Principal's Report

Doing Something A Bit Different

As Principal I often ask myself, ‘Would I have enjoyed being a student at FPS when I was a child?’ Clearly I am going to answer that with a ‘Yes’ (it wouldn’t be a great endorsement of the school otherwise!), and when I see activities like the Year 5 alternative sports program, it makes me reflect on the fantastic opportunities provided to our students.

For five weeks this term, our Year 5 students are participating in Ultimate Frisbee - what a great way to spend your Friday! In term two, our Year 5 students then get to participate in wheelchair basketball.

Another recent highlight of mine was seeing the success that our Gardening Club is having. You can read more about their endeavours and rewards in this newsletter.

The final mention for something different is our lunchtime clubs. These clubs are run by teachers and give the students the opportunity to try something a little bit different at lunchtime.

Staffing Update

Last week we welcomed Sarah Abbott back from leave. Nicole Rettke will continue in the role of Acting Assistant Principal, meaning that we have two Assistant Principals. 

Swimming Carnivals

During the last few weeks, students from FPS have been competing in swimming at a School, District and Division level. As well as displaying their swimming attributes, I have heard great reports of how well the students have represented the school at these events. We wish the 18 students who progressed to Regional level all the very best later this month.

Turkey & Syria Fundraiser

Congratulations to Shanaia, Pierre and Rupert (Year 6 students) for all of their efforts in generating the idea for the Turkey and Syria fundraiser. Thank you to students and families for supporting this initiative - we raised $660.80 for World Vision for this cause.

Welcome Picnic

We hosted our Welcome Picnic a couple of weeks ago, and we were blessed; blessed with sunny weather, high attendance, tuneful music, funky dance moves and positive vibes. It was lovely to see the oval awash with community spirit as we welcomed the new school year in.

Fair Fever

When walking along Wingrove St, you might have noticed our FPS Fair billboard. When I saw that sign it hit me how close this event is. Hopefully you have been able to read the latest fair newsletter to get a flavour of what is happening and how you can help. 

I am very grateful for the efforts of the parents who have spent many hours planning the different elements; rides to risk management, volunteers to food, sponsorship to marketing, and much more besides. I also know that there will be a large swell of people who will support our coordinators by assisting before and after the event.

There is only one more newsletter until the big day, so tell everyone about it. Saturday 1st April - pass it on!

Parent Teacher Interviews

Last Thursday we hosted our parent teacher interviews. It has been a few years since I had my own class and held parent teacher interviews, however I remember the intensity that you feel when talking to many people in succession. Thank you to the teachers for their preparedness for these sessions, and thank you to families for helping it to be such a worthwhile experience.

Staff Absences

As with any workforce, our school works around staff absences. We have been using teaching agencies or staff of our own to replace these absences. Replacement teachers work off the planning document created by the class teacher. We have been fortunate with the replacement teachers that we have had at the school, many of them familiar faces.

Ideally we try to communicate to families when it is known that a teacher will be absent for more than two days. However, as we all know, you often don’t know how long you will be absent when you first get sick, so it is not always possible to communicate these absences in advance.

School Contributions 

After some technical difficulties last week, we were able to communicate details of parent contributions. Thank you to the families who have made contributions, they make an important difference to our school.

• Curriculum Contributions: These contributions cover the cost of everyday resources, materials and equipment in the classroom and specialist classes.
• Building Fund: We are using Building Fund money to upgrade the Performing Arts Room, including new carpet, repainting, and improved storage. Our ‘interior designers’ Keri and Olivia have even more exciting plans beyond these changes.
• Library Fund: Will continue to be used to purchase books and resources for our library.
• School Nurse: These contributions pay for our nurses to support our students five days a week.

I was recently asked by a family why they hadn’t received reminders to pay their contributions last year. The Department of Education has changed its Parent Payment Policy during recent years, meaning that schools cannot create charges/invoices for fees, nor send individual reminders to families who have not paid.

Fundraising Money

At School Council we have been discussing the spending of fundraising money from last year’s Art4All and this year’s Fair. Use of funds raised include:

• Visual Arts Program
• Indigenous Cultural Program 
• Sustainability initiatives

The wheels are in motion in these areas and we look forward to sharing progress with you throughout the year.

Important Dates

• Thursday 9 March: Environmental Sustainability Working Group (ESWG) Meeting, 3:45 – 4:45pm in the Meeting Room. All welcome!
• Monday 13 March: Labour Day public  holiday
• Wednesday 15 March: School photo day – wear the school uniform and a smile!

• Sunday 19 March: Working Bee, from 10 am - 2pm. Help spread mulch across the grounds and enjoy a sausage sizzle at lunch. Parents and children are welcome to attend... many hands make light work!

See you around the grounds!

~ Paul Wallace, Principal