Principal’s Message

Fitzroy Primary School is located in the densely populated inner northern suburb of Fitzroy on the fringe of the Melbourne Central Business District. We are proud of our well established French bilingual program that supports children’s French and English, as first and second languages.

Our vision at Fitzroy Primary School is to value language and culture within a community of practice where students become lifelong learners that are literate, numerate and curious. We strive to develop articulate, socially responsible and resilient individuals who are working towards achieving their full potential as global citizens.

The George St and Napier St buildings provide ample spaces for students to work in different learning environments and is set in attractive grounds that provide a range of active and passive play spaces for students. Our community work together on environmental sustainability projects, including the harmony garden and kitchen garden, worm farm and water tanks.

The school caters for both local and international students from culturally and linguistically diverse families and there is a large cohort of students whose families are employed in professional careers.

The school operates in multi-age groups across grade levels and is an inclusive community that fosters belonging, where staff and students are known to each other. This philosophy is expressed through the school’s commitment to:

• A curriculum that is child centred with a strong commitment to multiculturalism.
• Teaching strategies based in inquiry learning, differentiated teaching, student directed learning, cooperative and shared learning.
• Personalised learning through combinations of flexible, multi-age, multicultural, mixed ability classrooms.
• Use of IT, specialist teachers, extra-curricular opportunities, excursions and camps to extend learning to beyond the school boundaries.
• Teaching and learning in programs that are responsive to individual needs and differences;
• Developing students’ emotional intelligence through explicit teaching and wellbeing initiatives;
• Buildings students’ cultural intelligence through the French bilingual program and a curriculum that celebrates global perspectives
• Establishing an inclusive and culturally safe school where the strengths of Aboriginal culture, values and practices are respected.

Our school motto “Inspired by Learning” reflects our belief that by creating an engaging environment our students will be motivated and enthused by learning. At Fitzroy Primary School we provide a stimulating curriculum that engages students and caters for a range of learning styles. Our main focus is on the development of Literacy and Numeracy skills with consistent teaching approaches used to cater for differing student needs. This is informed by regular assessment and consists of targeted support programs, direct instruction, extension of highly abled students, inquiry learning and the use of information and communication technology across the curriculum.

The staff at our school are a dedicated and extremely hard-working group of committed professionals, who are striving to plan for improvement based on the different needs of individual students. They are passionate and knowledgeable about teaching and learning.

Our school community is tightly integrated within the school and it is critical that the partnership is respectful, has a strong values base and is always student-centred. Parents can engage with teachers at any time about how their children are doing at school.

A sense of community characterises Fitzroy Primary School, we are a school small enough to know all students well, and large enough to provide a broad and engaging curriculum. The school believes that its uniqueness lies fundamentally in this sense of community.

Angela Richmond

Principal