Acting Assistant Principal Update

Teaching & Learning

What Happens on Student-Free Days?

In the first session of the Friday April 19 student-free day, Wellbeing and Inclusion Leading Teacher, Linda Ekman, delivered a short biology-themed lesson entirely in Swedish to bewildered and suddenly anxious FHS staff from Wurun and the Fitzroy North campus.

The purpose was to simulate what EAL (English as an Additional Language) students experience in our classrooms when we believe we are giving simple and obvious instructions!

This was immediately contrasted with a continuation of the lesson but with targeted EAL strategies, delivered by Literacy Learning Specialist, Olivia Meisel. The introduction of visual scaffolding of vocabulary together with other supports encouraged several brave teachers to summarise a paragraph of spoken Swedish text with impressive success.

Olivia’s session continued with an examination of background language data for FHS students, and an explanation of the power of low-stakes handwriting opportunities for promoting an understanding of language structure.

The main message? Literacy learning happens in every classroom and every subject.

STEAM Futures Conference 2024

Science teachers Julian Maes and Dylan Wood attended the STEAM Futures Conference with Acting Assistant Principal Zoran Vasic on Friday May 24. STEAM is the exciting new version of STEM that includes the Arts as an equal member (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics), representing the essential 21st Century capabilities for the future of work and learning.

At the conference we learnt about cultural astronomy from University of Melbourne Associate Professor, Duane Hamacher, in particular how indigenous peoples mapped the terrain around them onto the night sky to describe pathways between water sources and landmarks through storytelling about specific strings of stars.

We also heard from Victoria’s Lead Scientist, Amanda Caples, and founding Director of the Centre for the New Workforce at Swinburne University, Sean Gallagher, about the opportunities and challenges from disruption to the future of work and learning by AI tools and technologies.

Amanda and Sean were very excited to hear about the STEAM New Metrics curriculum under development at Fitzroy High by a working group of teachers from across learning domains. Watch this space for exciting news!

Victoria’s Lead Scientist, Amanda Caples, with science teachers Dylan Wood and Julian Maes and Acting Assistant Principal Zoran Vasic

A Glimpse into the Classroom

Year 10 science students performed magic by disappearing copper, and through a sequence of careful reactions over many days, coaxing the copper back into metallic form — demonstrating the Law of Conservation of Mass! What they discovered is that despite a series of chemical changes, the mass of copper is preserved, as demanded by one of the most central laws of nature.

Photos courtesy of Adam Tiller

Important Dates

We have several important dates in the calendar for the remainder of Term 2, including a public holiday on Monday June 10 for the King’s Birthday, with Year 10 exams that same week on Thursday and Friday (June 13 and 14).

Year 10s will be on work experience beginning the following Monday (June 17) for a fortnight, with a Years 7-10 Student-Free Day on Tuesday (June 18) to make space for GAT assessment at Wurun for senior students.

The following week on Wednesday June 26 is a compulsory Senior Program Information Night for Year 10 parents and families at Wurun, from 6-8 pm.

Open Day 2024

FHS Open Day at the beginning of Term 2 was a huge success. Prospective families from the local area and from further afield enjoyed a snapshot of the inner workings of our classrooms and were able to observe the excellent teaching and learning as well as a look at our facilities. The tours booked in advance via our website were at capacity. We engaged two tour groups across our 7-10 campus followed by a comprehensive tour of our Wurun Senior campus. We are so fortunate to be able to showcase the learning journey from Year 7 right through to Year 12.

A huge thank you to staff and students for presenting their work in the exhibition space for the Open Day tours. The exhibition space provided visitors with an overview of the current learning taking place across all learning areas.

FHS anticipates adding another Open Day toward the end of this year.

School Tours

At the beginning of a school year there is an appetite for school tours as Year 6 families across the state are making their choices for Secondary Schooling. It is a pivotal time to open our doors and welcome prospective families. It was a very busy time in term 1 with every tour at capacity. Currently tours are scheduled weekly with one on a Monday followed by a Wednesday the following week. We have arranged these particular days over the fortnight in order to provide prospective families an opportunity to see a variety of core subjects and elective subjects in operation. The feedback about our programs and subject offerings has been extremely positive. Prospective families are able to see how elective offerings are the foundation for future pathways for students. Our Explore and Extend electives are articulated throughout the tours as well as the opportunities created for students through Connect and Discover at Year 9 and 10.

Student Ambassadors

At FHS we are very fortunate to have a wonderful group of Student Ambassadors. In my role as AP (both in 2023 and currently) I have worked closely with the Student Ambassadors in order to support the marketing of the school through the school tour schedule.

Ambassadors in Year 10 work with me at the beginning of  the school year. We workshop ideas on relevant programs and extracurricular offerings that can be shared on a school tour. The students also articulate their strengths and where they feel they could be best placed to speak on a tour. As the Year 10s participate on the tours, we begin recruiting potential Year 9 Ambassadors who shadow the Year 10s. This transition is vital!  As the Year 10s become busier with their school commitments the Year 9s take the baton. We are currently in the change over phase and I am very proud of the upcoming Year 9 Ambassadors. The feedback we have received from prospective families on the tours has been so positive. They love hearing from our students. It is an authentic approach to marketing the school and it speaks volumes about how articulate and confident our students at FHS are.

I would like to thank the following Student Ambassadors who have been such a joy to work with.

Barnaby I

Mavis C

Emil C

Ali M

Elliott S

Leo OH

Anya H

Auley B

Future events

We look forward to inviting Year 5 students from our feeder network to participate in Sampler Sessions in late Term 3 and early Term 4. We began working on this important project in late 2023 as a way to build upon the vital relationships between our local primary schools and FHS. It was a huge success last year and as a result we have had requests from primary schools who missed out on the opportunity to join us this year.

The program caters to current Year 5 students and offers them a taste of the Secondary school experience. Students participate in a modified timetable that includes a variety of elective and core subjects on our campus. Stay tuned for more information on this.

Margaret Doucas and Zoran Vasic

Acting Assistant Principals at FHS