PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

A very warm welcome to our 220 year 7 students and their families, and also to those who have joined us at other year levels. All of our students and families who are returning to be with us again in 2017 are also warmly welcomed to another year at the college.

Our Year 8 to 12 students commenced their programs for this year at the end of 2016, so they have transitioned very smoothly into their classwork from day one. Our Year 7s have also settled quite readily into their new life as secondary students. Congratulations to all students on an excellent start, and we hope they will take advantage of the many opportunities offered throughout the year to experience success in their academic and other endeavours.

It is certainly the over-arching aim of all of our curriculum and teaching to enable every student to achieve the maximum level of growth and progress in their learning, that they are capable of. Our school values of Achievement, Respect and Responsibility are also intended to support students in their learning, as well as guide and foster them to become confident, well-rounded young people.

We very much look forward to working with parents and carers to support our students to achieve the best level of success and progress in their learning across all areas of the curriculum, throughout the year.

In Memoriam

It was with much sadness that we as a staff received the news of the recent passing of Teresa Vaz, one of our colleagues. Teresa took leave at the beginning of 2015 due to serious ill health. Though she remained very unwell for the past two years, her unwavering positivity and strength of spirit was remarkable and an inspiration to all of us.

Teresa joined the staff of FCC ten years ago and taught Spanish, Italian and English as Another Language (EAL). She also taught VCE Spanish at the Victorian School of Languages and had a consistent record of students obtaining some of the top marks across the state in Year 12.

Teresa was also a much valued friend and colleague of many staff members, and will most certainly be missed.

Our deepest sympathies go to her family at this time of great loss and grief for them.

New staff

In addition to the large number of new students joining us, it is a pleasure to introduce and welcome twelve new teachers. They include

Sally Christie              English/Humanities/Media

Malcolm Fretz            English/Humanities/Media

Minh Nguyen             Maths/IT

Shumaila Paracha   Maths

Malisa Govori            Art

Natasa Ciabatti        Italian/EAL

Amy Murphy              English/EAL

James Kirchner       English/Humanities

Lorence Ferro           English/Humanities

Aaron Boyle               Health/PE

Ryan McGhie            Health/PE

Nicholas Costanzo Instrumental Music

With the significant increase in our junior intakes, we have now had 25 new teachers come on board with our staff since 2016.

As well as the new teachers joining us this year, we welcome back three teachers returning from long term leave – Elaine Rose, Jak Dunstan and Johnny Kesselschmidt.

Rob McLeod (Assistant Principal) has taken leave for the first semester of this year, and is enjoying a well-earned break, travelling. In his absence we are pleased to have Vicki Tentzoglidis join the principal class team, as Acting Assistant Principal.

The School Year So Far

While the year is still young much has happened in these early week including the swimming sports, the Year 8 camp, study skills sessions for the Year 10 and 11 students, the Year 7 pastoral care day at Williamstown Beach and many clubs getting underway.

One of the upcoming highlights for the school community, is the Pedal Power Moonlight Cinema on the evening of 24 March. This event is a collaboration between FCC, Maribyrnong City Council and the Friends of FCC. It will involve a group of our students – led by Michelle Sanders, Sustainability Coordinator – pedalling bikes to produce the energy required to screen a feature film. More information on this exciting sustainability focused event can be found in this newsletter.

The Friends of FCC have had their first meeting of the year, and were pleased to welcome a number of new parents who attended. The parents and friends who have volunteered their time and energy over the years, as part of this group, have made an invaluable contribution to the college, particularly through their small grants program. The distribution of fundraising through these grants has enabled the funding of many items that otherwise would not have been possible, and most importantly, students have had the benefit of these contributions to the school’s resources. If you are interested in participating in the group on a regular basis or for specific events of interest, your participation will be most welcome. The next meeting of the group will be on the 14th March at 7.00 pm in the staffroom adjacent to the canteen.

The first formal communication on the progress of students for the initial five weeks will occur on the 3rd March when Progress Checks will be released via Compass to parents and carers. We will also be looking forward to meeting all parents at the first parent-teacher interviews for the year on Wednesday 29th March.

Best wishes to all for the year ahead.

Maria Bawden - Principal

YEAR 7 - 9 ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL REPORT

Welcome back and a special welcome to our new students and families. We are delighted you are part of the community of Footscray City College.  My name is Vicki Tentzoglidis and for the next 6 months whilst Rob McLeod is on leave I will be in the position of  Acting Assistant Principal.

 It has been a pleasure to meet so many new families at drop off and pick up times as our newest students settle into their secondary schooling.  I enjoyed meeting many of you at the Year 7 Family welcome BBQ.  Please remember if you or your child needs clarity or support – we are here to assist you.  Thank you in particular to the Junior School Team and staff for leading a most positive and supportive transition program for all our new Year 7s. 

To our Year 8 and 9 new and current students and families we hope that you have had a restful break and are ready for a year full of exciting learning and challenging new experiences.

All new families should by now have received a Compass login.  Compass allows you to access  your child’s timetable, attendance, payments, reports, year level targeted newsfeeds (for example year level excursions or events) and classroom teacher email addresses.  If you have a smartphone we recommend downloading the Compass app, as it is an easier way to use this system.  If you enable “push notifications” you will be alerted whenever there is a new item in the Newsfeed.

At Footscray City College we are committed to working together and I look forward to partnering with you to achieve the best possible outcomes for your child/ren.

Vicki Tentzoglidis - Acting Assistant Principal ( Years 7 - 9)