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Best of luck with your search for the perfect school!
Tour Details
Fitzroy Primary School is set out on two campuses which are across the road from each other. One campus has prep to grade 2 and grades 3 to 6 are on the other campus.
The classes are composite classes: prep/grade 1, grade 2/3, grade 4/5 and grade 6. The current grade 6 cohort is the last class to not be in the bilingual program which is why they aren’t in a composite year level. The school has separate play areas for the children with different recess and play times too.
There are currently 226 children at the school and 11 classes. The school appears to be supportive and inclusive environment. There are children from many different cultures which was lovely to see.
The school is currently undergoing renovations. The prep to grade 2 area has undergone some major redevelopment and it looks really fresh and clean. There are plans to continue making further renovations to the school. The school grounds were well maintained, and they had different play spaces, such as a soccer court and a large basket ball area. They also have a sensory play space on one campus and a garden for their kitchen program.
The class sizes were an average size for a public school, and all the children were all well-behaved and attended to their teachers.
Bilingual education at Fitzroy Primary School
There was discussion around why the school had chosen French for their bilingual program. Nathan noted that there was a group of French parents who had created a play group for French children. They decided to put a request to the Education Department to request for French to be taught at a local Melbourne school. The ins and out of this were not further discussed.
Due to being a bilingual school, the focus is largely on children becoming competent and proficient in the use of the French language. During the school week, there are subjects that are only taught in French: Maths, French literacy, enquiry learning and French. Most of the teachers from the school are French natives and so are the Education Support staff. They are very understanding of children/families who have no prior knowledge of French or the French culture.
They welcome all families from different nationalities, and this was reflected in the students enrolled at the school. There was not a particular focus of the tour as they would like the tour to be catered to the people on the tour.
We went into the classes and the teachers mostly spoke French and used materials to support the children’s ability to understand the French language such as pictures and slowing down their words.
My impression was that the bilingual program was a compulsory part of the school as there were no classes that were only exposed to English.
Enrolment at Fitzroy Primary School
Due to being a public school, they must accept children who are zoned to their school. However if there are spots available at their school, they will contact families on the waitlist.
Wellbeing at Fitzroy Primary School
They have a Leading Teacher and Assistant Principal who are their primary wellbeing team, in addition to classroom teachers who form the first and most important layer of wellbeing support.
They access Student Support Services psychologists when needed and also employ a private psychologist to run small group sessions (this is funding dependent). They are happy to work with any allied health that are already in place for students (e.g. speech therapists, OTs) and make space available for them to attend school to run sessions.
Overall they operate a 3 tier system:
- Tier 1 consists of universal supports for all students and includes School Wide Positive Behaviour Support program, teaching of Resilience Rights and Respectful Relationships program, mental health in primary schools program, breakfast club, regulation strategies/mindfulness.
- Tier 2 is focused on students who need extra supports and includes friendship groups, small support groups, explicit modelling of strategies, support plans (individual education plans, behaviour support plans, escalation plans, safety plans, mental health plans). This is targeted support based on student needs.
- Tier 3 is for a small group of students who need a larger level of support for their wellbeing and is a case managed approach. A wide range of supports are used for children at this stage.
Sport at Fitzroy Primary
They currently offer Physical Education classes each week and also have been able to integrate exposure to non traditional sports to provide a range of experiences for our students. They have an annual swimming/water safety program.
They will be bringing interschool sports for year 5/6 back in 2025. They will be bringing a fun athletics carnival back in 2024 as well.
Music at Fitzroy Primary
Students experience music in their performing arts curriculum, of which they have a class each week. They will learn to read music while playing the recorder, and will be able to learn a range of percussion and string instruments (ukulele, guitar).
Private music lessons are available at school through the French Music Teacher. Their performing arts teacher has reintroduced both junior and senior school choirs this year.
Kitchen garden program
In the kitchen/garden class, the students pick seasonal fruits and vegetables from their garden and prepare the food. They are expected to wash their dishes as well. Nathan noted that this program is fantastic for children to learn where food comes from and also teaches life skills for adulthood.
Religion
They do not study any religion at school.
Camps
School camps are available for year 3-6 students each year. They are working through the planning of a sleepover for year 1-2 and a night of fun experience for Preps.
Clubs
They work to build student voice by having lunchtime clubs and having students playing a strong role in organising and running these clubs. Clubs that have been suggested are garden club, chess club, games club, lego club, Minecraft club. They are always open to further clubs from student suggestions.
Final thoughts
The tour at Fitzroy Primary School really focused on the culture and improving the understanding of the French language and culture. I felt there was also a focus on how to improve student’s academic skills as I observed students receiving additional support from within the school and out of the school which was pleasing to see. The renovations to the school as well as the rising popularity of bilingual education, it is evident that Fitzroy Primary School will continue to grow in popularity.
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