In this week’s newsletter:
Appreciations
… to Cross country trial organisers, Stratos and Marco for the planning flexibility and Principal team members, Liz and Carolyn, for adjusting the school timetable to fit last Friday’s postponed cross country trial at short notice on Tuesday. With us anticipating another very hot Friday, we sought the coolest of the days this week to run the event. Appreciations to staff, students and parents and carers for organising, participating, attending and supporting.
… to Kim, Anna, Amel, Lauren and Laura for organising the Prep picnic on Tuesday afternoon on the school oval. We had a pleasing turn up of families, who really entered into the optimistic spirit that was evident.
For both these quite informal events there was a really pleasing turn out - another opportunity to be together this year and forge forward with a positive, growth mindset.
News …
School Council positions have now been filled
It seems my final message in the newsletter did the trick with all parent positions now filled.
Welcome to …
Alison Thistlewaite (Emma 4AF, Zoe 3MP and Cameron 1LE) agreed to fill the 1 year ‘casual vacancy’ that had been created recently by a current council member stepping down a year early due to practical family reasons.
While Sonia Vuddamalay (Scarlett 6MP and Lola 4MS)
and
Casey Wright (Miles 5TH and Gabriel 2CW) have stepped into the 2 year roles.
Welcome and thank you to our newest parent members. We met on Tuesday afternoon to discuss expectations and commitment. I feel confident that our supportive and active council will continue to operate positively and with the children in the forefront of our thinking.
The final meeting of the ‘outgoing’ council will be Monday on Webex. The ‘new’ Council will meet for the first time on Monday, March 27th in person. This year we will continue to alternate our meetings; remote, followed by face to face. We feel this meets the majority of members' needs best and is likely to be the preferred model when hopefully the pandemic is a fading memory. We also have been able to have members contribute to onsite meetings by joining us online. This hybrid approach when required has proven adequate as well.
The final meeting of our current membership will be an online meeting this Monday evening. The ‘new’ School Council will first meet on Monday, 27th March.
Buddy Bus Stop
Former parent Bec Ide was back on Wednesday, adding painterly magic to our Buddy Bus Stop, a place we encourage the younger children to use when looking to find a friend in our busy school yard. We are hopeful that we can hold an opening event in just a few week’s time.
Coming up …
Assembly
Like last week, tomorrow has a forecast for extreme weather. Consequently, we will again prepare for the likelihood of running an indoor video assembly in the gallery space, broadcast directly to classrooms from 2.40 pm. At this assembly we will present the Pupil of the Week recipients (as listed in today’s newsletter) and 6MC will present an item relating to a highlight from their learning.
Parents and carers who plan to attend assembly to view the presentation of the Pupils’ of the Week, or for any other reason are welcome to attend in person in the gallery space in the Dingo Building. We can cater for at least 20 attendees.
A Third Flagpole
For a number of years we had a single flagpole at the front of the school for flying the Australian national flag. Then over a decade ago we obtained an additional pole, one that nicely framed the entrance to enable us to fly the Aboriginal flag daily. Now as part of the Child Safe Standards, all schools are required to have three flagpoles to also ensure that the Torres Strait Islander flag can be flown. This coming Tuesday we are due to have our third flagpole installed. Due to the foot path that leads into the Habitat Haven at the front of the school, the pole will be set slightly forward of the current pair, but the same distance apart. Following the installation, our school and class captains will participate in a flag flying ceremony. We will record this for sharing through our school Facebook page.
Casual Dress Day to Support Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Appeal
In one of their first community actions this year, our School and Class Captains (the Captains Crew as I like to say), have requested a community response from the students at FWPS to show support and care for the many thousands of people in Türkiye and Syria who are struggling to survive following the devastating earthquake and subsequent aftershocks over the last few weeks. Consequently, we plan to hold a Casual Clothes Day (formerly referred to at FWPS as a Mufti Day) on Friday of next week, 3rd March. In time honoured tradition, we encourage the donation of a gold coin donation. We will also happily accept donations of higher denominations. All the funds raised will be donated to https://www.redcross.org.au/earthquakes/
Students attending cross country will need to wear their school sports tops and may choose to change on their return to school.
Update - Student Representatives in 2023
In next week’s newsletter we will be delighted in providing a list of our Junior School Council and Environment Team representatives. Our JSC members will be presented with their badges at our Friday afternoon assembly next week and our ET representatives will receive their badges at assembly the following week. Whether held outdoors or indoors (depending on the weather), parents and carers will be welcome to attend the presentation.
Cheers,
Brendan
Repeated (and updated) messages …
CSEF Eligibility - The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities such as, school camps, swimming, school-organised sports programs, outdoor education programs, excursions and incursions. You may be eligible if you hold a current Centrelink Health Care Card, Veterans Affairs Gold Card or Pensioner Concession card.
If you registered your child in 2022 there is no need to re-register, however you DO need to register new Prep Students or if your circumstances have changed and you are now receiving benefits.
Forms can be found in the link below or at the main office, a copy of your Health Care Card is required, this can be copied at the office.
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/health/CSEF-Application-Form-2020.pdf
Should you require further information, please contact the Admin Team on 9687 1535.
Parent/Carer Volunteer Induction
This information has been ‘pinned’ on Compass so it remains easily accessible. You will currently find it as the third pinned item on your News Feed . For all new families or parents and carers who didn’t complete the online process last year, if you wish to assist in classrooms, excursions or camps, or volunteer for really any other purpose at FWPS, we need you to complete the modules online. For parents/carers who did this last year, all you need to do is sign the relevant form at the office.
Little Learners Love Literacy resources - Last year when we introduced our new approach to reading in grades prep and 1 we made significant resource purchases. We are still seeking the return of some take home books that may have been mislaid. If any families with students in grades 1 and 2 can locate any missing resources we would very much appreciate their swift return.
Change of email
We are no longer using the school gmail addresses for communication to staff. Parents will be asked to communicate directly with staff using the email facility within Compass, or email the school email address at: (footscray.west.ps@education.vic.gov.au) attention the staff member the message is intended for. Emails sent from the Compass app will be sent directly to the relevant staff members’ education email account. Please understand that staff are busy and will respond in a timely manner. If a matter is urgent, you are advised to call the school during office hours, or leave a message outside those hours.
Car park
A reminder that the car park is open prior to 8 am and after 4 pm daily for parent access for the Their Care OSHC program. At other times, please appreciate that the car park is for staff use. Should you need to walk through to the Their Care location at Emu Corner, for safety’s sake we ask that you use the pedestrian gate next to the boom gate and make your way between Koala and the Wallaby buildings past Gecko via the basketball court through to Emu Corner.
Please check out the brief explanatory video at: https://vimeo.com/777907951
Photo Permission - When parents and carers first sign the enrolment form for school entry, they may be understandably reluctant to sign the photo permission section. We frequently use pictures and videos to share learning highlights and to maintain and foster school/home links. As we frequently include photos and videos of the students learning and playing we are regularly confronted by wonderful picture opportunities we cannot share in our newsletter and videos.
We would love you to review your decision so your child can be fully involved in the life of our school. Feel free to contact your child’s teacher or the office so they can make those adjustments on your behalf.
COVID information
As you will all understand, COVID continues to be transmitted within the community and remains a highly infectious illness. Consequently, it continues to be vital for families to remain careful when exposed to COVID or when demonstrating symptoms. While schools will no longer be providing Rapid Antigen Tests - We do have dozens of leftover packs that have at least 6 months left before their use by date. Drop in to the office, or send us a message and we will send some home with your child.
Many of you will have heard that this year RATs, while continuing to be supplied by the state government, will be distributed by local councils from venues such as our library locations.
Rapid Antigen Tests are also available for all Victorians from Council sites. People can get 2 free packs (10 tests) for themselves and 2 free packs (10 tests) for each of their household members.
People with disability and their carers can get up to 4 free packs (20 tests) in line with existing RAT distribution for people with disability.
Further information can be obtained at Council Rapid Antigen Test Program.
Rapid antigen testing
It is recommended that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are used by students and staff:
The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians should report their positive RAT result to the Department of Health online, or by calling 1800 675 398.
Students (or their parents) should also report a positive result to their school, either through the COVID Test portal or by phone or written notification.
DATE | COMING EVENTS |
Mon 27 Feb | School Council Meeting (Online) - 7:00pm |
Fri 3 Mar | Footscray District Cross Country - Grade 4, 5 & 6 for Qualifiers |
Thu 9 Mar | Division Swimming Carnival for Qualifiers |
Mon 13 Mar | Labour Day - Public Holiday |
Tue 14 Mar | Student Free Curriculum Day |
Wed 15 - Fri 24 Mar | Grade 1/2 Swimming Program |
Mon 20 Mar | 2nd Hand Uniform Shop - 3:00pm to 3:40pm |
Wed 15 - Fri 31 Mar | NAPLAN Years 3 & 5 |
Mon 27 Mar | School Council Meeting (In person) - 7:00pm |
Thur 6 April | Last Day of Term 1 - 2:20pm finish |
Mon 24 April | Term 2 begins |
Tue 25 April | Anzac Day Public Holiday |
NAME | GRADE | APPRECIATION FOR: |
Aster | 1JI | Settling into grade one with confidence, enthusiasm, and diligence to apply her personal best in all activities. Superb effort Aster. |
Felix | 1JS | Demonstrating resilience and determination in completing tasks. |
Theo | 1LE | Writing great reflections about his emotions. Keep up the great effort Theo. |
Valentino | 1TN | Applying his personal best effort when attempting academic tasks. Fantastic effort Val. |
Arlo | 1LL | Participating so positively in all activities in the classroom! |
Gabe | 2CW | Applying his personal best when identifying the different type of nouns. Fabulous work Gabe. |
Davey | 2DW | Always giving his personal best and for confidently sharing his thoughts and ideas when learning. |
Pippa | 2HR | Always giving her personal best effort during learning tasks. Keep it up, Pippa! |
Floyd | 2TF | Congratulations on being elected as the 2TF environmental rep! Your passion for the role is already evident in class. Well done! |
Eva | 3CG | Being a thoughtful and understanding friend towards peers in 3CG. It has been awesome to see you show so much care for our community! |
Imy | 3MK | Applying your personal best effort to all class activities. |
Nora | 3MP | Her great leadership shown in group tasks. Well done! |
Mai | 3TM | Demonstrating kindness to all her classmates and making sure everyone is always included. |
Elijah | 4AF | Making frequent and meaningful contributions to class discussions. Elijah, you are a star! |
Finn | 4JD | The growth mindset you continually apply to your reading and writing. Keep up the fantastic effort! |
Louis | 4MS | Always showing Mutual Respect to all of his peers and teachers. Wonderful start to 2023 Louis. |
Sophie | 4TC | Showing a growth mindset by taking risks in her learning and helping others in the room. Well done, Sophie! |
Arnav | 5LW | Being a kind, thoughtful and empathetic student to those in his class. Arnav consistently thinks of the needs of others before his own. Outstanding personal best behaviour Arnav |
Emma | 5MC | Settling in at FWPS beautifully. You apply your personal best effort to all tasks and took on feedback for your leadership speech very well. Keep up the great work! |
Jack Morrison | 5SM | The kindness & mutual respect you show to others, even holding the door open for other grades everyday. |
Nicholas | 5TH | Being a kind and considerate friend, who is quick to help those others around him. You're a superstar! |
Eli | 6LC | Showing a positive attitude towards your learning and for following a growth mindset when presenting your leadership speech to the class. Keep up the good work! |
Luna | 6MC | Her willingness and skills whilst working collaboratively with her classmates. Your hard work and great attitude make 6MC a better place. Keep it up Luna! |
Ayush | 6MP | Your thoughtful contributions to class discussions. Keep it up! |
Donnie Lilly Clarke | TheirCare | Congratulations to Donnie for being a great role model and including all the new preps in his games. Keep up the great work! |
Lovers of sushi-get on board the sushi train.
You can NOW order sushi ON Friday FOR Friday lunch. YASS!!!!!
We have managed to set up quantity limits for each of the sushi flavours which is a MAJOR win win for you and us.
You no longer need to pre-order sushi which is far more convenient for you and we no longer have to guess how much rolls may be ordered, as we had to place the order with the supplier the day before of service-was hard to guess each week the quantity of rolls- so we are managing the war of waste.
We have set generous limits however, if you find you are missing out each week, drop us a line on our webpage thelunchbox.au we can easily increase the quantities for you.
The Lunchbox team
The following students have qualified for the District Cross Country after finishing in the top six in our School Cross Country Trials held at Johnson Reserve on Tuesday.
A big appreciation to all of the competitors from Grade 4 to 6 who participated on the day in ideal conditions. To all of the parents and carers who came along to support our students thank you for encouraging and cheering them on. The qualifiers will now go on and compete at Hansen Reserve on Friday 3rd March from 10.00 am. Information will be sent out on Compass this week.
9/10yr GIRLS | 9/10yr BOYS |
Shi-Ren Soon 5TH | Felix Nikolovski 4TC |
Tilly Joyce 5SM | Harry Mitten 5TH |
Madi Munro 4TC | Sam Howe 4MS |
Hikma Abdula Wahab 4MS | Harry Lacy 4TC |
Sophie Talevski 4TC | Ciaran Welsh 5TH |
Evie Vaughan 4JD | James Parr 5SM |
11yr GIRLS | 11yr BOYS |
Kara Li Bennett 5SM | Oscar Shrestha 6LC |
Skye Coonerty 5TH | Finlay Rooney 5SM |
Nancy Halpin 5TH | Adam Borg 5LW |
Olivia Hall 5TH | James Pearce 5TH |
Zara Rekhi 5MC | Perry Kordick 5TH |
Ayantu Gelan 5LW | Finley Rowe 6MC |
12yr GIRLS | 12yr BOYS |
Ella Knight 6MC | Oscar Cameron 6MC |
Evie Millsom 6MP | Josh Griffioen 6MC |
Alice May Weiss 6LC | Charlie Muhllechner 6MC |
Asher Sheldon 6LC | Finn Phelan 6LC |
Ka Hii Choong 6LC | Noah Bolton 6MC |
Poppy Vaughan 6LC | Luca Longley 6MP |
Welcome back students, families, staff and friends!
What a great third week we have had. It is sports week this week! We are so impressed by the support given to our new preps by our older children at TheirCare.
With the beautiful weather this week, we have been spending lots of time outside. The children have had a blast playing tennis, cricket, basketball, and lava monster in the sunshine.
This week we have started playing group games inside and outside in both the morning and afternoon! We have also started working on our affirmation mirror which will stand in our entryway for the children and families to see when they come and go.
This week’s Star of the Week at TheirCare is Donnie Lilly Clarke! Congratulations to Donnie for being a great role model and including all the new preps in his games. Keep up the great work!
For all families, if you have any questions about Theircare and would like to come and have a chat, please come visit us in Emu Corner in the morning or afternoon, alternatively, you can contact us on the details provided and we will help you as best we can.
TheirCare Team:
Louise, Ashleigh & Connie
Service Phone: 0487004072
Service Email: footscraywest@theircare.com.au
Head Office: 1300 072 410