week against St John’s PS. Unfortunately, St John’s is unable to field an AFL team, so our footy players will take part in a match sim with their teammates. All games will be held at the usual venues of Shorten and Johnson Reserves from approximately 12:15pm to 1:30pm and we encourage parents and carers to attend to provide support. Thanks to Mikala, Marshal, Monica and Libby for coaching the teams and as ever, the ever dependable Stratos for his planning and organisation, not just of our teams, but of our local Footscray District Primary Schools Sports Association.

Assembly Tomorrow 

The current forecast again indicates the likelihood of us continuing to be able to hold an outdoor assembly. If the weather does break, we will present from the gallery space, attended in person by student participants, with an audience of family members with direct interest, and webcast to classrooms. It will be 4MK’s opportunity to present their assembly item. We will hear reports from our second round of winter sports reports featuring the results of last week’s games, some relevant reports about upcoming events and of course Pupil of the Week awards. As usual, school gates will be opened at 2:30pm straight after recess to enable our community to attend.

2026 Prep Enrolment Information Sessions and School Tours 

The remaining session will be held in a fortnight:

• Friday, 30th May 2025, 9:30am to 10:45am

To attend the final session, please register via the following link: https://compasstix.com/e/ih8jj2xmp4

We encourage parents and carers to attend one of these sessions, particularly if new to our school community. Our Grade 6 captains, along with K-P Transition co-ordinator Karri and myself appreciate the opportunity of showcasing what FWPS has to offer. Enrolment forms will be available for all families residing within our school zone and enrolment applications will be offered for all families who reside outside our zone.   

Warm regards,

Brendan

Reminders and Repeated Messages