Principal's Report

In this week’s newsletter:

Appreciations and News

• Through School Transition and induction of new staff
• Volunteers’ appreciation morning tea was well attended
• Building project update
• Teachers participating in Little Learners Love Literacy training
• Grade 6 captains’ party
• Salvation Army/FWPS Christmas Appeal
• Captains’ process for 2026

• Soundgarage registration process

   

Coming Up 

• Grade 6 interschool sport finals at FNPS tomorrow
• Assembly tomorrow
• Student Reports
• Graduation
• Picnic in the Park
• Food delivery service will operate on Friday 19th December
• Class parties
• Annual moving day
• Last day of term and 1.20pm early finish

Major Dates in 2026

• School Camps in 2026

• Curriculum and Student Free days in 2026

   

Staffing Changes for 2026

Appreciations and News

Through School Transition and Induction for New Staff 

We had an effective and calm Through School Transition day on Tuesday. The smooth running of such an event is of course only due to the preparation beforehand. It really does take most of the last term to prepare all the steps to ensure such a complex process can be successfully implemented. We were pleased to host two of our new staff; Holly Heitmann and Samantha Jarred who spent a busy day being inducted into school practices and processes met with their new class and finally met and spent time with their new teaching team at the end of the day. Unable to attend due to still teaching his current class in Queensland, Alex Clarey did make his presence felt by being introduced to his new year 5 class through a video he had prepared that included a few inputs from his current students! We really feel our new staff will fit in well. Class teachers and students moved to new classrooms and spent time starting the process of getting to know each other. An enormous appreciation from class teachers and specialists, to members of leadership for the outstanding management of the entire complex process.

Volunteers Morning Tea 

We were pleased to host many volunteers from the FWPS community last Friday during our annual Volunteers' Morning Tea held in the gallery space in Dingo. More than enough food was provided by staff and prepared by the office and leadership teams to ensure no one needed lunch! This is a marvellous FWPS tradition in making the acknowledgement that excursions, swimming, some sporting events and camps cannot be run without the volunteer efforts of parents and carers. This contribution, along with classroom helpers, School Council members and Parents' Association reps and helpers were acknowledged. There was a great feeling in the room as we were surrounded by many in our parent and carer community that, given the opportunity, chose to make a positive contribution. I kept my words brief, but meant every one of them! We love working with our volunteers and their impact is manifest - it really can be the difference between running an event or not.

Building Update 

Reflecting on last year’s week 10 newsletter, I was reminded that at the same time last year was I pondering about when I would be able to share the plans for our proposed new building. Now after a year of loud noises, parking challenges and a great deal of living out our value of Resilience - it is almost done. I am very much looking forward to us receiving the keys of the Eagle Building, around the 22nd January. We will be flat out at that time as we prepare our music and food tech (STEM) rooms and set up the PE storeroom. We will be delighted to also declutter Emu Corner and our Bilby meeting room, along with fitting out our new meeting room in the new building.

Teachers participating in Little Learners Love Literacy Training 

Today and on Friday, class teachers who will be working in the Junior School in 2026 and who have not previously participated in the 2 days of Little Learners Love Literacy training, will be released from their teaching duties for this purpose. This will involve Helena, Charlotte, Marshal, Tess, Caity and Drew from our current staff and new teachers Samantha and Holly. The respective classes will be taught by regular and agency CRTs over the 2 days.

Captains’ Party 

We enjoyed some party food on Wednesday in the Orchard - wonderfully catered for by our office team members Sharon and Rachael. Thanks Marshal for doing a great job as convener this year, along with our grade 6 captains who throughout the year showed enthusiasm and turned up weekly to our recess meetings (almost) without fail.

Salvation Army / FWPS JSC Christmas Appeal 

Thanks to our community, the appeal has been wonderfully supported again this year. All items will be gratefully collected by the Salvos next week.

Soundgarage Classes 

Maddie from Soundgarage visited all classes to promote the 2026 program and explain the change in timetabling arrangements where classes will coincide with specialist classes as a priority.  Bear in mind that with our new space we will look forward to a return to our concert program next year.  If you would like to enrol / re-enrol for Soundgarage for 2026 please head to the website soundgarage.au and register via the online form.

For any further questions please feel free to contact Maddie at maddie@soundgarage.com.au or 0401 844 522.

Coming Up 

Grade 6 Interschool Sport Finals at Footscray North PS 

Summer Sport Grand Finals will be held at Footscray North PS this Friday from 9:30am. Bat Tennis, Basketball Boys / Mixed, Basketball Girls and Cricket teams are keenly looking forward to representing our school. The players and coaches will walk to FNPS for their matches - an ideal warmup. We welcome parents / carers to attend and support the teams.  We wish all players the best of luck!

Assembly Tomorrow 

With warmer weather forecast, we will hope for another outdoor assembly tomorrow. We will feature sports reports from tomorrow's finals and our assembly item will feature a surprise presentation from the Prep team. This will also be the final Pupil of the Week Awards for this year. 

Student Reports

Digital Student Semester 2 reports will be available from 4:00pm tomorrow.

Graduation 

Our annual grade 6 Graduation Event will be held in the gymnasium at Footscray North PS on Monday evening. Many grade 6 students will be collected early from school to enable them preparation and rest time prior to graduation. All grade 6 families received 3 complimentary tickets and were able to purchase limited additional tickets. The grade 6 teachers have worked closely preparing our graduation cohort and are confident that they are ready to showcase their best to our community. This year team leader Monica will emcee our event on an evening when brief speeches by student and staff representatives are interspersed with our academic and community and citizenship awards, presentation of graduation certificates and grade performances. We always appreciate that past staff members attend, as will our local Member of the State Parliament, Ms Katie Hall to present the (now) annual Dr Moss Cass Award for Community and Integrity. We will provide a comprehensive report in next week’s newsletter, include a list of award winners and present these to the community at our final assembly on Friday of next week.

Picnic in the Park 

Following graduation things become more relaxed with our annual day long grade 6 Picnic in the Park at Hansen Reserve on Wednesday, 17th December. On this day our grade 6 students have a relaxed day with their friends and teachers. This is also the one opportunity to sign each other’s school shirts. You just may see a few of these in the yard after school!

Food Delivery Service 

Due to there being no requirement to clean a canteen area, our food delivery service will continue next week through to and including Friday, 19th December, the final day of term.

Class Parties 

These are all due to take place next Thursday, the second last day of the school year. A Compass post was sent earlier to seek permission for students to share food. While you may receive communication from your child’s teacher, we anticipate that each child will bring some party food, bearing in mind that students with food allergies will need to supply food that is suitable for their consumption.

Annual Moving Day 

On Thursday of next week we have arranged for contractors to move resources to classes and specialist spaces to accommodate the grade placement arrangements for the next school year. Fortunately the changes are considerably fewer than last year. With the assistance of our maintenance manager Taleb, we have a strong focus on safety. When moving resources we ensure that the rooms are clear of students and staff and we set up barriers whenever necessary to ensure corridors can be utilised without being affected by pedestrian traffic.

Last Day Early Dismissal 

Please note that our school year is due to end at 1:20pm on Friday of next week, 19th December. The food delivery service will be available on this final day and TheirCare will operate from the earlier time. Please book online.

Major Dates in 2026

2026 Camps Program  

Next year all our school camps will be held in Term 4. While we have had some fabulous camp experiences in Term 1 in recent years, the reality is that booking, paying and planning early in the year is hard on families and school organisers. 

Next year our camps will be held as follows:

Student Free / Curriculum Days in 2026  

At our final School Council meeting this year, the following dates were approved for student free / curriculum days to assist planning, reporting and staff professional development. Please place these dates in your calendar:

• Tuesday, 27th January 2026 (School staff day)
• Thursday, 26th March 2026 (Maths professional learning)
• Monday, 18th May 2026 (Professional practice day - reporting)
• Tuesday, 28th July 2026 (Maths professional learning)
• Monday, 2nd November 2026 (Curriculum Day- report writing)

Cheers,

Brendan

Staffing Changes for 2026

We had intended to share staff roles for next year a couple of weeks ago, but due to a late staff change we made the decision to ensure all staffing was locked in prior to sharing this news with our community.   

WE SAY GOODBYE TO...

First, it is important to make note that Anna Kurvink will conclude her long and highly valued teaching career at FWPS by going on leave next year, prior to her retirement from the Department of Education. We will make an appropriate acknowledgment of Anna’s teaching impact at the end of the year.

Medha Kaul will also be leaving us due to being the successful candidate for a Learning Specialist position at Yarraville West PS. Medha joined us as a graduate teacher in 2015 and has become a valued member of our teaching team, an Instructional Leader and member of our School Improvement Team. We congratulate Medha and wish her the very best. She will remain a member of our parent community. 

Joanna Inness will be leaving us due to her being successful in being selected for a Learning Specialist role at Point Cook College. Joanna has been an Instructional Leader in recent years and stepped into a vacancy as a staff representative on School Council this year. We would like to congratulate Joanna who has been such an appreciated team member since she joined us in 2017. 

Michelle Metcalf will be moving on to an ongoing teaching position at Saltwater College, also near Point Cook. We have appreciated Michelle’s enthusiasm and keenness to provide opportunities for students within and beyond the classroom and know that the students and staff of Saltwater will benefit from that. Michelle also co-led our Environment Team. 

Liberty Brereton joined us at the mid-year point to replace Brooke in the Prep team.  Teaching a prep grade mid year is no easy challenge and we appreciate the care and warmth Liberty has shown every day in ensuring that the students feel welcome and supported. We wish Liberty all the very best as she moves north for new job opportunities.

WELCOME FOR 2026

Lauren Baker will be returning to a part time 0.4 position within the Year 1 team.  Welcome back to Lauren after a period of family leave this year. Lauren will share her class teaching duties with Jess Du Plessis. 

Caitlin Wilkinson will be teaching 1HP during term 1 prior to going on family leave. She will be replaced by Heather Patterson who will be on leave during term 1. 

Annie McNeill will return next year with a new surname after her wedding on the weekend.  Welcome to the grade 5 team Annie Collins! 

New teaching staff joining us include Alex Clarey. Alex has been teaching in Brisbane and was delighted to secure a position at Footscray West prior to his planned move to Melbourne. While Alex was unavailable for our TST session as he is still teaching his current class, he prepared an introductory video for his new year 5 class. 

Holly Heitmann was previously a pre-service teacher at FWPS and has been a regular and well regarded CRT in the second semester. She will join the year 3 team. 

Samantha Jarred will be joining us from Warringa PS in Truganina where she has experienced a specialist and classroom role in the first two years since the school opened.  Samantha will also join the year 3 team. 

Repeated from Last Term

Leaving FWPS for 2026? 

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).

Reminders and Repeated Messages