Principal's Report

 In this week’s newsletter:

• Appreciations and News
  • Curriculum Days in 2025 (student free days)
  • Salvation Army/FWPS Christmas Appeal
  • Acknowledgement of our Parents’ Association
  • Grade 1 Excursion on Tuesday
  • School Saver Bonus information
  • Lunch service in 2025 update
  • Pest problem
  • School Council update 
  • Building Works
  • IMPORTANT: Staffing in 2025
• Coming Up
  • Assembly tomorrow
  • Grade 6 Ballarat Log Cabin Camp Monday to Wednesday  
  • Prep 2025 3rd (and final) transition visit

Appreciations and News

Curriculum and Professional Practice Days in 2025

 School Council has approved the following student-free curriculum and professional practice days in 2025. We anticipate that Their Care will provide a full program of care on these dates.  You may wish to place them in your diary.

• Tuesday 28th January 2025 (Staff Planning)
• Monday 10th February 2025 (Berry Street Education Model Day 3)
• Monday 26th May 2025 (Berry Street Education Model Day 4)
• Tuesday 27th May 2025 (Report Writing)
• Monday 3rd November 2025 (Professional Practice Day)

Salvation Army/FWPS Christmas Appeal

The generosity of the FWPS community is rarely more evident than the season of giving.  Last week I made note of the support for the Books ‘n Boots initiative and this week, side by side with the (again) overflowing B ‘n B box, is the one put in place last Friday to collect the Salvation Army/FWPS toys and food appeal supported by our Junior School Council.  

Parents’ Association appreciation

An appreciation to the executive and membership of the Parents’ Association for the terrific effort in supporting our school cultural activities and special events throughout the year.  At each School Council meeting this year we have had a member of the executive, either Clare or Alicia attending.  At our Council meeting on Monday (more on that later) it was Clare’s turn to attend and she took us through the variety of successes that have created joy but only after lots of preparation.

This year the Parents' Association has provided us all with the following.  I have made an abbreviated list:

Along with $400 donations to the student representative groups (Environment and Marrung teams and the Junior School Council), Parents’ Association have enabled the amazing Mother’s/Father’s and Special Person’s stalls this year, providing a welcome pack to all prep starters, funded the Berry Street Education Model parent/carer information session,  return of the Trivia Night and assisted with the Halloween Disco.

I feel we should join with School Council in demonstrating our whole school community’s appreciation for the work of the team led by the following wonderful contributors and those who have nominated or returned to PA positions of responsibility next year:

• The committee thanked Adele Coone and Sharee Logan for the tireless work they have done over the past few years to support the PA. 
• President/Co-Presidents: Existing renominated and accepted, Alicia Madden & Clare Mitchell-Crow
• Vice President: Tanya Tran nominated and accepted
• Treasurer: Jess Cork nominated and accepted
• Secretary: Existing renominated and accepted, Rebecca Gregg

At School Council Clare ran through the following slide show which better encapsulates their terrific contribution than I can.  Please take a minute to scan through.

Grade 1 Museum excursion on Tuesday

It was terrific to see the grade 1 cohort attend a full day excursion to the Melbourne Museum on Tuesday.  It was reportedly a marvellous day, well organised by Jess Smart and supported by the grade 1 staff team and parent/carer volunteers - who are absolutely vital for such events.  With the high cost of excursions reducing the regularity of such events, this proved to be a value for money occasion that effectively supported the learning intentions.

School Saver Bonus

Last week we included information on how all our families can access the one off School Saver Bonus in 2025.  This initiative is open to all families with a $400 bonus for each child attending a state government school.  But to receive access for costs set for the first semester next year you will need to ‘activate’ your account using details provided in an email on or about November 26th from the Department of Education to the email address that you have provided in your child’s enrolment documentation.  Please check your spam folder if you do not receive this email.

• Please follow the instructions contained in that email to activate your School Saving Bonus account.
• Again (like last week) see the ‘From the Office Team’ page in today’s newsletter where you will find detailed steps on what every family must do to activate their funding.

Lunch service in 2025

I reported last week on a process update for a student lunch delivery service next year when our canteen will be demolished.  The procurement deadline is tomorrow.  It is currently advertised on our  school website https://www.fwps.vic.edu.au/page/294ch--2025---Expression-of-Interest

The Request for EOI will close 4pm on tomorrow, and we anticipate being able to confirm with our community who the preferred 2025 supplier will be early in December.

In the meantime, our current canteen operator, The Lunchbox, continues to provide an onsite service. We recommend that families do not close their accounts at this stage, to ensure continued access to the FWPS canteen services.

Pest problem

Following advice from our regular pest control contractor, we have made the decision to remove our school compost bins.  Food scraps of course encourage rodent activity and this is particularly problematic at the moment.  While we have been happy to provide composting at school, we no longer have the volunteer support to regularly mulch them in our garden beds.  Food scraps will now have to be disposed of in the classroom bins, unless students are provided with the permission from their parents/carers to bring their own compost scraps home for domestic composting.

School Council

It was a busy final Council meeting for the year on Monday night.  It closed a successful and positive Council year and for that we thank all members who have contributed in a variety of ways and always with our community and kids at the centre.  My appreciation to a really fine group of parents and staff:

• Parent Reps: Andrew Newman, Jess Elliott, Paul Gregg, Katie Berman, Alison Thistlethwaite, Tess Sketchley, Casey Wright, Sonia Vuddamalay, Evie Bohan, Clare Mitchell-Crow / Alicia Madden (PA)
• DET Reps: Liz Beasley, Carolyn Lockie, Towela Sinkonde, Bec Grieve

Building Works

School Facilities matters are always discussed as part of our regular business in School Council.  This month’s report covered plans for the working bee that unfortunately we were unable to proceed with (as reported in a Compass post last Friday) and more importantly, the status of the new building works and upcoming repair works relating to the Wallaby building.  In short, we are aware that following a comprehensive and exacting tender process managed by the Victorian Schools Building Authority - Projects, a preferred company has been chosen.  Unfortunately, due to the nature of contract negotiation for high value government projects, we are still waiting on the green light to share this news and indeed building plans and logistics, as this build will have a major impact on all of us in the FWPS community.  We have also been communicating with the VSBA - Maintenance over the state of the Wallaby Building.  Wall cracks that have developed over the last 2 years have been investigated and structural integrity assessed.  A tender project for repairs of storm water on the basketball court side of the building will occur over summer.  We have been assured this is a priority that is due to be managed before the new building project starts. 

Staffing and Class Structures in 2025

Staff movement in 2025

Each year, schools have natural movement in their staffing, and with the current climate in education, this remains a challenge in schools. We are fortunate at FWPS to have a low attrition rate, and when we do advertise, we are still finding we have high quality applicants. This said, we do have some staff moving on to other opportunities or taking time away from us for personal pursuits in 2025.

Firstly, at the end of the year we will say farewell to both Caitlyn McVilly and Kieran Ryan, who have been with us this year. Caitlyn, a first year graduate, has been working in the Year 4 team and has taken up a position at Coburg North Primary School for 2025. Kieran has been a member of the Year 6 team this year and will be joining the staff at Flemington Primary School next year.  

We will also be saying farewell to Jessica Smart at the end of the year, as she moves to a school closer to her home. Jessica, who has been with us for just over two years in Year 1, will be joining the staff at Kew Primary School.

Also making a move closer to his home over the bridge is Michael Padgett. This year was Michael’s third year with us following his final student teaching placement with us in 2021. Michael was quickly snapped up by the team at St Kilda Primary School, who are delighted to have him join them. 

Also on the move, but only for a 12 month gap year of travel, is Ryan Cox. Ryan has been in the Year 5 team this year and will return to our staff in 2026 after enjoying his planned world adventures for next year.

Lauren Baker will also commence her family leave late in February, after starting the year with us. She will join Kim Tong who commences her family leave in the next few weeks. Both these staff members will join Jane Sherlock who will remain on family leave.

We wish these staff members the best for 2025 and beyond, and will provide more detail about their contributions to FWPS in newsletters closer to the end of the year.

We now turn to our new staff members. In 2025 we will welcome:

• Hayley McAlinden - Hayley joins us from Oakleigh South Primary School, but is a WeFo local from way back. In fact, one of our Year 6 graduation awards is named after Hayley’s grandmother! Hayley has been teaching a Prep grade for three years and will join us in Prep at FWPS for her fourth year.
• Ella Pepper - Our PAC families may know Ella from her time as a relief teacher in PAC while Amel was on long service leave at the start of this term. Ella is a graduate teacher and is very excited to be joining our staff and the Year 2 team after her time with us recently.
• Drew Murphy - Drew is also a WeFo local, and is a highly experienced teacher with a middle leadership background in curriculum. Drew will be joining us from Albert Park Primary School and will be a member of our Year 3 team.   
• Annie McNeil - Annie is currently teaching in London and will return in early January. Before her 12 month stint over there, she taught at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar, and will be joining the Year 2 team with us.

We also have a few staff returning to us from leave. Jess DuPlessis is returning from family leave, Caity Gray is returning full time after a part-time stint over at Monbulk PS and relief teaching with us in Term 4, and Shannon Mason is rejoining us after a year of relief teaching, including with us. 

Many families will recognise we have a very strong track record of selecting new staff who bring new enthusiasm and ideas, as well as aligning with our positive, student focussed ethos.

Teacher Placements in 2025

We are pleased to share our plans for teacher placement in 2025. 

We remind families that we do not take teacher requests under any circumstances, and our student grade placements are nearly finalised so no changes will be made at this point.

Classroom Locations in 2025

Class Structures in 2025

As in previous years, the FWPS Principal team continues to grapple with budgetary constraints when considering grade structures and sizes. All schools receive funding per student and must manage their staffing profile within this budget. There are multiple factors impacting decisions that have been made and we hope to bring understanding to our community around the grade structures for next year.

Firstly, to guide our decision making, the following Departmental requirement must be adhered to: Within the fixed resources provided to schools and the physical facilities schedule, class size should be planned on the minimum possible. Class sizes should be planned on the following basis:

• P to 6 – an average of 26, provided that the average class size of 21 at P–2 is maintained.

The Principal team also look to research and current Monash research noted:‘...class size has a significant effect on academic achievement. The impact of a small class is particularly strong in the early years of schooling, and it is especially important for students who are traditionally disadvantaged in education.‘... a meta study of 112 papers on class size and academic achievement, found that:

• Small class sizes in the early grades are significantly beneficial for students, especially when a class is reduced to fewer than 20 pupils
• These gains are particularly strong for disadvantaged and minority groups
• The longer students are in small classes, the greater the benefits. However, even when students are returned to larger classes in later grades, the benefits of small early classes persist
• The benefits can be seen in both tests of measured achievement and other measures of success
• The evidence for the advantages of small classes in the upper grades and high school is so far inconclusive

Reference: https://theconversation.com/class-size-does-matter-at-least-for-disadvantaged-students-31224

Another factor is as teachers move up the pay scale each year, we reduce our capacity to maintain the number of teachers within a contracted budget, as we are not provided annually with more money to match these increases for the life of the industrial agreement. Positively, we are a school that over time tends to maintain our staff. We currently have a highly experienced teacher workforce profile who bring much expertise to both classroom and team planning contexts. 

We understand that some families may have concern around class sizes and will often make class size comparisons with other schools. However, the monetary playing field is not an even one and we understand that some schools receive significant amounts of additional equity funding due to the socio-economic profile of its community to support curriculum delivery and are able to make class sizes smaller. FWPS has been classified through the Department measures as an advantaged community and as such, our school receives minimal equity funding, therefore negating the ability to make direct comparisons between schools and decisions made around class sizes.

In summary, the Principal team has worked with consideration to create a class profile that balances the constraints of our budget whilst meeting Departmental requirements and considering research based best practice. As a result our focus will be on maintaining the required lower ratios in our P-2 school classes. The class sizes in the upper school next year are larger and the focus will be on quality, differentiated instruction within the classroom. The Tutor Learning Initiative is funded for 2025 and will provide support to students who received a ‘Needs Additional Support’ status in NAPLAN this year. We will continue to focus on delivering high quality classroom programs where learning is collaboratively planned for in teams to ensure an engaging and successful learning experience for all students.

As a result, we anticipate the following structure will be adopted in 2025:

• Prep  5 x Prep (approx. 19/20 students per grade)   
• Year 1 4 x Grade 1 (approx. 20/21 students per grade)  
• Year 2 5 x Grade 2  (approx. 23 students per grade)
• Year 3 4 x Grade 3 (approx. 25/26 students per grade)
• Year 4  4 x Grade 4 (approx. 24/25 students per grade)
• Year 5  3 x Grade 5 (approx. 28 students per grade)
• Year 6  3 x Grade 6, with a 0.5 TLI/support teacher  (approx. 30/31 students per grade, average of 26 with support inclusion)

If you’d like to support increased government school funding, consider advocating via Save Our Schools initiatives.

https://www.parentsvictoria.asn.au/end-the-stand-off-on-school-funding-sos/

Coming Up 

Assembly tomorrow - Friday 22nd November

With the probability of extreme weather tomorrow we will make the judgement during the day on whether assembly will be held outdoors, or broadcast to classrooms from the gallery space.  The Environment team will be providing the content for the assembly item and after the bye last week, sports reporters will be presenting reports on Monday’s catchup round (V Corpus Christi and tomorrow’s games against Dinjerra PS.  

Grade 6 Camp to Ballarat

From next Monday to Wednesday things will be much quieter in the Dingo Building when the grade 6 cohort head off to the Ballarat Log Cabin Camp.  This camp has a terrific set up and while placed in a rural setting, the close proximity to a major provincial city provides a sense of security if required.  With over 90 students and 14 adults attending, including a paramedic, all class teachers and parent/carer volunteers are looking forward to  a wonderful experience.  A very big credit to Mikala who has been exceptionally thorough in planning for this event and liaising with all stakeholders.   

Prep Transition visit (final) - The transition visits conclude next Tuesday.  I was delighted to see how well the program was operating when I observed the second session this week.  It is a credit to Karri and the Prep team for just how seamless the experience was for our new Preps and their parents and carers.

Cheers,

Brendan

REPEATED MESSAGES FROM PAST NEWSLETTERS

Leaving FWPS in 2025?

If your family is planning to leave for another school next year, we would really appreciate you emailing us at: footscray.west.ps@education.vic.gov.au using the subject line (above) and letting us know your child’s new school so we can process the transfer.