This will be the final major newsletter for the year and it is time to celebrate the achievements of all of our students. There have been many highlights for the year and too many to list but I hope all students are rightly proud of their growth and development as actively engaged learners, fine school community citizens and curious and creative wonderers about the world around them. We are very proud of all of them.

This is a time of mixed emotions for many of our students and none more so than for the Grade 6 students who are drawing to a close their primary school experience. As we wish our Grade 6 students farewell and all the best in their secondary transition, another group of young students prepare to join us next year. It is a continuous journey and the one consistent is that we are one community who will always welcome past students and families who at times, return to visit and engage with us. All of our students in Years 1 – 5 have experienced their 2017 transition. This has provided them with an opportunity to start thinking about next year and their new grade and potential teacher. As for every year, we say farewell to some staff that are leaving us to take up new opportunities in life and in their profession. We thank them all for their involvement and dedication in being a teacher and to making a difference to the children of our school.

Saying Goodbye

Wendy Lonson–Hoffman

Wendy will be returning to her school in Canada after spending the year with us on an international teacher exchange.

Elly Kalenjuk will be returning from working in Canada as part of this international exchange arrangement.

Mun Wei Wong

Mun Wei is retiring and moving north to enjoy other challenges and leisurely times. Mun Wei has been a teacher at Fairfield Primary School for nineteen years and we wish her all the very best in her next pursuits.

Julie Dalton

Julie is taking up a role in mathematics teaching across the junior and senior school in one of the larger Foundation – 12 colleges in the north. Julie has been at FPS for 11 years and we wish Julie all the best in this new chapter in her career.

Andrea Lagana

Andrea is continuing to be a junior school teacher in our network. We wish Andrea all the very best as she continues in the profession.

Atty Heale

Atty will be on maternity leave in 2017. We wish her all the very best with the impending arrival of her second child.

Claire Hopper and Elise Winterflood are both continuing in their part time roles teaching music and performing arts in a range of schools.

We thank all teachers for their contribution and involvement in our community over the years they have been here.

New Staff Members

Recruitment of staff is a very lengthy process and I am very pleased to introduce and welcome the following new staff for 2017.

• Jenny Guilford
• Nanaki Bhatti
• Jayde Brownhill
• Monique Crowe
• Rosie Wositzky-Jones
• Sarah Burns

Class Organisation 2017

We will have 21 classes for 2017. We will be introducing straight year levels in Years 3 and Years 4. This is a result of a number of factors but primarily, the opportunity to dedicate the learning experience for the age groups within the new Victorian Curriculum that is being implemented in 2017. Our student numbers in these year levels also accommodate straight year levels comfortably. We will be maintaining our blended Years 1/2 groupings for 2017 but will consider options beyond that time.

The students will meet their 2017 teacher and class next Wednesday.

A Final Word

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the work of our school councillors for the year. As we move into 2017 we can reflect on the many community events that we have all participated in and worked to ensure generous fundraising and community engagement for all. We are continuously  improving the school facilities and programs and this year, we commenced and completed Kaan’s Winya, settled a double storey demountable, completed some refurbishment of the 3/4 area and we will be completing our Heating and Cooling plan by installing the last of four air conditioners in the classrooms over January. These actions can seem very straightforward but in the midst of maintaining the normal operations of school life, they can be more complex than planned for and hence the role of school council is most important. In 2017, we look forward to further work on our playground and further developments in line with our Wingrove Street acquisition and prospective netball court development.

Finally, it is with much pride that I draw our year to a close and thank all families for their continued involvement, support and interest in our amazing school community. I wish you all a very safe and happy holiday break.