Telephone: 9488 1900 • Fax: 9481 6135 •
info@fitzroyhs.vic.edu.au • Falconer Street NORTH FITZROY 3068
Sapphire
Indigo Jet Scarlet (Post Compulsory) |
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Telephone: 9488 1900 • Fax: 9481 6135 •
info@fitzroyhs.vic.edu.au • Falconer Street NORTH FITZROY 3068
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Indigo Jet Scarlet (Post Compulsory) |
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School Email and Bulletin Board |
August 2008Click on the following links to access:
Principal’s Report - 29 August 2008Parent surveyIf you have received a survey could you please return it to school as soon as possible. Cabinet of Lost and FoundI spent a delightful night on Wednesday reading and listening to students’ poems. I know that a more complete report will be in next week’s newsletter but the sophisticated language use shown by the students and the actual presentation of the poetry was wonderful. Congratulations to all involved, especially Briony O’Keeffe, the teacher who organised the writing of the poems. Information sessionsAt the moment we are holding a large number of information sessions for students moving between levels in the school. Please try to make these as we are able to impart valuable information to a wide audience. Tim Fitzgerald You are cordially invited to the unveiling of ~ The Cabinet of Lost and FoundDuring terms 2 and 3 this year, a group of students from Years 7 - 9 have been participating in a writing project devised by the Sydney poetry company The Red Room, called the ‘Cabinet of Lost and Found’. The project is part of the company’s ‘Papercuts’ program, which aims to transform the way in which poetry is taught and experienced in Australian schools.
We would love it if you too would come along to the exhibition of the cabinet, where you will have the opportunity to read (and perhaps even hear) some poetry, admire the installation and partake in a little food and drink. See you there! Wednesday 27th August, 7-8.30pm, Fitzroy High School Library. For more information about The Red Room Company, visit www.redroomcompany.org Partial Poems: some snippetsUntitled Harry’s Child (A talismanic poem) Breathe Unfrozen Principal’s Report - 22 August 2008Year 12The next ten weeks are crucial for our Year 12 students as they prepare for their final exams and meet with our careers teacher Sandra to look at post school options. A number of these students have received their results for the mid - year exams with many achieving at a high level with nearly 50% obtaining results of B or higher and 25% A or higher. Students are using the experience to study effectively for their end of year exams and we would hope they can translate their mid year performance to an even higher level. Curriculum DayThere is a pupil free day on Tuesday of next week where staff will be planning for the changed physical configuration of the school next year with the addition of the senior wing. We will be basing our discussions on the day on the Design Team research project we have been involved with over the last year. We will be looking at how we might use physical, intellectual, virtual and emotional spaces in developing the best learning environment for the children in the school. Any parents interested in this should contact Pauline Rice. It is interesting that we are not the only educational sector looking at these issues. I am a member of a group at the University of Melbourne that is examining the issue of virtual and physical space within a tertiary context. Many of the issues that are relevant to us also resonate with the ideas being examined by the University. Parent SurveyA number of you will be receiving the parent opinion survey on Monday of next week. We use the results of these surveys to inform our practice and take the results seriously. Many of the initiatives in our new strategic plan can be directly linked to the survey results from previous years and forums run with parents and students. If you do receive a survey please return it as soon as possible. Parent/teacher/child conferencesThank you to all those who attended the conferences over the last few weeks. They are an integral part of the curriculum system at the school and provide effective feedback to students, parents and staff. Thank you to all the staff as well for the time that they put into these conferences. Some staff spent up to six nights at school over a few weeks meeting with families. We are aiming for 100% attendance at these conferences so if you didn’t make it expect a follow up from your child’s advisory/tutorial teacher. Tim Fitzgerald Participation GroupThe new Participation Group met for the first time on Tuesday 29 July. This group will replace the old school council Events committee. The name change is to emphasise its change of focus. The Participation Group aims to encourage and promote Community Building activities, and facilitate participation by parents and carers, and the wider local community, in the school. Community Building activities are anything that promotes interaction between all the different people involved with the school. This includes traditional school type events, but also covers promotion of outside users of school facilities, instigation of workshops, demonstrations, talks, special interest clubs. Basically anything that gets people together.
It is not intended that the Participation Group run everything themselves. The role of the group is to encourage, support and co-ordinate smaller groups managing individual events. So if you have an idea, and a few friends to help you, get in touch with the Participation Group and we will make it happen together. If you don't think you have enough helpers the Participation Group will assist finding some others interested in taking part. Contact Antony McPhee, mail@antonymcphee.com, 0425 781 405.
If you are interested, or just curious, come along to the next Participation Group meeting, Tuesday 19 August, 6:30, in the staff room. A beautiful story of inner strength and our modern society - Student film review On the June long weekend Reuben C and Natasha C attended a couple of sessions at the Little Big Shots International Film Festival for Kids. The festival invites kids to write a review of any of the films they see, and the best 10 get to go on next year’s festival jury. Natasha and Reuben both submitted reviews, and they have both won places on the jury! The winning reviews will be published on the Little Big Shots website www.littlebigshots.comau some time this week. Below is Reuben C's review: "Yasin is a serious and mature short film about hope, struggle and the way the media often incriminates or stereotypes Muslims. It comments on a range of political and social issues by following the story of a young boy called Yasin. The film opens with Yasin’s home being raided by FBI agents and his father being accused of terrorism. Yasin later finds himself being taunted by the other students at school because of both the allegations against his father and his Muslim background. Yasin struggles to understand the prejudice against him and like any 10 year old boy sometimes lashes out at those around him. The director Betty Lee Kim shows the way people can throw others into a stereotypical group and treat them like something less than human because of the way the media portrays them. The movie shows how normal and innocent Yasin’s family is by showing flashbacks of Yasin’s time with his father and the happy life that was destroyed by his arrest. I found this short film very moving and sad with lots of beautiful slow scenes. The racism and negative emotions directed towards him were not over the top but instead incredibly believable. The film does not focus on whether the father is guilty or innocent but rather the effect of his arrest. The film is completely realistic and the unfortunate thing is that situations like this have happened and are still happening. This film will not be understood by smaller children because of its slow pace and reliance on an understanding of some of the issues that are presented but it will resonate with older children and adults. Nicholas Khayyat acts Yasin perfectly and all of his word and actions keep in the character of a confused 10 year old, making him completely believable. His mother (Anna Khaja) and father (David Mersault) are played well and keep the feel of the film. I completely connected with the characters and never felt that they were just actors. This is an enjoyable short film about inner strength, racisms and some of the flaws of our modern culture. Principal's Report - 8 August 2008 CalendarWe have put significant work into overhauling our Google school calendar on the web site. We will be changing over the weekend to a more comprehensive calendar where all relevant information about school activities will be placed. We will be looking to have this totally up to date by the end of next week. You should make it your first port of call if seeking information about events at the school. University of Melbourne AccessFitzroy High students can now access special admission requests to the University of Melbourne. We have received the following information from the Manager, National Admissions at the University regarding the status of Fitzroy High School under the VTAC SEAS underrepresented school category. Given that the school will have its first Year 12 cohort in 2008 Fitzroy High School will be classified as underrepresented for the purposes of Access Melbourne in 2009. Unfortunately at this stage VTAC are unable to add the school to the list of underrepresented schools for the University of Melbourne in the SEAS online application form. However, if we send the Manager National Admissions the details of our students in October she can ensure that they are considered under the underrepresented school category for Access Melbourne during selection in January. If any of our students are eligible to apply for Access Melbourne under any other category they are encouraged to apply using the online SEAS form and the University will add their status for the underrepresented school category when it receive their applications. Access Melbourne is the University’s special entry and access scholarships scheme, and attending a school that is underrepresented both in the tertiary sector generally and at the University of Melbourne is one of the eligibility categories. Applying for Access Melbourne will enhance the opportunities for selection and will also enable consideration for a Melbourne Access Scholarship. All Year 12 students at our school applying to study at the University of Melbourne next year should also submit an Access Melbourne application. Further details about Access Melbourne can be found on our website at: http://www.access.unimelb.edu.au. Sandra Dickins, our careers teacher, is the contact person at the school for this. Japanese students’ visitIt has been a pleasure to have our visitors from Asaka City Junior High School (near Tokyo) visiting us last week. An opportunity to participate in a cross cultural program such as this brings many benefits to all participants. I took the opportunity to take the staff from Asaka City to the Sapphire Year 7 exhibition on Thursday night and they were very impressed with the work presented. Thank you to all the families that provided accommodation and support for the Japanese students on their visit. Everyone seemed to have a great time and a number of the students indicated their desire to stay and attend Fitzroy High! On Saturday we had a farewell dinner and presentation ceremony at the Rydges Hotel in the city. The camaraderie amongst the students was evident. This was a very successful cultural exchange. Student ExchangeFurther to the above congratulations to Jordan in Year 9 who will be going to Brazil for six months next year on a cultural exchange. Principals’ Big Day OutLast Friday I attended an all day meeting with the other 1600 state school principals at the Convention Centre. We were provided with research insights by Professor Geoff Maters, the head of the Australian Council for Educational Research, and Professor Richard Elmore from Harvard University. The big issues dealt with on the day were coming up with a common understanding of effective instructional practice across the state and how schools could work together in networks more effectively. The thing that struck me most about the day was the sense of shared purpose amongst the principals. There is a real commitment to providing quality education within all schools in the state system. Building worksWe have now poured the concrete for the ground floor which provides us with a heightened sense of the shape of the new building. We are still on track to have this completed in time for the start of the next school year. Tim Fitzgerald Visitors from AsakaOn Sunday Japanese students arrived at Fitzroy high school to be picked up by their home stay families who would have them for 8 days. There were 12 girls and 6 boys that came from all different schools in Asaka city just near Tokyo. During this time so far we have had great experiences with them and we have learnt almost as much about their culture as they did of ours.
Renay, Tyrone, Phoebe, Imogen and Nikkola
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Telephone:
9488 1900 • Fax: 9481 6135 • info@fitzroyhs.vic.edu.au •
Falconer Street NORTH FITZROY 3068 |
