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I hope you had a restful and enjoyable break. As we begin Term 3, we’re excited to reconnect and continue our shared journey of learning, growth, and achievement.
This term promises to be both busy and rewarding, filled with new challenges, exciting opportunities, and many moments to celebrate.
The Annual Report to the school community provides an opportunity for the community to celebrate achievements, reflect on the school’s performance, and understand where and how improvement efforts have enhanced student achievement, engagement, and wellbeing.
We invite you to attend the Annual General Meeting, which will be held at the Kinnear Campus on 19 August from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Please notify Kaylene Tanti via the school email – info@footscray.vic.edu.au of your attendance by 12 August so that a suitable venue can be arranged.
Carly Clement, Head of Wellbeing, has commenced maternity leave. Kim Kelley will be stepping into the role for 2025.
Ann-Marie Ng has been appointed as the Barkly Year 9 Learning Community Leader, replacing Jimmy Kilpatrick. Jimmy’s teaching allotment has been filled by Jacob Camilleri.
Daniel Lambert will be teaching Alice Boronovski’s classes while she is on maternity leave.
We extend our best wishes to Carly and Alice as they begin their leave, and to Jimmy as he embarks on his new leadership role at his new school.
Unfortunately, after careful consideration, we’ve had to make the difficult decision not to participate in the Great Victorian Bike Ride as a school this year. We understand this news will be disappointing for many families and students and want to reassure you that you are still welcome to participate in the event individually.
We truly value the experiences the ride provides, but the event’s timing and competing priorities that include strategic planning, curriculum commitments, finalising assessments, and our Step-Up programs mean we are unable to commit to participating in 2025.
We are genuinely sorry for any disappointment this may cause. Please reach out to me if you have any questions about the considerations involved in this decision.
Jillian English
Principal
There’s some incredible news to share regarding one of our Pilgrim Year 7’s, Flynn B.
Flynn has been playing Lacrosse for 5 years at the Footscray Lacrosse Club and currently plays Under 14’s and Under 16’s.
This week, Flynn will be travelling to Boston to compete in the Premier Lacrosse League Junior Championships and will have the opportunity to play at Harvard Stadium. Flynn is the first Australian to be selected to play in the PLL Junior Championships and will be playing for the California Redwoods.
What an incredible achievement. All of FHS and the community are behind you, Flynn, and we wish you the best of luck.
On 31 July, after many years of dedicated service, we celebrated and sent off our senior food assistant, Nikki, as she enters her next chapter of retirement. Her organisation and dedication to our programming will be missed!
The food team sent Nikki off in style with a lovely morning tea.
State Cross Country was held at the Yarra Valley racecourse on Thursday, July 24th. The sun was shining and conditions were perfect for our Year 9 boys’ team, who claimed a silver medal and 2nd spot in the team championships, recording the following times:
Anthony H: 16th, 10.57min 3kZeph G: 22nd, 11.03min 3kEney K: 53rd, 11.45min 3k
Big congratulations to not only the 2nd placed team but to all 6 runners on representing FHS at the highest level with the following placings:
Elli M: 14th 12.56min 3k (12/13yr Girls)Evie M: 71st 14.27min 3k (14yr Girls)Harry L: 58th 20.02min 5k (16yr Boys)
Each athlete demonstrated great effort, endurance, and school spirit, proudly representing Footscray High on the state stage. We’re all very proud of your achievements.
Go FHS!
On the 29th of July 2025, a group of year 9 students from Footscray High School met 16 Japanese students from Reitaku Mizunami High School at the Melbourne Museum. This event encouraged us to practise our Japanese language skills while learning about the First Peoples’ exhibition. We helped the Japanese students locate the correct artifacts and find answers for the worksheet that they had been tasked with completing. We split into groups with one Footscray High student per group. We conversed in these small groups with the Japanese students practising their English, whilst we spoke Japanese.
“My experience at the Melbourne Museum was extremely insightful and enjoyable. At the beginning, I was worried that the students would not be able to talk with us due to the language barrier. However, the Japanese students in my group were very friendly and open by trying their best to talk with me in English. As we browsed through the exhibitions, I was able to meet a student in year 10 and we chatted about our interests and hobbies. We had a great time together and she even gifted me a small Japanese snack at the end. Eventually, it was time for us to say goodbye to them. From this experience, I learnt that it was possible to understand and make friends with people from a different culture, even if we were not fluent in the same language. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience and hope to be able to do it again.” – Lucy
“The Japanese students were very friendly and we talked in English as she had been wanting a friend to practise in English. We had similar interests like music and favourite colour. The language barrier did not stop us from being able to become friends. At the end we exchanged contact to stay in touch as it was time to leave. It was a very lovely experience and if I were able to do it again, I would definitely go.” – Julie
Edmund, Lucy and Julie (Year 9)
In arguably the most fun week in our school calendar, FHS will be celebrating Book Week with activities and competitions all week. On Tuesday, 19th August, students and staff are invited to showcase their creativity and love of stories by dressing up as a favourite book character. Dressing up isn’t just for younger children. For teens and adults, it encourages imagination, collaboration, problem solving, communication and confidence, as well as being a valuable outlet for self expression. We can’t wait to see everyone’s creations!
All families are invited to attend this informative session about FHS Library’s ePlatform, where you will be shown how to search for and access our huge collection of eBooks and audiobooks. You’ll also have an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about what other services our libraries offer. More details will be sent out closer to the date, along with a form to register your interest.
From the FHS Library Team
Whilst International Pi Day is officially March 14 (3.14) we marked the occasion this year on the alternative date of July 22nd (22/7). Congratulations to our new record holders who recalled the most digits of Pi from memory.
Pilgrim – Edmund R (Year 9) – 101
Barkly – Tyler L (Year 9) – 161
At Kinnear, Jasmin in Year 12 smashed her previous record of 464 to set a new record of 1,501! According to pi-world-ranking-list.com, Jasmin’s result would place her at #153 in World rankings. An extraordinary achievement!
Over the past week, we were pleased to hold successful course counselling sessions for students transitioning from Year 9 into Year 10 and from Year 10 into Year 11. These conversations are a key part of helping students make informed decisions about their educational pathways and future goals.
We would like to thank all the families and students who attended their scheduled appointments. Your engagement, preparation, and thoughtful questions helped ensure the process was both productive and positive.
We look forward to supporting all students as they move forward in their learning journey.
Bullying No Way Week is Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative for schools. It provides an opportunity for schools to create a shared understanding about bullying behaviours and share their bullying prevention policies and strategies.
The national week of action unites schools and their communities across the country. Together, we can foster practical approaches to prevent bullying in Australian schools.
The theme for 2025 is ‘Be bold. Be kind. Speak up.‘
See more information attached: Bulling No Way Webinars