Moonee Ponds West Primary School

School Council

School Council Report

Meeting held: 28 May 2018 at 7.00pm in the Principal's office

 

Welcome

School Council President, Louise Evans, welcomed new councillors and Acting Principal Kerri Simpson to the meeting.

 

School Council Election

Two senior representatives from the Department of Education and Training visited for part of the meeting to explain the reasons for a new election of council members. These details were to be communicated to all members of the community via a formal letter.

 

Reports to Council

 

1. Principal’s Report

Annual Report

The Annual Report to the community has been prepared and will be communicated at this year’s Annual General Meeting. The date for the AGM will be determined at the next school council meeting in June.

Vision and Values

As part of the extensive work being carried out to develop the school’s four-year Strategic Plan, Lee Cath presented a draft Vision and Values statement and spoke about the consultation process to date.

Council endorsed the draft statement, which will be shared with the school community for further comment. It will then be tabled at the education subcommittee meeting on

14 June for consideration and adjustment if necessary.

The aim is for council to ratify the Vision and Values statement at its June meeting.

 

Information Communication Technology (ICT) Upgrade

In line with recommendations from the Department, the school will be upgrading its ICT infrastructure in several areas. This will result in a more reliable system that is capable of supporting the learning of our students and teachers.

 

Communication Upgrade

Kerri outlined the benefits of Compass, a web-based school management platform that many schools use. It was noted that MPW has trialed the Skoolbag App, but Compass is a communication, tracking and learning platform all in one. It was agreed that MPW would start moving across to Compass in Semester 2.

 

Staffing

Kerri welcomed new staff member Katherine Ayrton and congratulated Alyena Mohummadally, who has accepted an ongoing position within the school. A selection process is now underway for two new staff members who will fill leave positions in Semester 2.

 

Jarrod Sutton, an experienced Leading Teacher with strong ICT skills, will be joining the team on 4 June to support staff with our ICT upgrade and assist with a range of other technical duties.

 

2. Education Subcommittee

There was no education subcommittee report presented at this meeting. The next meeting will be held on 14 June.​

 

3. Environment Subcommittee

The environment subcommittee met on 23 May and is now defining roles and reviewing the school’s Environment Policy. The next meeting will be held on 20 June.

 

4. Junior School Council

Vicki and Helen reported that the students did a fantastic job running the Mother’s Day Stall this year, which raised $975.00 for charity. The JSC has decided to use some of the money raised to create a memorial for Stan, the school’s neighbour of many years.

The JSC is now busy choosing Fun Run charities and planning its new Wipe Out Waste (WOW) project.

 

5. Resources Subcommittee

There was no resources subcommittee meeting held in May. The next meeting will be held on 12 June.

 

General Business

 

Pick-up /Drop-off Zone​

 

Council continued to discuss the importance of parents using the ‘pick-up/drop-off zone’ areas safely.

Kerri is exploring some new options to improve the traffic flow in these areas, and she will keep the community up to date as more news comes to hand.

 

Toilet Redevelopment

 

The latest drawings from the working party were shared with council members. The community will continue to be kept up to date with this project via the Newsletter.

 

The next Moonee Ponds West Primary School Council Meeting will be held on 25 June 2018.

School Council Membership

Parent members:

  • Louise Evans - School President
  • Ben Atchison - Vice President
  • Lisa Shaw - Treasurer
  • Simone Beever
  • Lee Cath
  • Nigel Keegan
  • Jarrod Smith
  • Nigel Toussaint

DET members:

Kerri Simpson - Executive Officer

Michelle Bove

Helen Lockart

Vicki McCormack

Alyena Mohummadally

Sandra Monaghan (School Council Secretary)