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I would like to welcome our students and their families back to Footscray High School for the beginning of a wonderful school year. A special welcome to our new students and their families. I trust that everyone had an enjoyable holiday.
At Footscray High School our pillars are:
These pillars apply to all members of the school community, students, staff and families and place an emphasis on shared responsibility. In welcoming students back this term, I spoke about our school pillars and what they mean in our learning context. In summary, I asked every student to have high expectations of themselves, to ‘Be their Best’ and to take advantage of every opportunity our outstanding school offers.
Compass is our primary means of communication and is important because all vital information is shared with parents via Compass. This includes student reports, learning task updates, attendance information, excursion approvals and payments and other information updates. Parents are able to login to Compass via the link to the Compass portal on the Footscray High School website: http:/ /www.footscray.vic.edu.au/. If you have misplaced your login details or are having difficulty, please contact the school IT department via email: info@footscray.vic.edu.au.
Of particular importance to parents are our Student Coordination arrangements. The central role of Program Managers and Learning Community Leaders is to work with students and families to ensure students are happy and successful at school. Each campus is led and overseen by an Assistant Principal and Campus Principal. The information below will assist parents to know the relevant staff member to contact.
I am happy to meet with parents or carers to discuss your child’s learning and to hear your feedback. If you would like to take the opportunity to meet with me, please contact Kaylene Tanti – Executive Assistant, to make an appointment.
Jillian English
Acting Executive Principal
Rowing at Footscray High School is a challenging and rewarding sport that builds endurance, strength, and teamwork. Our program is designed to develop both individual skill and crew coordination, fostering discipline, resilience, and camaraderie among our athletes. Whether on the water or during land training, our rowers push their limits to achieve personal and team excellence.
Training sessions are structured to prepare athletes for the demands of competition:
Additionally, our rowers participate in occasional Saturday regattas, with racing taking place during Term 4 and Term 1. These competitions provide valuable experience, allowing athletes to test their skills and teamwork against other schools.
We look forward to an exciting season of dedication and achievement. Stay tuned for updates on training, race results, and the progress of our team!
Excitement is building as our Junior & Intermediate crews prepare to take to the water for their first race of the season on the Barwon River in Geelong. After weeks of dedicated training, they are ready to put their hard work to the test in what promises to be an exciting day of racing.
Lining up for the event, we have a strong FSCH2XY91 crew featuring Aster and Sophia, who have been refining their technique and building their speed in preparation for the challenge ahead. Joining them on the water is our formidable FSCH4X + Y93, consisting of Izzy, Ada, Matilda, and Pip, with CC guiding them from the coxswain’s seat. This will be the first time both crews race together this season, and they are eager to showcase their and coach Bella Oliver’s determination and teamwork.
We encourage all supporters to come down to the Barwon River and cheer on our rowers as they launch into what promises to be a thrilling day of competition.
For anyone interested in joining our rowing program, please reach out to Kasey Jobling at rowing@footscray.vic.edu.au for more information.
Hello, I’m Dan Sullivan. I’m the Acting Campus Principal for Pilgrim Campus for 2025 and I also lead the People Culture and Growth Team across Footscray High School.
I’m trying to quickly get to know the students and staff here at Pilgrim and across Footscray Hgih School. The students here seem a fantastic bunch and our academic results from 2024 were really impressive. It is clear that word is getting out about the great school the community has here as we have had a bit of a deluge of late enrolments in these first couple of weeks of the term. We are moving into a school review this year and it is clear that we will be maintaining and deepening our work on maintaining high expectations and excellent learning growth for all of our students.
I have worked in public education in Victoria for 10 years, always in the Western Suburbs and most recently at Werribee Secondary and Copperfield College in Principal Class roles. Before that I worked in schools in the ACT but Melbourne has always felt more like home to me than Canberra. A lot of my family live down here so I was really glad to get out of that frosty town full of roundabouts!
I grew up in country NSW, so I’ve got poor answers to that perennial Melbourne question “Which Footy team?” Growing up, it was always the Canterbury Bulldogs in the NRL so the die hard Bulldogs you fans tend to adopt me. My father was a strict league man who said that it was against the law to bring a Sherrin to the Gundagai shire where my family is from. Now his grandson, my nephew is in the Essendon youth development squad so I may have to barrack for the bombers soon.
When I am in the classroom I teach both English and Mathematics. I am currently reading Lev Grossman’s Bright Sword which is a lot of fun. Generally, my tastes run to fantasy and science fiction, I have a great fondness for Iain M. Banks and Susannah Clarke’s Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrell.
In the holidays I try to spend a lot of time with my three sons, playing Minecraft and exploring the city and with my Labrador, Jellybean, who is the reason I am up at 5:30am every morning – if she doesn’t get a walk she goes mental! As several students have already asked, I need to point out that Jellybean is not, sadly, a trained therapy dog.
If you see me about, or at the school gates in the morning, please stop me for a chat and let me know how you are finding your Footscray High School experience.
The new house system was launched in style during our first week back with the celebration of house captains and the unveiling of our big and shiny House Cup! After students indicated they wanted a house system last year, the student council (SLC) designed a house system for 2025: Ngamayi (yellow, sun), Wurru-Wurru (blue, sky) and Yaluk (river, green). Our inaugural student house captains received their badges to loud cheers last week.
Our House Captains below:
The competition kicked off with the Swimming Carnival on Monday, Feb 3. Throughout the year, there will be a range of cultural, art, musical and community opportunities to score points as well as sporting events. Go Ngamayi, Wurru-Wurru, Yaluk!
Well the dust has settled on the swimming carnival and the colour of the dust is Yellow. Yes, that’s right Ngamayi house left the rest behind taking out the first edition of the FHS 2025 ‘House Cup Championship’.
Ngamayi won the day with 160 points, Wurru-Wurru in second with 115 points and Yaluk closely behind with 111 points. But, don’t write off the other houses just yet. Oak Park Aquatics was rocked with the house chants, Yaluk receiving 15 points with their house spirit and Wurru-Wurru taking out the inflatable cockatoo relay.
The day’s atmosphere was electric, our pillar of unity was shining bright with something for everyone, face painting, waterslides, swimming events, food, chants, tunes and good vibes. Big thanks to our VM students, sport and rec students, and seniors who helped run the day and make the team atmosphere pop. There were many standout performances with numerous swimmers claiming multiple ribbons. Well done to all involved in celebrating Footscray High School.
The students have designed our house system to increase connectedness among students between year levels and campuses and we look forward to a jam packed year of arts, culture, music and athletics competitions.
Congratulations to our year level champions;12-13yrs: Elli & Torin14yrs: Katherine & Harry15yrs: Sophia/Amali & Ravi16yrs: Scarlett & River17yrs: Amelia/Cara & Max18yrs: Asha & Reuben
Our 1st place winners & relay teams will progress to the divisional championships on Thursday 27th of February. Go FHS!
We would like to congratulate two of our 2024 Year 12 School-Based Apprenticeships and Traineeship students:
These students have successfully balanced school, work, and trade school in their chosen industries. We wish them all the best as they transition to full-time in their apprenticeship role. Keep up the fantastic effort as you pave the way to a bright future. If you would like to discuss the possibility of beginning a traineeship or apprenticeship while you are at school, please see Juli Black (Career Development Counsellor) at Kinnear for more information.
Parents, teachers and young people were getting to know each other at our Community Breakfast on Tuesday morning over delicious Bacon and Egg Sandwiches and Hash Browns.
It was lovely to see all three campuses filled with parents and students from the school community. It was especially great seeing the Year 7 parents renewing their primary school ties.
A massive thank you to the staff who helped cook and organise the event across all three campuses.
Welcome back to school for 2025, and a big welcome to our new and continuing First Nations students and families.
As a parent or carer, you may be wondering how Footscray High School participates in the Reconciliation process. Some schools have followed the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) process recommended for businesses and organisations, and occasionally we are asked why Footscray High doesn’t have a RAP. The reason is that we work with the Department of Education’s Marrung framework.
The Marrung Aboriginal Education Plan 2016-2026 is a tailor made RAP-like process for schools in Victoria. It was developed and designed in consultation with the peak Victorian First Nations education representative body, VAEAI.
The Plan contains three broad visions:
1. The rich and thriving culture, knowledge and experience of First Nations peoples are celebrated by all Victorians
2. The school is inclusive, responsive and respectful of Koorie people at all stages
3. Every Koorie person achieves their potential, succeeds in life, and feels strong in their cultural identity.
The first point is addressed with First Nations content in our classrooms across the school campuses and within the curriculum. We are in a constant process of strengthening and improving our resources. Opportunities to learn more about and celebrate culture are embedded in school platforms, such as Compass, through the House system, through Acknowledgments, Community STEAM and guest speakers. We follow protocols to seek approval from the Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (LAECG) for guest speakers.
The second point is addressed by a dedicated staff member (Kate Habgood – who is non-Indigenous) who works to ensure that processes and support are fair and respectful. Kate is a point of contact and advocate for First Nations students and families if there are any queries, or improvement needed.
Finally, First Nations students are supported with pathways; events are shared and organised so students can participate in inter-school cultural events and opportunities. The school liaises with the regional KESO (Koorie Engagement Support Officer) to ensure students are connected to culture and the community, and provided with culturally safe support.
If you would like to know more about the Marrung Aboriginal Education Plan and the school’s work with it, please contact Kate Habgood, who is based at the Kinnear Campus.
I’d like to welcome everyone and remind you about the many services the FHS Library can provide to our students to make the most of 2025. All three of our campuses have a dedicated and welcoming library space, with friendly staff who are eager to help you with anything you need. We can help you with book recommendations and requests, to sign up for an extracurricular club or to assist with your research assignment….
We also have copies of ALL booklisted texts available for students to borrow for short term loan, so if you occasionally forget to bring your own books, make sure you come to the library before class to borrow what you need. FHS Booklists are supplied by JP Books and you can still purchase your required books and resources from them if you haven’t already got everything for your subjects. If waiting on backorders, keep your eye on your emails as JP Books and/or the school will contact you when they’re ready to be collected.
The library collection, as well as lots of other useful resources, can be accessed through the FHS LIBRARY WEBSITE – click ‘Login with FHS Google account’. We have a vast range of fiction (novels, comics, short stories, etc…) and non-fiction (biographies, reference, textbooks, info books) on our shelves to satisfy all readers. We also subscribe to Wheelers eBooks and Audiobooks if you wish to consume your books in digital formats, and also have a selection of Online Databases to help with assignments or for personal interest. Remember that you will need to be logged in to your school Google account to be able to access any of these online services.
If you need any help with access or have any library related questions please contact your campus librarian or use this email: fhslibrary@footscray.vic.edu.au
We also run various events and activities to make school a bit more enjoyable, and we have one such event coming up…
On Friday 14 February, to celebrate Library Lovers’ Day, our Junior Campus Libraries will be hosting a ‘Blind Date With a Book’ event to help us share our love of books and to remember not to ‘judge a book by its cover’.
To participate, students simply nominate a book they love using this online form:
tiny.cc/FHSValentine
You can enter as many times as you like, and we will randomly select 6 entrants to win prizes. When nominating a book, please provide a brief reason as to why you love it and a few keywords to describe it. House points will be awarded to all participants!
It would be handy, but not imperative if you checked that we have a copy by searching the library catalogue.
We’ll then wrap as many nominated books as we can, thereby hiding their covers but revealing the brief descriptions. These will be used to make displays of Blind Date Books which will be launched and available for loan from our libraries during lunchtime on Friday 14th February.
If you’re needing some inspiration for titles, try here. We can’t wait to read your nominations!
On behalf of the FHS Library team,
Daniel Micallef – Libraries Manager.
Right after the Community Breakfast the whole year 10 cohort met at the Kinnear Farm for the Annual year 10 S.E.E. Teacher selection process. In a time-honoured activity that is part blind speed ‘dating’, part election, with a sprinkling of trivia – we aim to match students with just the right S.E.E. teacher. Given this is the person who will mentor and advocate for them throughout their senior years at Footscray High School we are pleased to provide students with agency in their selection.
Armed with information from 10 profiles of staff which were full of details such as favourite pastimes, ways they would deal with a challenge, memories of school, and the all important ‘does pineapple belong on a pizza’ question, students made their top preferences. The profiles were devoid of one thing – teacher’s names. Ensuring this ‘blind’ process meant that students got to know the whole teacher. This works very well given that some of these S.E.E. staff may not have been faces they’ve encountered on their schooling journey before.
The profiles were pinned up around the Farm, so not only did students get to know teachers, they became well (re)acquainted with the Farm as a school space. The team is now processing preferences to make sure we have the best Year 10 S.E.E. groupings for 2025.
Thanks, year 10s for your exceptional behaviour, and for making the activity so much fun!