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As a high performing school, we are continuing to seek ways to further develop our students’ potential and support them to reach their goals. We are excited to announce the launch of an Enrichment Program for Year 7 and 10 students. This will begin in Term 2 this year and will be offered to selected high-performing English and Mathematics students at each campus.
Students will be invited to participate based on assessment data and performance, as well as teacher recommendations. Program sessions will take place after school, at your child’s base campus, and will be run by subject experts. Participation in the program is voluntary, but we do ask that students who accept a place commit to attending for the term. Selected students will receive an invitation in the mail in the last week of March.
All students in all classes will continue to be challenged appropriately, at all learning levels, but we are pleased to be able to offer this opportunity to our students.
If you have any questions about the academic program at Footscray High School, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your Campus Principal.
Last year, the FHS School Council Communication Sub-Committee conducted a survey to gather feedback from parents and carers on the effectiveness of our school’s communication. We sincerely appreciate the 120 respondents from all campuses and year levels who took the time to participate.
Your feedback has highlighted both our progress and areas for improvement. The Sub-Committee is committed to addressing your concerns and will continue working with the School Council and Leadership team to develop an action plan. This includes timely access to key information, success stories, and important updates.
The Sub-committee is dedicated to work with the school community to continue to improve school communication processes and will send a follow-up survey at the end of the year to assist the committee to track progress.
Student destination data provides a comprehensive overview of our students’ post-secondary pathways. These findings help us monitor and enhance our school programs, career counselling services, local job opportunities, and training resources.
Additionally, it enables us to strengthen student support, ensuring students have access to the guidance and skills needed to achieve their educational and career goals.
In 2024, 100% of our Year 12 students successfully graduated. Of the students who made an application to the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) and therefore wanted to go onto tertiary studies, 98% received an offer in the first round. 95% of those students received an offer for one their top three preferences, which is a fantastic result.
Jillian English
Acting Executive Principal
Divisional Swimming championships took place last Thursday and we had a squad of 33 students representing FHS with plenty of winners going through to the next round.Fantastic display of student abilities from year 7-12 with the following 1st place swimmers progressing to regional champs on April 3rd in Geelong. 12-13yr: Elli M, Sofia F, Victoria T,14yr: Atlas D, Katherine T,15yr: Ravi K, Anthony H, Hugo L, Tom M, Georgia A16yr: River D, Felix B, James L, Scarlett C, Yan L17yr: Max R, Joseph T, Zara R, Signe M,18yr: Zoe H
Senior Inter-school Sport had a great day out last Friday, with a senior cricket team going down narrowly to miss out on the final and both our girls and boys volleyball enjoying the days festivities against stiff competition. Senior Futsal beat Marby but Lakeview got the better of them in the later games.The highlight of the day was the boys and girls tennis teams winning the day’s competition and going through to the regional round next term on May 7. Well done to our tennis Teams with Robbie putting in the hard yards with early morning training sessions; Girls Team: Carla M, Lily D, Zara R, Amelia K, Asha K, Angie G, Matilda S. Boys Team: Toby K, Archer L, Sam C, Keanu R, Austin M, Darby Z.
In February, Year 7 students at both campuses were treated to a presentation of the brass and woodwind instruments that are available to play at FHS. Two of our Instrumental Music Teachers (IMTs), Karen Doyle and Nic Ryan-Glennie, demonstrated each of flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone and tuba and then students were invited to try the instruments.
From this event we now have a number of keen students committed to playing an instrument and soon participating in an ensemble.There are still some vacancies for the above mentioned instruments and others so please express interest by responding with this form if you are in year 7 and would like to join in the fun. This is the form for Year 8 -12s.
This year we welcome a new voice teacher to FHS – Rachel Sztanski. Rachel has a great deal of experience in teaching and performing and has made a great start with her students at all three campuses.
We also welcome Nic Ryan-Glennie who will be with us for term 1 to look after the brass students while Marc Matthews is on long service leave.
FHS is lucky to have a range of experienced and skilled IMTs that make it possible for students to choose from a large range of musical instruments and get involved making music with others. More information can be found here.
Our Year 7 students doing Community Inquiry this semester have started at their new theme campuses – Sustainability at the Farm, Social Justice at Pilgrim, and Wellbeing at Barkly. Our new cohort is enthusiastic, curious, and compassionate as we dive into the Empathise phase of the Design Thinking Framework.
Pictured are some of the posters made by the Social Justice group this week, exploring different issues under the Social Justice umbrella that they may like to focus on. It is fantastic to see our Community Inquirers take such pride in their work, truly embodying the FHS pillar of Endeavour.
Next week students at each campus will meet with a Panel of community members with relevant expertise or experience, and our students have prepared questions to unpack the issues and explore Social Justice, Wellbeing and Sustainability in more depth.
Last weekend, our rowers took to the water at the 2025 RV State Championships in Nagambie, competing against some of the best school crews in the state. The conditions were tough, with a grueling 2km course made even more challenging by scorching temperatures reaching up to 35 degrees Celsius. Despite the heat, our athletes put on a fantastic display of resilience and determination.
A special congratulations to Charlie H and Tom S for their strong performance in the Male School Double Scull, securing a commendable 6th place in the final. In the Male School Single Scull, Levi P battled hard in the heats, finishing just outside the finals with a solid 4th place finish. In the Female School Double Scull, Charlotte P and May S pushed through tough competition to finish in 7th place. Our Female School Coxed Quad crew, made up of Renee B, Molly S, Aster W, Indi B, and Chloe S, also put in a great effort to claim 7th place in their race.
With the State Championships now behind us, our focus shifts to the Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta (HOSG), the biggest female-only rowing event in the Southern Hemisphere. With just two weeks to go, all of our schoolgirl rowers are preparing for this exciting and highly competitive event. We wish them the best of luck as they take on the challenge—go team!
Sneak peek of the first week of Mamma Mia! rehearsals! It has been nothing short of electric. With over 100 students from all 3 campuses, the energy and enthusiasm that they have all brought has been inspiring. We’ve kicked off with dynamic dance intensives, learning the megamix with Michael’s choreography – full of high-energy movement and laughter. Our singers have been working hard to bring said megamix to life with the support of Robin and Piri, while our lead actors have begun diving into their roles, crafting their characters that will light up the stage. It’s been an absolute whirlwind of music, movement, drama (the good kind) and most importantly – smiles! I am beyond proud of how supportive and encouraging the students have been, certainly setting the tone for an unforgettable production ahead. See you all in August!
The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is back for another year! FHS student involvement across all year levels has increased with each year we’ve run it, and we hope this year will be no different. So if you’d like to be motivated to read more books and discover a few new favourite books or authors along the way, then email Hung Ngo to ask for your login details and info.
All participants who complete the challenge will receive a Reading Challenge Certificate at the end of the year, and an exclusive invite to the Reading Challenge Party at the end of Term 3. In addition, you could win prizes in the monthly raffle and house points will be awarded at the end of the challenge.
Applications are now open for the 2025 Readings Teen Advisory Board! This is an opportunity to join a group who meet online monthly to learn about careers in the book industry, discuss new young adult books, chat with authors and provide feedback to industry people on a range of subjects. Members are given the chance to help judge the Gab Williams Prize for young adult books and attend an in-person work experience day at a publishing house! If you’re a keen reader or interested in the book publishing industry this is definitely for you. Feel free to chat to one of our librarians if you’d like help or advice to apply for the board.
For those of you who love to write, the Insight Writing Competition is about to open on 20th March and submissions can be entered until Sept 1st. There are cash prizes up for grabs for each year level, so if you’re interested, you can download the Conditions of Entry and Submission Form here.
As usual you can save the links below to find a range of student opportunities throughout the year:
Student clubs and activities (school events)
Student events and opportunities (external events)
From the FHS Library Team
On February 19th, the year 11 Environmental Science class went to Bachus Marsh to head to the Ecolinc centre. We learned about the Carbon-Oxygen, Nitrogen, Water and Phosphorus cycle, and how humans are having impacts on the environment within the Biosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere (Geosphere) and Atmosphere.
Throughout the day, there were a multitude of experiments that we partook in, holding carbon meters in different places like the greenhouse and compost bin, and looking like maniacs when waving them in the air. We tested the soil for carbon levels by placing soil in water and shaking water with soil for five grueling minutes to drain it and check nitrogen levels in the soil to see if it was a healthy amount for waterways, if it runs off.
Overall, the whole day at Ecolinc was an amazing experience and a great place to learn more about the planet we live on.
Fun fact, wetlands are carbon sinks and if we lose them, there is more CO2 in the atmosphere.
Unit 1 Food Studies are currently completing their assessment for area of study 1: Food around the World.
Assessment task includes critiquing the use of ingredients that can be traced back to ancient civilizations. Students were analysing and comparing different types of beans to use in modern cuisine applications.