Meet our School Council
Dear school community,
The School Council had its first meeting with its new members in March this year, and we welcomed PC President Amy Pate, Issy Arieli and Marc Warshall as new members. I want to thank again Tom Roth and Benjamin Avanzi for their valuable contributions during their tenure at the School Council.
The School Council plays a key role in establishing the school’s broad direction and vision. It also influences other matters such as strategic planning, policy development, finance and community engagement. It is however not involved in the daily operations of the school. We leave that up to the School staff, the Principal and the support team. For 2023, the School Council’s main priorities will be the renovation of the school buildings and grounds and keep fostering our school community engagement. As part of our ongoing governance, we will also monitor the school finances, the school policies, and the French binational program. As we are progressing on these initiatives, we are always welcoming parents or community members who wish to help. If you are interested, please reach out to Chris Chant.
I am very pleased to introduce you the 2023 CJC School Council members:
Joseph Chang (School Council President) – Joseph has three children, including two at the school, in Grade 5 and Grade 2. Joseph was previously engaged in the masterplan and in Finance as Treasurer, and is now President of the School Council.
Adina Nijemcevic (School Council Vice President) – Adina has two children, including one at the school in Grade 3. Adina is probably the person who is the most familiar with CJC, as she is herself a CJC alumni and now a close neighbour of the school. Adina is engaged in Team Kids sub-committee, but also in the Parents’ Committee. Adina works in adult education.
Marc Warshall (Treasurer) – Marc has a son in Grade 1. He is a class convenor, Friday treats coordinator and regular volunteer in the Parent’s committee. Marc is new to the school council and has taken on the Treasurer role which fits in nicely with his finance and accounting background working for Creature Technology, an animatronics manufacturing company.
Anne-Sophie Aguado – Anne-Sophie has 2 daughters in Grade 2 and 4. She has been involved with the school Parents’ Committee as the treasurer for the past two years and has been a member of the School Council for a year. She is involved in the Community engagement and school identity subcommittee and is continuing to bring the CJC community together. She works for 7 Eleven as a sourcing manager.
Issy Arieli – Issy is very fortunate to have 5 children. Two have completed their studies at CJC and are now studying at Glen Eira College. Our one boy is in year 3 and a daughter is in year 1, while our youngest will start at CJC next year. I am returning to the school council after missing a year. Issy is involved in property investments after previously having a software business.
Asmine Hammadou (EFM President) – Asmine has a child in Grade 2. In Melbourne since 2013, Asmine engaged with the EFM subcommittee three years ago as the secretary and helped the association transition to the online platform through Covid. She took over the role of president in 2021. For the School Council, she convenes the French subcommittee and is involved in the School Engagement subcommittee.
Craig Jacobs – Craig has two children in Grade 1 and 3. Craig has a vested interest in their education and the environment in which they learn. Joining the School Council is his way of helping the school thrive after a difficult couple of years. Craig is hoping to put his work and life experience to good use in whatever ways CJC requires.
Amy Pate (Parents’ Committee President) – She has been involved in the PC for 5 years, 2 as President. She has two children in the binome program, one in Grade 5 and one in Grade 1. She is part of the community engagement forum and also liaises between the School, HIP, EFM and the PC.
Charlie Porter – Charlie has two children, in Grade 3 and in Prep at CJC. Charlie is chair of the Buildings, Grounds and Masterplan sub-committee, providing for the maintenance of existing facilities including, while developing and considering various capital works plans and proposals, all with the goal of making the school the best environment for children, staff and the school community. Charlie works in corporate and commercial communications, owning a company that delivers video and animation content.
Maud Rocher Vagedes - Maud has a daughter in Grade 5 and a son in Grade 1 She is leading the School Community Engagement & School Identity subcommittee, and is also involved in the Parents’ Committee. Maud works in Marketing and Product Development.
Chris Chant (School Principal) – Chris joined CJC as School Principal in 2017 for a short stay and returned in 2018 as the ongoing Executive Principal and has been instrumental to the recent developments of the school.
Caroline Pommier (French Director) – Caroline joined CJC in 2015. Caroline works closely with our local communities to improve the school’s connection with families. She leads the French Binational Program and is also the Vice President of the AAFEBS ( Australian Association of French English Bilingual Schools).
Broden Borg (Assistant Principal) – Broden joined CJC in 2021. He works closely with all teaching staff to improve the teaching and learning at CJC.
Anne Aubrée (Grade 5 teacher) – Anne joined CJC in 2007. Anne, her husband and their 2 boys arrived in Australia in 2004 initially for 4 years…but have decided to stay a little bit longer! Anne is engaged in the French binome subcommittee.
Cat Wilson (Grade 1/2 teacher) – Cat joined CJC in 2009. Cat is teaching in Year 1/2 and in Year 1 French Enrichment, and coordinates our working bees and environmental initiatives.
Front row (from left to right):
Chris Chant, Marc Warshall, Anne-Sophie Aguado, Cat Wilson
Second row (from left to right):
Charlie Porter, Caroline Pommier, Anne Aubree, Issy Arieli, Asmine Hammadou, Joseph Chang, Maud Rocher Vagedes
Apologies:
Adina Nijemcevic, Amy Pate, Craig Jacobs, Broden Borg