Principal's Report

ART FOR ALL Weekend

This year was the 27th instalment of ART FOR ALL, and what an event it was! We are so fortunate to have this amazing festival as part of our school calendar and we are forever grateful for the time, effort, and expertise that every single volunteer contributed to make it all happen.

The event started with a wonderful welcome assembly on Friday morning, where we welcomed Dr Mandy Nicholson and the Djirri Djirri Wurundjeri Dance Group to present and perform in front of our captivated students, staff and parents. 

The official ART FOR ALL opening took place on Saturday’s Gala Night, where our visitors enjoyed fine art, music and food in the tranquil surrounds of our gallery (which is more familiarly known to us as the gym). The evening was a splendid success, with our Year 6 students playing their part in serving our visitors a range of delicious canapes. 

Sunday was pARTy DAY. The sun was shining as we welcomed students, families, extended families, neighbours and visitors to our school to experience a range of offerings – there was something for everyone. The stage in the fig tree courtyard was electric throughout the day, with performances from our orchestra, choir, parent band, Year 6 band and the visiting Indigenous Outreach Dance Project. 

The Year 1 classrooms, art studio and shelter shed had students enjoying the opportunity to be creative with a range of projects and materials. The oval was the place to be for our more adventurous visitors, with fair rides the order of the day. There was the chance for children (and adults of course) to visit the Dali Disco, surrounded by whimsical Dali-themed decorations. And of course, there were the food offerings which were available throughout the grounds.

‘Community’ is one of our school values, and ART FOR ALL is the best possible example of the power of bringing people together and the positive effect that it can have on its community. I mentioned in our previous newsletter that our parent community is amazing, and this was once again the case. I cannot quantify the amount of time and dedication that volunteers have given to ensure that our community experiences this three-day event. There are so many aspects of ART FOR ALL that are reliant upon parents making it happen – catering, marketing, financials, logistics, entertainment, the gallery and shop, activities, ticketing, sustainability, sponsorship – thank you so much to everyone:

• To the people that attended the event and helped create such a special atmosphere.
• To the staff for their support and flexibility.
• To the parent volunteers for all that you have done in the lead-up to and during the event. 
• A special mention to our art teacher Marjie for her ongoing support of this event.
• And finally, a huge recognition to the two convenors, Corrin McNamara and Rachael Hough, who have spent so much of their time to make it all happen.

2024 NAPLAN Results

In Newsletter 12, I described some of the school’s achievements this year in relation to our Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) and the ongoing commitment of our staff to achieve the learning and wellbeing goals in our AIP.

One of the measures that the Department of Education uses to assess a school’s performance is its NAPLAN results (national assessment tests taken by students in Year 3 and Year 5). At FPS we recognise the importance attached to NAPLAN, whilst also maintaining a balanced focus which sees NAPLAN as one point of measurement, and which is not the reason for the learning but forms part of the learning.

NAPLAN results are presented as a proficiency standard:

• Exceeding:  The student’s results exceed expectations.
• Strong:  The student’s results meet challenging but reasonable expectations.
• Developing: The student’s results indicate that they are working towards expectations.
• Needs Additional Support: The student’s results indicate that they are not achieving the learning outcomes expected.

Below are the results of our 2024 NAPLAN results. The percentage indicates the number of students Exceeding or Strong in the areas of Reading, Writing and Numeracy. The table also shows the results of government schools with a similar social demographic, government schools in the Yarra Darebin Network, and all government schools across the state.

NAPLAN Participation Rates

Something that we pride ourselves on at FPS is inclusion. It is important to note our high participation rates for every NAPLAN test, as we encourage all students to ‘have a go’. Last year and this year our participation rate was 99%. There is no comparison data for participation rates, however this was assessed as ‘Very High’ by the Department of Education in our most current school performance report. 

What's Next?

During recent staff and leadership meetings, we have been analysing the NAPLAN data to identify areas for improvement. This work has formed part of our professional learning plan.

Library Book Borrowing

In Newsletter 10, I shared the library borrowing rates for each year level in May. We have been encouraging our students to make more use of borrowing, particularly our senior year groups. Below is a comparison for our borrowing rates for May and August, which were both full months at school.

To further increase student borrowing:

• Support your child’s library borrowing – be aware of their library day and encourage them to borrow. 
• We will ask students for recommendations of books and add these to our shelves.

We are a ResourceSmart School

Please take a moment to read the Sustainability section of this week’s newsletter. I am thrilled to announce that FPS has received its first star as part of the ResourceSmart accreditation. This is work that was started eight years ago and was a catalyst for the formation of our parent Environmental and Sustainability Working Group (ESWG).

This is a great achievement and we should be very proud of our contributions towards making the world a more sustainable place. Thank you for the countless hours that our ESWG, Staff Sustainability School Improvement Team, Eco Club, students and parent community have given this work. A special mention to our Sustainability Officer, Amelia Trompf, for being the focal point of this achievement.

End of Term Acknowledgement

I feel that I could write another two pages for my newsletter as there has been so much happening recently. A quick mention regarding:

• Hoop Time: A basketball tournament for our Year 3-6 students last week, coordinated by parent Millie Lacey.
• District and Division Athletics: Congratulations to everyone involved, and good luck to those that have qualified for next term’s Regional Championship.
• Learn to Swim Program: Congratulations to our Foundation - Year 2 students for their wonderful attitude during swimming sessions. Thank you to staff and parents for your support.
• Year 5 Camp: We wish our Year 5 campers a wonderful three days as they head off to Anglesea on Wednesday morning.

We have had a fantastic term in terms of learning, wellbeing, community, creativity and fun! Thank you for your ongoing support of the school and a reminder that we have an end of term assembly at  9am on Friday, followed by a 2pm dismissal.

Enjoy the rest of the week and the school holidays.

~ Paul Wallace, Principal