Newsletter - 24 February 2022

Issue 4


Principal's Report

Appreciations: 

Thank you Anne - Today marks the day that one of our senior leaders, Anne Reciszen retires from our school and the Department of Education.  Anne qualified as a teacher following a career in insurance and after motherhood.  She had been a class teacher at Movelle PS before she moved to FWPS 21 years ago as a classroom teacher with leadership responsibilities.  During my first year as Assistant Principal in 2007, Anne moved into a non classroom teaching role.  Her responsibilities have been varied and demanding.  

Anne’s passion for effective maths learning saw her take on the role of whole school maths coach in 2008, a role that she is only now relinquishing.  Through Anne’s tireless diligence, we transformed our approach and attitude as a learning community.  With fortnightly team coaching, the support of well credentialed maths consultants and a strong level of planning, teaching and assessment accountability, maths soon began to feature as one of our academic strengths as measured by NAPLAN, teacher judgements and nationally accredited assessment measures.  

Anne was the junior school representative for our Wellbeing team, being the first point of call for class teachers when concerned with a child’s social or behavioural development.  There have been many parents, class teachers and especially children who have benefitted from Anne’s warmth and kindness in encouraging reluctant children to put their foot into the classroom after a challenging start to the day.  I often observed Anne patiently sitting with a child, or going for a walk in the orchard or the Habitat Haven.  Never demanding, just caring and supportive.  

Anne has demonstrated an incredible work ethic.  Anne has been responsible for overseeing the review and revision of most of the policies on our school website.  She managed staff professional learning and for many years kept records to enable our whole school staff team to remain current.  Anne oversaw staff performance management accountability, reporting to parents and convened multiple School Council subcommittees over the many years she has been a key participant.  While time efficient and task oriented, Anne is equally a wonderful and caring person.  Her work day was always planned in advance, but she was always ready to assist by taking a class at short notice, managing a crisis, making a difficult phone call or having a challenging conversation.  

Anne is the last of the Three Musketeers from the leadership team at FWPS; Caren and Lyn, both recently retired, will now be joined by Anne.  Their combined commitment to the students, staff and parent community has been extraordinary.  

We are indeed in a very fortunate situation that with the level of leadership that exists at FWPS we will continue to work and evolve to meet the needs of our changing community.  


School Council

As well as sharing our appreciation for the work Anne has done supporting our School Council goals, I do wish to acknowledge the contributions of other parent members of Council who have completed their tenure, or are stepping down for other reasons.

As a volunteer member of our School Council, Suzie Bourne has committed to multiple terms from 2015 after her twins Jackson and Emma started at FWPS.  Suzie’s professional expertise, allied with her strong sense of community, has enabled her to provide valuable input to many policies, communication strategies and in a central role, moderating Windows into Footscray West over the 2 years this successful initiative was held.  We have appreciated Suzie’s vivacious and generous outlook.  Suzie is no doubt now well prepared for supporting our Neighbourhood network school, Braybrook School Council on their school council. Really a glutton for punishment!

Andrew Charles’ involvement has been limited in the last couple of years. We appreciate that when able to attend Council, Andrew demonstrated his lateral thinking and keen support for the economically and culturally disadvantaged. As both Andrew’s boys have moved onto secondary school Andrew no longer is eligible for a place on Council.

Tim Solly joined Council last year, unfortunately with another Covid year we were unable to maximise Tim’s creative talents as we would have wished.  With a change of profession and two young children, we respect Tim’s reasons to leave Council after the first year of an expected two year cycle.  

Please speak with me if you have an interest in filling one of the remaining one year positions as a casual vacancy for this year, or for a two year position over the full 2 year commitment.

The Fish say thanks! 

In pre-Covid times, former FWPS grandparents; Maxena and Dave were regularly at FWPS assisting in a voluntary capacity.  Even over the last two years they have taken the time to clean our aquarium and provide new fish.  Recently since we moved back to the Wallaby Building, for reasons unknown the water became cloudy and the environment inhospitable.  Over two days, Maxena and Dave, assisted on the second day by their son, Saxon and partner, Melanie, they transformed the fish tank.  Every little visitor loves our fish.  A big appreciation to the Fowler family.


News this week …

Photo days 

As in previous years, our annual school photo day has been scheduled over two days. Photos are being taken over Thursday and Friday this week in the Gecko (gym) building.

Today, with the exception of our grade one team, all classes and staff photos have been taken. With their photos snapped before recess, our new preps looked pristine.  We have been Covid conscious by ensuring that doors are open and ventilation enhanced through the use of our evaporative air coolers. Students in grades 3-6, who remain subject to the mask mandate, have of course been provided a brief opportunity to remove masks for the class and individual photos. Again this year staff did not congregate for a combined staff photo.  Individual shots will be combined to create a whole staff photo.

Tomorrow (Friday) the grade 1 classes along with school and class captains will have their photos taken before recess. After these have been completed the remainder of the day will focus on family (sibling) photos.  

Please do not send any forms or money to school. This process is completely managed by Arthur Reed.

A flyer with a unique image code will be issued to all students on photo day, so families can register online to view images when they become available in the webshop.  Please go to page in today’s newsletter to read the details. This is a repeat of the information included in the most recent two newsletters.


New Covid cases this week …

Positive 

In isolation 

students

0 staff

5 students
0 staff

*Please note: Families in every grade that have had positive cases are notified directly through Compass on the day the information has been received.

Masks - While there has been some community relief following the Premier’s announcement regarding the loosening of mask requirements indoors in some settings, in the case of primary schools there is really no change.  The reason for this decision is based on the health advice that takes into account the relatively high transmission rates in primary schools and the lower vaccination rates for 5 - 12 year olds.  We consequently support this mask extension, continue to expect adults and students in grades 3 - 6 to wear masks indoors and will anticipate families supporting this position.  While there may be some frustration, we know we have had multiple Covid cases at school every week and take some comfort with the knowledge that effective mask wearing appears to have had a significant effect reducing the rate of transmission.  Furthermore, we all have had enough remote learning to last a lifetime and wish to keep all classes and as many students learning and socialising at school as is possible.

In the last week we have received some supplies of adult sized disposable masks.  Unfortunately we have not yet received a delivery of child sized masks.  If your child has forgotten their mask, or the band has broken, we will replace their mask with an adult size mask.  We do continue to urge you to send your child to school each day with at least one mask (reusable or disposable) and at least one spare.

Lost uniform -  At FWPS for many years Silvana O’Sullivan, a wonderful member of the classroom based education support team checked through lost uniforms and ensured every item that was labelled made its way back home.  Silvana retired at the end of the year and we have no other Silvana available to manage this task.  Consequently, the supply of mislaid uniforms is mounting in the corridor near the entrance at the carpark/canteen side of the Wallaby Building.  While we still require parents and carers to check in at the office first, we encourage you to do so in order that we can invite you to have a search through the many hats and bomber jackets awaiting reunification!

And an important notice from our Admin team …

Compass payments - With our launch of the Compass school management program for families this term, as well as the changes with the parent payments, there has been some confusion regarding outstanding payments. 

Please let the office team know if you would like to use any credits you may have remaining to go towards Soundgarage or the Contributions. A call to the office will let you know what credit you have or where it has been allocated.  Unfortunately we are unable to link the information on CASES to the new Compass Contribution/payment link.

The Office Team 😊

Coming up …. (next week)

Assembly format change - For nearly two years we have worked really hard to bring our community news from school using a combination of video, pictures, music and the spoken word.  We were thrown into this new world, but like our new school and class captains, we feel it is time to change the style and format somewhat.  From next week we plan to present the assembly live one week and by video on the alternate week.  However we are still a long way from running indoor assemblies like we once did.  This week if the weather is fine enough, we will hold a live assembly on the basketball court from 9.10 am with parents and carers welcome to attend.  If the weather is not conducive to being outdoors we will switch to running a live assembly via WebEx.  Unfortunately in this case that will not be able to be viewed at the time by parents and carers.  As the colder months approach we may need to rely on WebEx assemblies more often.  We will explore whether it is effective to record and upload our WebEx assemblies.

This week our new School Captains; Annamia and Fletcher will look forward to presenting live, our Class Captains and Vice Captains to be presented with their badges, and our Pupils of the Week receiving recognition of their awards in real time.

Student leadership  - Junior School Council membership - Congratulations to the elected JSC representatives in grades 1 - 6.  An appreciation to our new JSC conveners, Bre and Brooke, who with the collaboration of the teaching team and the students for effectively and efficiently completing the annual JSC voting process in all grades.  As a consequence, the JSC members will be able to conduct their initial meeting today at lunchtime in the gallery space.  We anticipate that we will be able to present our representatives with their JSC badges at a live or video assembly within the next couple of weeks.  

In other news … 

CSEF Eligibility - The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities like, school camps, swimming and school-organised sport programs, outdoor education programs and excursions and incursions. You may be eligible if you hold a current Centrelink Health Care Card, Veterans Affairs Gold Card or Pensioner Concession card.  Please contact a member of the office team, Assistant Principals Liz or Carolyn, or me if you have concerns about your current capacity to meet these requirements.

If you registered your child in 2021 there is no need to re-register, however you DO need to register new Prep Students.  CSEF Application Form

 

Congratulations - We are delighted to share the news that Michael Bayarasaikhan obtained a gold medal in the junior Boys & Girls age group at the recent Judo championships on 6 february 2022. This is a great achievement and JVI is confident that he will continue to improve his judo skills.


22.2.22
Grade 2 Twosday


    


Have a great week

Cheers,
Brendan



Coming Events

DATE

COMING EVENTS

Thur 24 FebPrep Welcome Picnic - 6:00pm - 7:00pm
2nd Hand Uniform Shop Open
Strictly CASH sales only
1st School Photo Day
Fri 25 Feb2nd School Photo Day
Fri 4 MarInter School Cross Country (grade 4/5/6) -Hansen Reserve 
Fri 11 MarKanga 8 Cricket Gala Day (5/6) - Hansen Reserve 
Mon 14 Mar Labour Day Public Holiday
Fri 8 Apr LAST DAY OF TERM - 2:30 FINISH
Mon 25 Apr Anzac Day Holiday 
Tue 26 AprFirst day of Term 2
  


Pupil of the Week

NAME

GRADE

APPRECIATION FOR:

Ollie

PAC

Approaching learning in a positive way and always being thoughtful towards his classmates. Amazing Effort!

Vasco

PAK

Being kind to others and showing attentive listening  Well done!

Vi

PHS

Applying your personal best to all your work.  Well done Vi.

Maya

PKB

Being a kind classmate and using a growth mindset when completing tasks. You are a star!

Amelia

PKT

Being an inclusive friend and learning to play and work with different people. Well done!

Maia

1CD

Always striving to do her best in everything she does and beginning to take on more challenging tasks to extend her learning. 

Sullivan

1CW

His preparation and effort towards his JSC speech. Congratulations on being selected to represent our grade. 

Jeremy

1LB

Consistently demonstrating all Tribes Agreements, particularly attentive listening. Jeremy is always organised and ready to learn.

Leah

1HP

Always following the Tribes Agreements and for being a hard worker who always gives 100% to every task.

Halah

1LL

Continued effort with all class tasks.

Zaida

2BD

Being a kind and friendly classmate and sharing appreciations with your peers. 

Cathy

2JI

Her courage, confidence and growth mindset to participate during class discussions. Superb work!

Louie M

2LE

Putting his personal best into class tasks.

Hunter

2TN

Showing a growth mindset by having a go at your writing task. Great effort Hunter!

Erin

3JS

Trying her personal best through all class tasks. Keep it up!

Sebastien

3MK

Always listening attentively and trying his personal best on learning tasks. Fantastic, Sebastien!

Hannah

3MP

Her readiness to learn and displaying her Tribes Agreements. Congratulations Hannah!

Sofia

3TM

Joining in more with class discussions. Thank you for sharing your excellent ideas with us!

Arielle

4AF

Being a responsible and respectful role model in the class, trying her personal best in everything she does.

Ateeba

4BC

Applying her personal best in all tasks - even with an injured arm. Your specific effort in maths this week has been terrific. Well done, Ateeba!

Matthew

4DW

His hard work and dedication to achieving success in place value. Well done, me old mate.

Palila

4MS

Her enthusiasm in all aspects of the classroom and showing mutual respect at all times.  

Harriet

5CG

Showing great leadership within our classroom and always demonstrating mutual respect to her classmates.

Jacob

5SM

The consistent effort and focus you apply to all your work.

William

5TH

Writing and presenting an engaging speech to be the chosen as the class Environment Team representative. Top effort William!

Maya

6LC

Being a helpful and dedicated student, who always strives to do her personal best. 

Matilda

6MP

Your engaging and well written leadership speech. Well done!

Bodee

6MC

Showing kindness on the basketball court when playing with younger students. Way to be a good example, keep it up!



Performing Arts Update 2022

Hi everyone,

It’s so lovely to be back together for on-site learning this year! We’re already having a lot of fun in Performing Arts. Here’s a quick look at what each grade level will be learning about this Term.

Preps - This term preps will be exploring the dramatic elements of voice, movement, space and facial expression through a number of whole class and small team activities and games. We are working towards some very exciting storytelling with puppets. 

Grade 1/2- This term the grade one and two students are exploring the dramatic elements of voice, movement, space, situation, facial expression and role through a number of improvisation games. 

Grade one students are learning how to retell a story through performance, and grade two students will learn how to develop and present their own original characters.

Grade 3/4- This term the grade three and four students will explore the dramatic elements of voice, movement, language, role and relationships, and time and place, and practice their new skills through targeted games and exercises. Grade three students will work with simple scripts, exploring time, place and tension. Grade four students will delve deeper into script work and begin developing characters.

Grade 5/6- Grade five and six students will explore the dramatic elements and techniques of voice and movement to create characters, mood and atmosphere. They will develop and utilise skills to devise and present simple scenes with a team. Grade five students will explore different styles of theatre, and practice highlighting the different features of several styles through the presentation of short scenes. Grade six students will develop characters and begin devising their own plays, based on historical events.

I look forward to seeing all of the wonderful creative work that FWPS students generate in Performing Arts this year, and love the enthusiasm that everyone has shown in class so far.

Thanks for reading
Jess Russell-Davies



School Photos - This Week

Annual school photos including sibling photos will be taken at Footscray West Primary School by Arthur Reed Photos on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th February.

There is no need to return any forms or money to school.

Unique image codes will be issued to all students on/after photo day so families can register online to view images when they become available in the webshop.

Registration is simple, just follow the 3 simple steps on your child’s personalised flyer once you receive it and remember to add the codes for all your children attending this school.

Even if you registered last year, it’s important that you do again this year using your child’s 2022 image code to link their images for the current year with your contact details.

When images are ready to view and in the webshop, all parents who have registered will be notified by SMS and email.

Once registered, please wait for notification that 2022 images are online to view before making your purchase.