Parent Newsletter Issue 17 2026

Celebrating Italian Week at the Farm  

Footscray High School was delighted to welcome 250 students from Footscray Primary School to our Farm on 20 October for a spectacular day of learning, language, and of course pizza! 

The purpose of the day was to open our Farm to our nearest local Primary School to help celebrate Italian week. We made new connections for our students and staff, all with the focus of the Italian language. In all, 125 pizzas were made with 30kg of flour, 10 kg of cheese and 3kg of passata. Mangia! 

None of this would have been possible without our incredible staff and leaders from Footscray High School and Footscray Primary School, parent helpers and language assistants, who gave six hours of their time to make, serve, clear, and wash up.  Their generosity and enthusiasm made the day truly special.   

A huge thank you also to Jak Dunstan, Horticulture Teacher, Max Tosi, Languages Faculty Leader, and our wonderful student helpers for creating such a memorable experience for our young visitors. 

Days like these remind us of the power of community, connection, and of course good pizza. 

Professional Learning Day – Student Free 

A reminder Monday 2nd November 2026 is a student free day. 

Jillian English 

Principal 

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended and supported the Footscray High School Art Exhibition. Your presence helped make this celebration of our students’ creativity, talent and hard work truly memorable.

A special thank you to our school leaders for their ongoing support and commitment to fostering a culture where creativity, collaboration and the arts are valued and celebrated. We also extend our sincere appreciation to the Mayor of Footscray, Mohamed Semra, for joining us on the evening and for his generous words of encouragement and support for our students and the arts.

We are incredibly proud of our students and grateful to our dedicated Arts team for bringing this exhibition to life across our three campuses.

Malisa Govori

SENIOR LEARNING AREA LEADER | ARTS

Friday 23rd of October saw the fifth year of #FAFF [FHS’s Annual Film Festival], wrapping up the amazing Arts Expo week here at FHS. 

Produced by Media teachers Malcolm Fretz and Angella Liu the evening kicked off with a welcome from Year 10 SLC Captain Zahra Z and Principal John Box, while Friend of Footscray operated a refreshments station and EatWell supplied some sweets treats for guests.

The Kinnear Theatre housed over 140 ticket holders eager to view trailers from our Unit 1&2 Media students as well as two selected Year 11 films, followed by the exhibition of our Unit 4 Year 12 Media Films.

27 short films, animations, music videos of a variety of genres were showcased to our Footscray community. We are so proud of our amazing FHS Media students and wish them well for their upcoming exams!

Huge thank you to Robin Czuchnowski and Paul Dooley for assisting with AV on the evening and Meg McFarlane.

Kindred Rocks Again

The October edition of the Kindred Studios Bands Night is always emotionally charged as bands that have been regulars on the program for some years are farewelled.  Monday October 12 this year was no exception as four bands made up of predominantly year 12 students presented for the last time. This was the last public performance for three bands from the year 12 music class who had their performance exams a few days later.

Also on stage were bands from years 10 and 11 along with a few student initiated groups, including a very keen group of year 8s who have been rehearsing regularly at lunchtimes to prepare for their debut.

Ensembles Spectacular

Another regular event on the music performance calendar is the Ensembles Spectacular concerts which occur in the Kinnear Theatre in winter and Spring.

Wednesday November 28 was the date for the Spring Spectacular and featured all of our major ensembles from the Instrumental Music Program. The new FHS Music Tshirts were seen for the first time on all performers. The program featured the Baroque Orchestra, The Kaleidoscopic Contemporary Orchestra, The Combined Junior Rookie Bands, Junior and Senior and Whole School Choirs, Percussion Ensemble and the Barkly Community Band.

A wonderful team effort from our dedicated Instrumental Music Staff makes these events possible, and performances are the goal of our hard working students who practice regularly at home and attend weekly rehearsals.

Community Inquiry Project students painting benches at Pilgrim campus as part of their learning project.

The Year 8 Boys competed in the Interschool volleyball tournament at Whitten Oval on Monday 26/10. 

It was toughly contested competition throughout the day. They won 2 out their 3 matches, defeating Rosehill (2-1) and Buckley Park (2-1), but were bested by eventual winners Braybrook (0-2). Standout performers included Ethan T with his powerful serve and Torin R and his awesome blocking at the net. Big thanks also to Ashton T for coaching and running the bench on the day. 

On Monday 26 October, nine Year 8 students from Pilgrim Campus proudly represented our school at the Year 8 Volleyball competition.

The team had an amazing time on the court, cheering each other on, supporting their teammates, and giving 100% in every game. We competed against some great schools, and although we didn’t manage to secure a win, our scores were close, and the students showed fantastic teamwork, determination and sportsmanship throughout the day.

Most importantly, everyone had fun, encouraged each other and represented Footscray with pride!

A big thank you to Marley and Anjelika for coming along to support the team and help with scoring and coaching. Your time and support were greatly appreciated.

Well done, team.

Tennis Report: The FHS Boys and Girls tennis teams hit the courts at Taylors Lakes Tennis centre today with fantastic results all round.

The Boys won 2 from 3 rounds narrowly going down to the competition winners being Buckley Park. Finian C was the standout performer being our number 1 seed. 

The Girls won the days competition with 3 wins from 3 against Buckley Park, Maribyrnong and Rosehill making their way into regional championships next Thursday the 5th of November at Geelong Tennis club. 

Shout-outs to Victoria T and Ivana I-S who barely dropped a game and the whole team for mixing and matching their singles and doubles games fairly. 

Best of luck at regionals Girls. 

Year 9 Regional Girls Table Tennis championships were held on Tuesday 27th of October. 

Five of our FHS legends went all the way to Geelong and put their heart on the line and made the court their own by making history… of losing every single game. Heartbreaking stuff, but they gave it their all and Maccas was the real winner today

The EARLY VCE ENGLISH Booklist is now open and available online for ordering from the JP Books website. 

This list is exclusively for the 2027 texts required in VCE English, English as an Additional Language (EAL) and Literature. Orders for these books can be made online or instore from now until they close on Sat 14th Nov. Books ordered from this list will be distributed to students at school at the start of course commencement in Week 7 which begins on Mon 16th Nov, (unless you choose to pick yours up in person from the store). 

If you have any questions about book ordering, please direct them to JP BOOKS.

JP BOOKS IS LOCATED AT:

355 Somerville Rd

Yarraville, 3013

Phone: 9314 0529

Email: sales@jpbooks.com.au

WWW: https://jpbooks.com.au/

MyFuture Careers Webinar

Wed, Nov 4, 2026 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM AEDT

Career planning and supporting young people to find hope and purpose in an uncertain world

Young people today are growing up in a time of rapid change and uncertainty. From climate concerns and global conflict to new technologies and constant news exposure, many feel overwhelmed by what the future might hold.

In a recorded webinar, myfuture and headspace explore how these uncertainties can affect young people’s wellbeing and their engagement with career planning.

Designed for Parents, this session will help you better understand what young people may be experiencing and how to support them to stay engaged, hopeful and future focused.

You will learn:

• Common sources of anxiety and uncertainty for young people today
• How these concerns can affect career thinking and motivation
• Practical ways to start conversations and provide support
• How to help young people reconnect with their values, strengths and sense of purpose
• Strategies to support positive action and meaningful career exploration

The session will introduce simple, evidence-based approaches you can use in your daily work or conversations, along with links to trusted resources from headspace and myfuture.

By focusing on hope, purpose, and small, achievable steps forward, this webinar will help you support young people as they navigate uncertainty while continuing to build their future.

Register now

Go to myfuture webinar 

Or

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7092163818047488859

This term, students in Year 7 Extension Maths at Pilgrim Campus have been exploring Soma Cubes.

They have constructed their own cubes and completed a range of engaging mathematical tasks, including drawing to scale, investigating symmetry and reflections, exploring shapes, and developing their problem-solving skills.

It has been a fantastic, hands-on learning experience that has challenged students to think creatively and apply their mathematical knowledge in different ways. All students have worked hard, embraced the challenges, and thoroughly enjoyed the task.

Well done to all our Year 7 Extension Maths students for their enthusiasm, effort and fantastic work!

Congratulations to VCE Vocational Major graduate, Angus Todd for being presented with the Brimbank VET Cluster “Outstanding Achievement Award for exemplar attitude, behaviour, and commitment in VET Building & and Construction”.

Angus completed VCE VM and Certificate II in Building & Construction this year.  His VCE VM journey included work experience placements with Inner West Property Maintenance and Chillmech Air Conditioning & Mechanical Services. Chillmech have indicated that they are considering taking him on as an apprentice next year.  In the meantime, Angus will enrol in Certificate II in Electrotechnology. Well done Angus we are very proud of you!

Congratulations to Oliver Flight on being accepted into the 2027 National Mathematics Summer School, and to Ada Jephcott, who has been invited back as a senior student and assistant.

The National Mathematics Summer School (nmss.edu.au) is the oldest and most prestigious program of its type in Australia. Organised by the Australian National University and the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers, it has run since 1969, with only 75 high-achieving Year 11 students selected from across the country each year.

This year, three of our talented and hard-working Specialist Mathematics students applied. Only one student can be accepted from each school, and in January 2027 Oliver will have the opportunity to learn challenging mathematics alongside other keen students.

Both students will study Number Theory and other topics such as Projective Geometry, Chaos Theory and Cryptography. We are sure they will find the learning fascinating, make good friends and be excellent ambassadors for Footscray High School. We wish them all the best!

It has been another fantastic year for the House Program at Footscray High School.

Throughout 2026, students have participated in a wide range of events, including the athletics and swimming carnivals, art competitions, Mario Kart competitions, the Variety Performance and so much more. Beyond these events, students have continued to earn valuable house points by demonstrating our school-wide positive behaviours and contributing to a positive school culture.

A huge thank you goes to our student House Leaders, particularly our Year 12 House Captains, whose leadership, dedication and enthusiasm have helped bring their houses together.

Of course, there can only be one winner of the coveted House Cup!

Congratulations to Ngayami, our 2026 House Cup champions! The Yellow team has finished the year on an impressive 963 house points, finishing ahead of Yaluk on 916 points and Wurru Wurru on 800 points.

Congratulations to all students for their contributions throughout the year, and thank you to everyone who has helped make the 2026 House Program such a success. We look forward to another year of friendly competition and house pride in 2027!