Principal's Report

In this week’s newsletter:

Congratulations and Appreciations

• To our NAPLAN participants 
• Grade 4 Campaspe Camp attendees

News

• NAPLAN assessment program has concluded
• Prep Open Afternoons finish next week
• Grade 4 Swimming 
• Pen recycling at the office
• Adjustment to access for Their Care users

Coming Up

• District Cross Country Event
• Bike Hub team to visit for Ride2 School Day
• Harmony Day on Friday
• Friday Assembly
• Kids' Share Afternoon 

Reminders

• Student References 
• Inform and Empower Program / Raising Kids in a Digital World information evening 
• Road Safety Reminder 
• School Saver Bonus 
• Curriculum Contributions 
• Photo and Video Permission Form 

Congratulations and Appreciations

NAPLAN

Congratulations to grade 3 and 5 students for their efforts during NAPLAN.  We saw our values of Resilience, Respect and Responsibility in focus. A big appreciation to the grade 3 and 5 teaching teams who were so assured and supportive of the children, along with the education support staff and members of Wellbeing who assisted with the variety of adjustments that were required. A particular appreciation to Assistant Principal, Carolyn who managed this highly complex program with fidelity, professionalism and compassion.

Grade 4 Campaspe Downs Camp

While ‘only’ an overnight camp, all the work that is required for a longer camp is required in preparation for a shorter one.  Troy stepped into the role of organiser and I can assure you that there is a lot to do.  He did so with enthusiasm, regularly double checking with leadership to ensure nothing was left to chance.  The students loved the experience, many whose only other experience of being home without family being the Zoo Snooze camp in grade 3.  A big appreciation to the teaching team and parents / carers who assisted.  It really does take a team approach and it is wonderful to see just how quickly the adults bond on camp, as well as the kids.

News

NAPLAN 

NAPLAN assessments finished on Tuesday with the grade 5 mathematics assessment, following the grade 3 mathematics assessment on Monday. We appreciate the student and staff efforts over the 5 day program. With a big reliance on iPad / wireless technology, we appreciate where there were issues, they were managed effectively. Any child whose device inadvertently paused was provided with the appropriate catch up time. Students showed impressive resilience and many expressed they enjoyed the variety of assessment challenges that NAPLAN provided. We will of course inform families when NAPLAN results are due. 

NAPLAN results are reported against proficiency standards. There is a standard for each assessment area at each year level. Proficiency standards provide clear information on student achievement. They are set at a challenging but reasonable level expected for the student at the time of NAPLAN testing, based mainly on what has been taught in previous years of schooling. Student achievement is shown against 4 levels of proficiency:

• Exceeding
• Strong
• Developing, and 
• Needs Additional Support

A NAPLAN individual student report will be provided by your child’s school later in the year. 

Prep Open Afternoon 

Prep Open Afternoon visits were again held in all the classes yesterday. This was the third of five Wednesday Open Afternoon sessions leading into the end of term. They have been enthusiastically attended. Open afternoons run from 2:40pm to 3:10pm. To ensure that all families have the opportunity to attend, each child is able to have one pair of adults attend one of the sessions only.

Grade 4 Swimming 

The grade 4 team have been thoroughly enjoying the swim program at the MAC that started on Monday and will conclude next Friday, 28th March. The team has appreciated that they have been able to access afternoon sessions which means the morning learning is unaffected. Of course, schools’ access to the pool is highly competitive and we plan well in advance to gain the slots that best suit our needs.

Pen Recycling Location at Office 

The Environment Team is supporting a pen recycling program and this was reported on at last week’s assembly. While the students were focussed on the many hundreds of pens and textas that eventually wear out at school, you're welcome to send in some from home. 

Adjustment to access for TheirCare Users 

Towards the end of last year, in preparation for our Big Build, we changed access to the TheirCare before and after school program, now located in the gallery space of the Dingo building, to the Blandford Street pedestrian gate. With the building project now progressing, we understand that many families would appreciate having the option to access the school through the front gates. After a chat with Ange from TheirCare, her team will now (slightly) open the double gate at the front of the school, as well as continuing to open the back gate at Blandford Street. Outside school times when wishing to access TheirCare, please do not access the front of the school via the office.

Coming Up

District Cross Country Event 

The District Cross Country will be held for our team of 36 grade 4, 5 and 6 qualifiers tomorrow morning at Hansen Reserve. The students will be accompanied by our PE specialist, Stratos and Specialist team member, Heather. We welcome parents and carers coming along to encourage the competitors. We wish the team all the best.

Ride2School Day 

Tomorrow we are encouraging our student bike users to ride their bikes to school to join in the spirit of national Ride2School Day. Students who bring their bikes to school can have them checked for safety and have minor repairs provided by the staff from our local Community Bike Hub during lunch time on the oval. The school and class captains, along with staff members, Marshal and Towela will assist. Due to the outdoors location this event will be weather dependent.

Harmony Day is Acknowledged Tomorrow 

Library and Italian specialist lessons have focused on Harmony Day this week. Some students have asked if they can acknowledge the day - a 'splash of orange' is welcomed. Students may wish to make a wristband or ribbon and will be able to do so in class. Parents and carers should not feel obliged to make a special effort.

Friday Assembly

Friday’s assembly will feature this week’s Pupils of the Week and our assembly item will feature a presentation from the students in 5DW, reports from JSC and the cross country crew.  With the possibility of inclement weather, we may be required to run our first indoor assembly for the year live streamed to classrooms. If this is the case, all presenters, including 5DW, the class providing their class presentation and students receiving their Pupil of the Week Awards will attend the gallery space in Dingo, along with parents and carers who have a direct interest in attending.

Kids' Share Afternoon

In the last week of term we have developed the practice in recent years of providing a kids' share visit to classrooms available for parents and carers (Grade 1-6). It will be held from 3:30pm to 4:15pm on Tuesday, 1 April 2025.

Reminders

Student References 

Due to an ever-increasing workload and in agreement with our local network schools, FWPS teachers and leadership will no longer provide written letters of recommendation / support for scholarship applications for students who are transitioning to independent or Catholic schools. This applies for Year 6 to 7 transitions, as well as transitions in earlier year levels. With written consent from parents / carers (via an email to the school office), we are able to pass on copies of school reports and have a conversation with a students' new school for the purpose of supporting the transition process. 

Inform and Empower Program / Raising Kids in a Digital World information evening 

A replay of Marty and Carley’s first rate presentation and family resources are available here: 

Road Safety Reminder 

A week rarely passes without multiple examples of worrying behaviour from motorists during the busy drop off and pick up times. The rush to do so often leads to students being put at risk by being encouraged to walk between double parked cars and crossing Argyle Street away from the pedestrian crossing. We can all recall the tragedy that occurred at a Melbourne primary school last year.  No one wants to see a similar experience at FWPS.

School Saver Bonus 

The office team and in particular our Business Manager, Sandra have continued to be busy every day assisting parents and carers in making sure that they are registered and able to access the $400 one off School Saver Bonus. If this has got away from you, or you just need some assistance, please contact the office team for some practical assistance. The team loves to help.  We want every family to fully make use of this opportunity.

Curriculum Contributions 

A parent / carer payment contribution Compass post was sent to all families early in term. We really appreciate your support in making this payment for each of your children as soon as possible. Funds received are directed to subsidising the many curriculum costs in managing a school of this size. FWPS is a school that is underfunded based on the Schooling Resource Standard https://www.education.gov.au/recurrent-funding-schools/schooling-resource-standard for Australian schools. At FWPS we receive a lower rate of equity funding due to our local demographic than many other western suburbs schools. This may be deemed as fair from a systemic perspective, but doesn't help us pay the bills! With annual fees topped at $300 (prep) we really think our community can do better than the 69% of families (grades 1 - 6) last year who contributed their expected contribution. There is an opportunity to pay by instalments. Please contact the office team if you would like more information or assistance.

Photo and Video Permission Form 

The Department of Education now requires parents and carers to sign this permission form annually (this used to be a requirement only when students started school, or moved to FWPS). This requirement has made a ‘once off task’ for every child now a x7 task for every child. That is a lot of parent time and you can imagine how that is magnified from a schools’ administration perspective. If you haven't done this yet, please make this a priority to complete and return to the office (or classroom). We really wish to encourage parents and carers to tick all 3 boxes to enable pictures or videos from class events (incursions, excursions, assemblies, sporting events and camps) and special moments (such as presentations and reports from assembly) to be able to be shown (or linked) in the newsletter and official school Facebook page.

Warm regards,

Brendan