Nokuna

School Council

Hi everyone! My name is Gavin Hodgins, and I am very excited to be your School Council President for 2023. You may or may not know me of the dad of Emma (Year 4) and Evie (Year 2).  I joined school council in 2019 to help with Weeden Heights, as I don’t have as much during school hours as I would like to be involved in other ways.  Being on school council is a very rewarding way of volunteering to help with the school community, and I am looking forward to another very exciting year for Weeden Heights Primary School.

 

Before I go any further, I would like to sincerely thank Karen Jansen, who has been our President for the last few years.  Karen has been a wonderful President and leaves me some very big shoes to fill. Karen has moved to be our Vice President this year and will be an amazing support for me as I learn to ropes in 2023, and a very highly valued member of our school council again this year.  Thank you, Karen!

 

We had our first meeting for the year last week, and it was wonderful to ‘get going’ with the school council business for 2023.  Apart from Karen and I, your councillors for 2023 are our wonderful parents Ana Marsh, Bhagya Karunarathna, Sharlina Lingam, Mayur Deivasigamani, Daniel Rodger, and Tony Goldsmith.  Joining them is our wonderful staff or Mrs. Kerryn Cheetham, Miss Samantha Walls, Mrs. Emma Harper, and our principal Ms. Kylie Campbell.   

 

If you are uncertain about the proceedings of a council meeting, much of the session is dedicated to receiving updates from various sub-committees, which this year are:

 

  • Finance 
  • Education 
  • Grants and grounds development, and 
  • School promotions, fundraising and community building. 

 

In addition, we get reports from the PFA, the Wellbeing Officer, the SRC, and Kylie's principal report. These updates provide a comprehensive summary of the school's current situation, and we engage in conversations regarding any pertinent topics, concerns, or choices that arise.

 

I must say it is so exciting to see everything going on at school. The building works are really coming along at a great pace, and it was very exciting to discuss this further at our meeting and hear that some classes will be moving into their new rooms very soon and that we have new toilet facilities opening also.  Having been at our school assembly this Monday, it was easy to see just how excited all the students (and teachers!) are about these exciting developments. 

 

Whilst it only feels like yesterday that we had the all-important first day of school for 2023, it's almost time for some school holidays. Term one feels like it has flown by, and I can't quite believe it’s almost Easter (although I say the same thing every year 😊).

 

One final thought for this month:  We would dearly love it if every parent could take the time to leave a review for Weeden Heights on Google (the link is here).  As the parents of our superb students, your feedback on platforms like Google is very important, and as we work to grow our amazing school and encourage more families to join our community, your help in getting the good word out there about Weeden Heights is very important. 

 

That’s all from me for this month – take care of yourselves, have a wonderful Easter holiday, and please do not be afraid to say hello if we cross paths at school!

 

 

 

 

 

Gavin Hodgins 

School Council President