Principal Report - 

Mrs Darlene Cameron

We’ve had a wonderful couple of weeks as we start to head towards the end of Term Two.

Concert Pre-recording

On Wednesday, we had our pre-recording for our much anticipated school concert. All classes were allocated a recording block to allow enough time to record multiple songs and capture the best take. A huge thank you to Amy Payne and Jacqui McLean, our music teachers, as well as Beth (mother of Archie, Year 1) who kindly offered her time and recording services for the day.

Reconciliation Week

Throughout Reconciliation Week, all classes explored how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. At our recent assembly, our Prep Department shared their Acknowledgement of Country and the 1/2s shared the book they read - Walking Together. You can see their footprint display outside their classrooms

Years 3/4s presented a range of tasks completed throughout the week and our Year 5/6 students performed a stellar rendition of this year’s Voices for Reconciliation song, Midnight Oil's classic Beds Are Burning.

House Chants

Our new House Chants were launched and we look forward to sharing all of these at our next assembly on Mrs Cameron’s return.

Is it snitching or reporting? 

Recently, I have been reflecting on the use of the word, snitch, as it has come up in a few conversations with students of late. To determine the definition, I looked to Cambridge Dictionary and came across this;

Snitch:  to secretly tell someone in authority that someone else has done something bad, often in order to cause trouble.

Generally, the concept of ‘snitching’ implies it is a deliberate tattling on another person in order to get them into trouble, rather than ‘reporting’ - when you inform a trusted adult about unexpected behaviours because you want to ensure that yourself or another person is safe and getting support.

Unfortunately, what we do see from time to time, is that the term snitching is used to intimidate or ridicule those who report. As a result, students may hesitate to tell teachers or other adults because they anticipate social costs; being judged by peers, being isolated, or having the situation worsen. However, without action, some things won’t improve on their own and adult intervention is needed to best support our young people.

At Fyans Park Primary School, we aim to empower students to speak up against wrong doings and report unexpected or unsafe behaviour to a trusted adult. All students throughout the school have identified three ‘Go-to Adults’ who they feel most comfortable speaking to when needed. Our Stop, Walk, Talk strategy deliberately includes the reporting (Talk) element so that a trusted adult can be a sounding board, support with strategies and follow up as per our response to unexpected behaviours.

What can you do at home to help?

In the event your child brings up something that is worrying them;

• Ask them who their Go-to Adults are and encourage them to reach out to one of them
• Report any concerns to your child’s classroom teacher
• Encourage your child to be an upstander if they are witness to poor behaviour by another, even if this is a friend

In the event they are using the term ‘snitch’, unpack this with them. Ask them what they mean by using this term and whether the situation will improve if nothing is reported. When they say ‘snitch’ are they referring to tattling, worried about repercussions or labelling another child following Stop, Walk, Talk?

Praise the reporting of things to a trusted adult. This then allows the adult to make a determination of what next, monitor situations and track patterns of behaviours. We have many things reported to us every day and have a range of strategies we can then use to support students.

Let’s differentiate ‘snitching’ from ‘reporting’ and discourage the use of therm.

Congratulations

• Congratulations to Augustine in 5/6L who has been selected in the Victorian Gymnastics Team to represent the State at the Border Challenge in Queensland 21-22 June 2026.r

• We also send Prep A's Mrs Mikkayla Ashdon and her husband our very best wishes for their pending arrival. Mrs Ashdon starts leave at the end of this week and we look forward to sharing some happy news soon.

Semester Reporting

A reminder,  student achievement reports for Semester 1 will be distributed on Tuesday 23rd June via Compass. The reports will continue to provide important details about student learning attainment, but full descriptive comments will not be included as a result of industrial action taken earlier this term by the Australian Education Union.

Parent-Teacher interviews are scheduled for Wednesday 29th July, where we will be pleased to discuss your child’s progress. The Compass booking system will be open early in Term 3.

As always, you can contact your child’s classroom teacher or a member of the leadership team to arrange a meeting with your child’s teacher if needed.

Wishing you all a happy week ahead.

Emily Burgess