Principal's Report
Mr Pitt

Dear Parents/ Carers,

Welcome to the Week 10 Newsletter – the final one for Term 2. We made it! A sincere thank you to the Fairvale community in supporting everything that we do for you and your children. The weather has been cold, and along with plenty of sickness. I thank the staff, the students, and our families for their mighty effort. It is always nice to finish the term with our semester celebration assemblies, parent/ teacher interviews and other special days acknowledging attendance and FAIR Rewards Day. Wonderful job everyone!

STAFF NEWS

We end the term with a couple of staff changes:

Ms Deanna Popovic has decided to leave Fairvale PS to seek more permanent opportunities at other schools. We thank for her work with us and wish her well for the future.
Miss Rita Sassine isn’t leaving Fairvale PS but will be changing roles as she as some extended leave coming up later next term, continuing into Term 4. Miss Sarah Huynh will be the new teacher on 1S. As you know, the children know Miss Huynh and I am confident the transition will be a smooth one. Miss Sassine will move into a specialist role for the rest of the year.
Ms Zoe Ida returns from maternity leave and will recommence in her Assistant Principal role. She will work part-time in the IT RFF position, sharing this position with Mrs Taryn Graham. We thank Mr Adrian Carbone for relieving in the Assistant Principal role this semester.
Mrs Samantha Craig also returns from maternity leave. Mrs Craig will be working Tuesdays and Wednesdays in a specialist role.

BIKE VISITS WITH MR PITT

This last fortnight I have been very busy visiting Playgroup and our specialist RFF Programs – Library, Music and Information Technology (IT). Read more about my visits below:

Playgroup– Last Wednesday morning I was very excited to visit Playgroup. When I arrived, Mrs Benjamin was painting her own rainbow. I even was presented with my own sticker which made me feel very special. Children listened to the story Rainbow Days, before completing their own craft activity with some help from mums and our playgroup teachers - Mrs Benjamin, Miss Michelle and Miss Samira. Some colours needed to be mixed together and it was pleasing to see everyone participating. Before I left, everyone was proud to show their special rainbow artworks. Thank you, Playgroup, I had a fun time!

Library RFF – I visited 4N during Library RFF on Monday morning. I was so glad I chose this day, because Mrs Bawa was talking about the School Magazine series. This brought back lots of memories because I read these magazines when I went to school. Children had the opportunity to learn more about what information is inside each magazine. We read poems, plays and my favourite part was learning how to pronounce Dharug words. I was able to use my phone to scan and learn cockatoo and lagoon in Dharug. During the lesson children used post it notes to record their favourite parts from the magazines. It was a fantastic visit!

Music RFF – Last Monday morning, I visited Mrs Olivera and 4T during Music RFF. Students were learning about an ostinato. They used drums to follow the music. After creating their own music in small groups, children clapped the rhythm then used glockenspiels to play their group’s ostinato. I was also lucky enough to visit 1J during their Music RFF lesson on Friday with Miss Jesudason. The focus was on beat, listening and singing. We all sang a catchy song to help us identify beat and then the boys and girls had a challenge to see who could do it the best. Both groups were amazing - there are some lovely singers in 1J. I had lots of fun visiting Music RFF lessons.

IT RFF – Lastly, I visited 1S and 1J during their IT RFF lesson with Mrs Graham. I was super impressed with what our Year 1 children are able to do using Microsoft Word. It was great to see some children changing font, size, and colour too. Great job Year 1! On Tuesday I visited 5H during their IT RFF lesson with Miss Huynh. Children were presenting their PowerPoint presentations about food and fibre. The children demonstrated their understanding by using creative transitions in between slides. 5H were good audience members too, applauding their classmates after each presentation. Well done to everyone!

I would also like to congratulate our RFF teachers as they have one of the most challenging jobs in the school - Miss Huynh, Miss Marjanac and Mrs Graham – IT, Mrs Olivera and Ms Jesudason – Music and Mrs Bawa and Miss Huynh – Library.

Check out some of the photos in this edition of the newsletter.

EMERGENCY AND LOCKDOWN DRILLS

Each year schools in NSW take part in mandatory emergency evacuation and lockdown drills. During this time all members on site must adhere to school policies and procedures. Last week our school participated in an emergency drill practice. We now have the Work Health and Safety Project Team, under the leadership of Mrs Sheppard, School Business Manager, evaluating the effectiveness of the emergency procedures at our school.

PARENT/ TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Thank you to all the parents/carers who have already attended the Parent/Teacher interviews this week. We’ve had a wonderful response from the community. It was lovely to see so many of you attend the K-2 interviews and I am hoping you found the interview informative. It is such a powerful and important moment for a parent/carer and teacher to connect; we value the way Seesaw connects us, but nothing beats face to face interviews. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank all of our teachers for taking part in the interview process; everyone played an important role. I would also like to thank our translators; some of whom were school based whilst others were booked to attend the afternoon. Without this resource, it would make our job much harder. Years 3-6 interviews occur today. If you were unable to attend on Tuesday or today, please contact the school as I am sure the teacher will ensure they get to meet with you next term.

TERM 2 IN REVIEW

There’s much to celebrate at Fairvale PS. Check out some of our Term 2 highlights:

ANZAC Day Ceremony
Mother’s Day Stall
Walk Safely to School Day
Selective High School for some of our Year 6 students
Cabramatta Police Station Open Day
Straight Sight vision testing – so many of our students now wear glasses!
Years 4-6 attended a student wellbeing presentation by Luke Kennedy
3-6 Cross Country Carnival (School, Zone, and Sydney Southwest)
Visitors from Parramatta Education Office > School Experience for the Day
National Simultaneous Storytime
Flag Raising Ceremony at Fairfield City Council
Celebrating National Reconciliation Week
PSSA - Season 1 and commencement of Season 2
Year 4 Gymnastics program
Stage 1 Excursion - Fairfield Museum
World Environment Day
SRC Leadership Day at Westfields Sports High School
Pyjama Day
Celebrating Refugee Week
Interschool Chess Competition
Debating Competition
Parent Café on-site workshops and excursions
Premier’s Spelling Bee
Attendance and FAIR Rewards Day
K-2 and 3-6 Celebration Assemblies
K-6 Parent/ Teacher Interviews - 3-6 Thursday afternoon.
Principal’s Morning Tea - Friday morning

HEALTHY FAMILY BULLETIN – JULY EDITION

Click on the link below to read about NAIDOC Week events near you, go shopping for fresh produce on a budget and how families can join our free healthy lifestyle program Go4Fun. Click on the link below.

> https://rb.gy/rxbgrw

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT DAY (SDD) TERM 3

On Monday 22 July 2024, staff will participate in a school development day (SDD). The focus will be assessment, writing and differentiation. This professional learning is a key priority for the Department. Students return to school on Tuesday 23 July 2024.