Thank you to all those who attended the Meet the Teacher chats last week. The knowledge you share about your children provides an invaluable head start to our teachers as they learn about the social, emotional, and academic needs of the young people in their class.  

In our regional principal conference last week, we delved into the revised Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO 2.0) where wellbeing shares the centre stage alongside teaching and learning. Teachers and parents have long known that if a child’s wellbeing needs are not met, academic progress will slow. We are observing an understandable increase in the wellbeing needs of our young people including dysregulated behaviours, social conflict, separation anxiety, reduced focus and attention, and general anxiety. We are working strategically with the resources we have available to respond to these challenges and to build our professional knowledge and whole school approach to teaching our young people how to successfully manage their re-entry into the social world of play and learning at school. Thank you to those families who are proactively partnering with our teachers and leaders to ensure positive outcomes for all of our students.   

Across Term 1, our staff are inquiring into the Tier 1 supports that enable most children to experience success most of the time. Chris and Jenny launched our inquiry with a session on trauma-informed practice and our staff contributed to the development of our school-wide positive behaviour matrix. We look forward to trialling the first draft of this later this term to build a shared language around expected behaviours and how we positively reinforce those behaviours. Our weekly professional learning for the rest of the term will cover inclusive classroom practices such as visual supports, engagement strategies, sensory strategies, and the development of meaningful individual learning goals and plans.  

We have a full schedule of lunch clubs about to commence and again ask for any parent volunteers who may be able to help us with a club – either ongoing or as a one-off. Our staff are doing the clubs on top of their regular yard duty and we are very tired! Any help would be appreciated. I have been enjoying some skipping at the front of the school and watching the students learn skills that many of us picked up in the schoolyard when we were little. Wendy has been joined regularly by a fabulous group of parents she refers to as the Art Angels to start mounting work for an Art Show some time this year. Thank you, Art Angels. 

Staffing Update 

We welcome Gabrielle Turner to our Education Support team. Gab is known to us already as she has worked regularly at TheirCare and completed a teaching placement in Steph’s 3/4 class last year. Welcome Gab! 

We also thank Rachael Hickson for her work and general loveliness across the last 4 weeks. Rachael filled a short-term contract for us with little notice and settled in so quickly to the FPS family. We hope to see you back at FPS soon, Rachael! 

We farewell Stefania Lipoma, who has made the decision to resign from her position at Footscray Primary School for personal reasons. We wish Stef all the very best in her future adventures.

We are currently advertising for a full time, ongoing Italian bilingual teacher. The position is live now on Recruitment Online and interested parties are most welcome to contact me directly at jenny.briggs@education.vic.gov.au

Capital Works Update 

There is certainly a lot going on at Footscray PS!! The teachers have been making the most of the action to provoke thinking and creativity and our young authors have been producing some engaging writing as a result.

There is no denying that a lack of play space and the removal of play equipment is not an ideal situation. Whilst we look forward to the incredible landscaped grounds that are coming our way, a year is a long time for young people, so we are focussing on alternate play options, equipment and clubs.

As detailed in the letter from the VSBA sent on Compass a short while ago, for every tree removed from our grounds there will be two new trees planted. We have asked to keep a section of the trunk from the large tree in the back playground to create something new for our community to enjoy. We remind families to read Compass posts carefully. As the build progresses, changes will happen quickly, and we communicate details and provide supports such as social stories to prepare our children for the changes via Compass.  

Some upcoming works include the continued set up of the site to prepare for works on the new general learning building and once the relocated classroom is ready for occupants, work will start on transforming the Bluestone classrooms into an area for STEAM learning and renovating the art room.

The hall in the smaller Bluestone building will be getting some kitchen facilities to enable us to develop a Vietnamese kitchen garden program in future years. TheirCare will be temporarily relocated while these works are carried out. This will likely occur soon and we will communicate further information once the schedules and finer details are confirmed.  

In late 2021, the FPS Council undertook to provide regular reports to the school community via the newsletter of issues being discussed and considered by the FPS Council. Since being involved on the Council, I have become aware and developed incredible respect for the challenges faced by our school community. This includes all students, parents, carers, teachers and the leadership team at the school. We have a fantastic school community and while there are many moving parts its clear everyone is doing their utmost to make it all work and get the best outcomes for students!

A challenge for FPS this year with many moving parts is the ambitious building program. The construction of a new two storey learning centre, a new COLA and a renovated STEAM building are all fantastic outcomes for Footscray Primary School. However, doing all this around a fully operating school will continue to throw up challenges as already evidenced over the previous weeks. While this is not ideal it has proved the FPS community can adapt and respond. The school leadership and Council will continue to strongly advocate for better outcomes for students during the construction period.

In our last meeting, we approved recommendations put forward by the Finance subcommittee. The Building and Grounds subcommittee reported on the working bee last year. This subcommittee also presented a response to people climbing onto the roofs of the Bluestone and Edwardian buildings after hours, not only putting themselves in great danger but also damaging the roof and creating costly maintenance. The subcommittee are looking into options for the school yard to entertain students following the recent demolition of playgrounds and have recently been introduced to the idea of a Gaga pit which kids love but is new to most parents. Any other playground ideas gratefully received!!

The Council also discussed the Footscray Primary Social Club which has been very active in recent years and, unless there are some enthusiastic volunteers, may need to be put on the back burner and reinvigorated in 2023. The 160 year birthday celebrations have also been deferred and will be rebranded as a combined community event, celebrating the launch of the new facilities and acknowledging the rich history of the school. 

As a School Council we welcome new ideas and members to be involved in subcommittees. 

Tim Liston
School Council Member and FPS Parent 

In 2021, Footscray Primary School started our SWPBS journey. SWPBS stands for School-wide Positive Behaviour Support and is an evidence-based, whole-school framework supported by the Department to build safe, positive, and supportive school environments. An initiative of this size is fully implemented over 3-5 years. As we continue our journey, there will be lots of opportunity for engagement and consultation from staff, students, and our school community. 

One of our first actions of 2022 has been embedding our shared behaviour expectations, being responsible, respectful, and proud. These extend to all members of our school community and give all staff and students a common language to support our school culture. 

                     

Another element of SWPBS is praising and encouraging desired behaviours from students through a variety of tangible and non-tangible rewards. Over the last three weeks, we have been 'spotlighting' a new behaviour expectation each week, with all staff looking to 'catch-out' students demonstrating positive behaviours. Students have been earning tickets as recognition, which are added toward a class total, encouraging a sense of team building and collaboration within each grade. Importantly, students are also involved in discussions and learning opportunities that model and teach how we demonstrate these behaviour expectations throughout the day and in all school settings. Soon, grades will be able to 'cash in' their totals for a variety of class experiences at school such as a game during learning time, extra lunch or recess, dance party or class movie.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates in this space!

We would like to congratulate the following students on becoming our 2022 School Captains and House Captains.

School Captains for 2022

Noah Richardson Buchanan
Juliette Johnson
Amiel Gavran
Will Windeyer 

House Captains for 2022

Cowen 
Hannika Andipatin
Alice Strybosch

Mandela 
Ruby Chiu
Oscar Garry 

Yousafzai
Samira Beckwith
Jamie Heinz-Freeman

Mabo
Lulu Beecher
Audrey Lang 

In 2022, we have once again partnered with Victoria University and their Social Work undergraduate program. Through this partnership within the Footscray Learning Precinct, we welcome two new students to Footscray Primary School who will be participating in their final year placement. Welcome, Aimee and Sarah!

Aimee and Sarah will be spending time getting to know our wonderful students and applying their theoretical knowledge to a school setting.

Hello from Aimee
Hi, my name is Aimee. I am a student from Victoria University in my last year of a Bachelor of Social Work. I am excited to be doing my placement at Footscray Primary School as I am passionate about supporting young people and families, to help them face life’s challenges, improve wellbeing, and help them to do their best to be treated fairly.

In my spare time I love to hang out with my family and friends, go out for dinner, watch Netflix, and explore new places.

I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know you all during my time here at Footscray Primary School. 


Hello from Sarah
Hi, my name is Sarah! I am excited to be doing my student placement at Footscray Primary School. I am studying a Bachelor of Social Work at Victoria University and currently in my 4th year of uni. I chose to study Social Work as I am very passionate about helping and working with young people to make a change in this world.

I grew up in Shepparton but moved to Melbourne to study. I love playing soccer, hanging out with family and friends, going to the beach, watching movies and listening to music in my spare time.

I am looking forward to meeting you all during my time at Footscray Primary. 

Imagine a gender equal world.

A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.

A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

A world where difference is valued and celebrated.

Together we can forge women's equality.

Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.

This year FPS students will explore social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, raising awareness of discrimination and bias.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in an art competition based on  ‘Women Who Inspire Us’. Students will be asked to draw or colour an illustration of a woman who inspires them, and Year 3 to 6 will be asked to include a report as to why they are inspired by their particular subject.

Competition entries will be asked to be submitted by Friday the 11^th of March.

We look forward to sharing our students thoughts and ideas with you!

We are excited to let you know that we have booked in our school photos for Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 March with photographer Sabrina Rubini. 

How to Order
Please begin the order with your eldest child, then select the drop-down box to add your extra children, going down in age as you complete the form.   

You will need each child's student ID for the form. This can be found in Compass. Please have this ready prior to filling out the form.  

• Open Compass 
• Click on your child's photo 
• Next to your child's name is the ID 

See below example



Siblings 
Sibling packages are at the end of the form. If you only have one child, simply enter them, and skip to the payment section. 

Please have your order in by FRIDAY 18TH MARCH 2022.(Only siblings that have placed an order will be photographed on the day.)

Payments  
Payment is via the PayPal or Direct debit. If you don’t have a PayPal account you can also choose the credit card option within the PayPal button, no account required.

If you choose direct debit, please take note of the account number on the order form, add your eldest child's name and footscray as the reference. Once payment has been made, please email the receipt of the payment to sabrina@sabrinarubini.com 

Sabrina Rubini
BSB: 084-501 
Acc: 542455202

Use your eldest child’s name and footscray as reference in your payment description box.

To assist with speedy processing, please complete all orders by FRIDAY 18TH MARCH 2022. Sibling photo orders must be in by this date.

(Late orders will incur a fee of $20 as the individual print orders and postage fees are high)  

Link for orders 
Click on the link below to begin order – (have compass student ID’s ready) 

https://form.123formbuilder.com/6084938// 

Photo days - Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 March 2022
Staff will endeavour to make sure the child's hair and clothes are in place for the shoot where possible, but are unable to fix hairstyles etc.

Contact
Contact sabrina@sabrinarubini.com if you have any issues with your order.  

 

Our 1/2 students are creating a garden and sustainable learning area. If anyone has a worm farm at home that they are willing to part with, please get in touch with Nick via email. Thanks in advance!

Nicholas.boffa@education.vic.gov.au

We have two sums of money handed into the office still unclaimed. One is from February 2022 and the other from Term 4 last year. We would like to return them to their rightful owners. If you believe it might belong to you, please tell us how much and when it was lost and, if correct, we can return it to you.

FPS students and staff use a combination of sun protection measures in Terms 1 and 4 and other times deemed necessary. Extra care is taken between 10am and 3pm when UV levels reach their peak during the day.

We would like to remind parents and carers that your child/ren must wear a hat while outside. Students and staff are required to wear hats that protect their face, neck and ears, i.e. legionnaire, broad brimmed or bucket hats. (Baseball caps do not offer enough protection and are therefore not recommended.) 

We have many named & un-named hats in our lost property, Please ask your child to look there if they have misplaced their hat. 

If you need to purchase a new school hat you can do so buy following the link to Noone's website.

SPF 30+ broad spectrum, water resistant sunscreen is recommended for staff and students' use. Students are encouraged to apply sunscreen before coming to school and before going outdoors, during Terms 1 and 4. Sunscreen must be supplied by families.

FPS Sun Smart Policy

Tuesday 8 March: International Women's Day

Monday 14 March: Labour Day Public Holiday - no students at school

Monday 21 March: Harmony Day

Wednesday 23 March and Thursday 24 March: School Photos

Friday 25 March: National Ride2School Day

Wednesday 30 March to Friday 1 April: 3/4 Mt Evelyn Recreation Camp

Friday 8 April: Last day of Term 1

Monday 25 April: ANZAC Day Public Holiday - no students at school

Tuesday 26 April: Curriculum Day - no students at school

Wednesday 27 April: First day of Term 2

The Footscray Park Bowling Club is holding their first Trash and Treasure Market in the car park on Sunday 3rd April. The flyer below has all the information people need if they would like to book a stall or just visit for a look and maybe stay on for some barefoot bowls.

The club has also allocated a stall free of charge for the FPS second hand uniforms. The Buy, Swap and Sell FB page team will collect any unnamed lost property the week before the market and add it to any items currently not collected and put it all on the stall for people to come and grab on the day. 

Stalls can be booked via the QR code on the flyer or by clicking this link:  https://www.trybooking.com/BVFWV

Please see the Parenting in Maribyrnong Calendar below for sessions coming up in March 2022.

Alternatively, please click on the link to view and download the calendar from the Maribyrnong City Council website: Parenting in Maribyrnong