Acting Principal's Report
FPS Events
As restrictions have continued to ease, teachers have been able to run excursions and incursions, which compliment students’ learning in the classroom. Some of these events have included excursions to Sovereign Hill, Scienceworks and Edendale Farm, and we have had incursions onsite with visitors from the Darebin Parklands, Drama Toolbox and Mad About Science.
Parents have not missed out on events either – this year so far we have run our Foundation Social Night, the Welcome Picnic, Mother’s/Special Person’s Day Breakfast and our infamous Trivia Night! Aside from being great opportunities for the community to come together, some events also raise money for the school.
This year’s Foundation Social Night raised $430, the Mother’s/Special Person’s Day Breakfast raised $1,040 and the Trivia Night raised a whopping $14,450. Funds raised from the Trivia Night will be going towards our wonderful Performing Arts Program.
Student Reports
Next Wednesday you will be able to access your child’s semester one report. Reports are available to view and download from Compass as of Wednesday 22nd June, at 9am.
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the teachers for the time spent on ensuring their student reports are informative and accurate. I really enjoy reading the reports – it is wonderful to see how well teachers know their students.
Last newsletter I shared the importance of student growth. Schools are required to show the ‘expected level’ for each curriculum area. We know that every student learns at different rates and if the next progression point has not been made, it does not indicate no growth. It just means that the amount of growth made has not been enough to meet the next progression point. Student reports do not show the little steps of growth in between each progression point – rest assured your child’s teacher knows where they are and where they are heading, and the comments in your child’s report will explain this in detail.
Last report writing period, teachers had only one term of face-to-face teaching in which to deliver content, conduct assessments, make judgements on progression levels, and write reports. We knew that because of this, the assessment that we conducted in term four 2021 was not as thorough as it usually is, so it was really important that this semester we gather all the evidence to make these reports as accurate as possible.
We had a few challenges to navigate along the way – COVID still impacted our lives with family isolation requirements, then as these restrictions eased, we had other illnesses to contend with (hello flu and gastro!). This meant that classes across the school had both students and teachers absent due to illness, but despite this, teams managed to continue delivering high-quality programs in all areas of the curriculum. And for the first time since 2019, reports will include all curriculum areas and progression points relevant to the students’ year level.
2023 Foundation Enrolment
If you have a child ready to start in Foundation next year, please submit the enrolment form by Friday 15 July. We plan to send out offers of place at the end of July, so we need to know which siblings of current students will be joining us.
End of Term Assembly & Early Dismissal – Friday 24 June
We invite you to join us on Friday 24 June at 1.30pm, for our end of term assembly. This will be held at the Fig Tree Courtyard. A reminder that we have a 2pm dismissal on Friday too.
School Holidays & Term Three
A reminder that term three will begin for students on Tuesday 12th July. Monday 11th July is a curriculum day, where staff will be participating in professional development and planning and preparing for the term ahead.
I hope that you are all able to spend some quality time with your family and friends these school holidays. Be safe, relax and we look forward to welcoming you all back on Tuesday 12th July for another amazing term!
Thank you for all of your support this term. Wishing you a safe and enjoyable two week break.
~ Sarah Abbott, Acting Principal