June 25th 2021

10


Principal’s Message

As I reflect on another term of unexpected disruptions, I have such a sense of pride in the way our community of learners, families and staff have taken it all in their stride and continued on. I want to thank all of you as always for your ongoing support and positivity. We are privileged with an incredible group of educators, leaders, and support staff who have gone above and beyond to maintain normality and a focus on learning and wellbeing for our students. The students are also a resilient bunch, bouncing back from periods of remote learning with smiles on their faces as they greet their teachers and peers.  

With the continued easing of restrictions, Department of Education and Training has advised that an updated guide to operations will be issued in the second week of holidays. We hope this will bring news that we can welcome families back to assemblies and other school events. A reminder that each time you enter the school grounds you need to check-in using the QR codes displayed at all entry points.  

It was lovely watching the sea of yellow, red and black flood through the gates this morning as our community recognised Reconciliation Week and took action to raise funds for Children’s Ground. In total we raised $420.10 that will be used to support education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in communities around Australia.  

Our Creative Workers in School project has been very well-received by the Year 5 cohort who have been working with Russell Goldsmith to develop our school podcast. The recording studio is located in the Greenwood and the first episode was completed today. We can’t wait to share this with our community early next term.  

I wish all of you a very relaxing break full of laughter, play and time outdoors. 

 



Vision and Values

Earlier this year, we completed our school review and collaboratively designed the School Strategic Plan that will guide our learning for the next four years. The final stage in this process is to revisit our school vision and values. You will find a link and QR code below that will take you to a padlet. We invite you all to share your hopes and dreams for what you’d like your child/ren to know, understand, do and be when they leave FPS and head out into the world. Our staff have completed a padlet themselves and worked with their classes to record the aspirations and wishes of our learners. We will collate all of these ideas to create a shared vision for the next four years and beyond.    

Padlet



Cyber Safety Education

We are currently renewing our focus on cyber safety education school wide. As part of this, we look forward to building the existing capacities of our staff and students when using the digital technologies that have become part of our day-to-day life. Our focus is to build students’ understanding of safe online behaviour in a sequential, ongoing, and age-appropriate way.

This work will be most effective with a strong home-school partnership. There are many resources available to support families in creating a ‘cyber safe’ environment and mindset in their children. A particular organisation recommended by DET is the eSafety Commissioner, who provide extensive resources to support children, schools, and families.

If you have been unsure on where to go for advice on how to start this conversation in your household, we recommend visiting https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents, to explore the many resources developed for parents and carers. For example, Swoosh, Glide and Rule Number 5, is a picture book developed to unpack safe online behaviour for younger children. This can be accessed for free through the parent portal. You’ll also find Family Tech Agreements and advice sheets to help you navigate online platforms with your child.

Playing IT Safe is another useful resource that contains both educator and parent/carer resources to support cyber safe behaviours in young children, https://playingitsafe.org.au/

Last week, students participated in an introductory cyber safety lesson and unpacked our ICT acceptable user agreement. This agreement is similar to classroom agreements which unpack appropriate behaviours expected of students. It serves as a starting point where students acknowledge their role in acceptable use of technology, which will be extended upon across the year.



Relationships and Sexuality Education

Age-appropriate education about respectful relationships, physical, emotional, and social changes associated with growing up, and human development is extremely important to students of all ages. Information is power, and this education gives students tools and strategies to navigate the tricky time that puberty can be.

We are excited to be engaging with Family Planning Victoria (FPV) to deliver a comprehensive program to our Year 5 and Year 6 students. This program is linked to the Victorian Curriculum and is delivered by FPV in three 90-minute sessions. The program has three key themes: Human development across the lifespan, Puberty, and Managing changes and transitions. Additionally, we will be offering a complimentary session to parents and carers, run by trained facilitators. This intensive program will kick start our ongoing work integrating puberty education into our teaching and learning program, strengthening existing themes currently taught through the Respectful Relationships program.

Please stay tuned as we confirm suitable dates and times with FPV in Term 3.



Student Support Groups and Individual Education Planning

Our skilled team of teachers are experienced in differentiating their teaching and learning programs for varied student abilities. In some instances, additional planning occurs for students with identified additional academic and/or health/care needs. This additional layer of planning is facilitated through Student Support Group meetings between teachers, parents/carers, and other identified health professionals, which may result in the development of individualised goals through an Individual Education Plan.

DET guidance for families about Student Support Groups and Individual Education Planning can be found here, Student Support Groups (hyperlink https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/additional-needs/Pages/disability-student-support-groups.aspx ) and Individual Education Planning (hyperlink https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/additional-needs/Pages/disability-learning-support.aspx#iep. )

As we move toward Term 3, we will be adjusting the way in which we timetable these meetings. We believe this will support a more balanced workload for staff, allowing them to develop quality plans for identified students. Families will also benefit from a reliable and consistent schedule of meetings across the year. Please keep an eye out for the post on Compass with further information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



FLP Scoop

Hot off the press! The first edition of FLP Scoop is arriving in the inbox of all subscribers today. FLP scoop will keep families, students and the broader community up to date with the fantastic work that is taking place in the precinct. To stay up to date with exciting initiatives taking place and those that are coming up subscribe here subscribe here to receive your copy. 



Enrol Now

It was great to meet so many families at our Foundation information session last Wednesday and to welcome a number of new families to our school for the most recent Foundation tour. We invite those of you with children starting at FPS next year to complete and return your enrolment forms as soon as possible. Confirming enrolment numbers supports our recruitment to ensure we have the highest quality teachers in our classrooms to support your child’s learning.  



TheirCare



Drumming Band

As part of our preparations for the 160th anniversary, Xuhi has been working with students to prepare musical items. On Thursday, some of the students led a procession around the school playing rhythms on three different types of drums and accompanied by cymbals. They preformed they rhythms they have been practising, and are looking forward to adding to their repertoire. Much like the pied-piper, the band had a long line of younger students following them around at lunchtime and gathering outside the music room for the finale.

 



Art Club Competition



Community News



Important dates to remember

Important dates to remember 



kelly Sports Term 3





Chess Clun Term 3