School Council Report

The first full school council meeting with new office bearers was held on-site on Monday 17 May. It was great to be able to all meet face-to-face as a council and discuss the recent activities of the school, as well as endorse the 2021 Goals and Objectives for FPS.

School Crossings and Road Safety

Council discussed the improved conditions around the Fairfield Rd and Wingrove St intersection, thanks to the traffic management changes implemented by Darebin Council. Gratitude towards all people who lobbied council for the relocation of the Wingrove St crossing, especially Cr Emily Dimitriadis. While the relocation of Charles – the council employed crossing supervisor to the zebra crossing on Fairfield road – has made significant improvements to child safety, we will need to wait until November 2021 for the raised crossing to be installed.

It was noted that the Arthur Street crossing was unsupervised creating a safety risk. Since School Council meet, we are happy to announce a replacement crossing supervisor is now in place at this location.

School Uniform Update

The transition from PSW to A PLUS Schoolwear is progressing smoothly and the new supplier will take over the service in Term 3 2021. More information will be provided by the school in the coming weeks.

Community Committee Report

The FPS Trivia night was celebrated on Saturday 22 May. A huge thank you to Megan Fairbank and her team of volunteers for managing the incredibly popular event, especially under the shadow of COVID concerns. Discussion by council focused on how ticket sales could be managed in future.

The Community committee proposed an idea to formalise event handovers and to create opportunities for more community members to be involved. Discussions acknowledged that event coordination is already an onerous task and any formal process adopted should ensure that no further pressure is placed on the volunteer coordinator.

Policy Committee Report

The Communication of School Policies Policy was reviewed and ratified.

Buildings and Grounds / Environmental Sustainability Working Group (ESWG) Reports

FPS continues to make improvements as a sustainable school, which we are able to map through our participation in the Resource Smart Schools program. This month our program facilitator from CERES presented to the ESWG about the framework. The FPS Year 6 Community Leaders featured in a video produced by Darebin Council showcasing the school’s commitment to sustainability (see the Sustainability page of this newsletter). Many thanks to teacher Jourdan Murray and parent Katherine Barraclough for their work collating the statistics and assisting the students to detail such a great story.

In sadder news, Milkshake the Cow and other areas of the school have been vandalised in separate incidents. Security and vandalism has become an area to note and will feature as a standing item in Building and Grounds (BnG) meetings.

Fence upgrades have been completed along Wingrove St that look great and contain the mulch more effectively. Modifications need to be made to ensure water drains effectively after heavy rain. The fig tree landscaping has been completed is now open to student use. With increased play in this area, the decking height and the ‘openness’ of the sliding gate, proposals were discussed to relocate or modify the gate. This will be taken to the Buildings and Grounds Committee for further discussion.

It has been noted that there is no consistency to the naming of buildings. School Council passed a motion to adopt a consistent building / area naming convention based on street names rather than student year levels to avoid confusion when changes occur. The naming of the new fig tree landscaped area was discussed and various ideas were put forward. Suggestions to incorporate an indigenous name were discussed at length. It was agreed that more indigenous names should be included at FPS, however this required proper consultation with Wurundjeri elders and appropriate time be given to such proposals; ideally naming of new areas in the school should be considered at the planning stage of future projects. Discussion of a consistent building name plan referred back to BnG for discussion.

FPS will be employing a part-time groundskeeper to support Graham and volunteers’ work on the grounds.

Finance Reports

Our new treasurer Louise presented the school balance sheets for March and April. The budget and spending comparisons took into account 2020 and 2019 figures due to the atypical change to accounting activity last year. School fee payment for essential items was at approximately 50% at the end of April, which is in line with 2020 (pre-lockdown). Fundraising income from the Foundation social night has been received.

Other business

As Louise Currie has taken on the role of treasurer, Elise Coughlin has agreed to take on the role of Community Committee convener.

~ Andrew Vance, SC Vice President & Parent Representative