Mullauna Links

School Council Report &

Student Representative 

May 2023

School Council Term Two Report

On Tuesday evening, 16 May we gathered for our first regular meeting for Term 2. It was a jam-packed agenda with a number of guest presenters.

 

We were delighted to hear an update from a representative of Brand Architects regarding the building program. Despite uncertainties in the building industry the build is still progressing according to schedule. I'm sure the whole school community eagerly awaits the completion of this project at the end of 2023 - the new facility promises to be amazing.

 

In a School Council first, we had a special 4-legged guest at our meeting. Ruby, a 6-month-old Cavoodle, was accompanied by Erin, Mullauna's Wellbeing Coordinator. Erin provided an overview of the new 'Dogs in Education' program, detailing its rationale and operation. We also learned about the annual 'Dogs Connect' accreditation process that the school is undertaking. The School Council passed a motion supporting a new 'Dogs in Education' school policy.

 

We were also pleased to confirm the 2023 budget during our meeting.  One of the primary responsibilities of School Council is to review, approve, and monitor the annual budget. The budget encompasses various components, such as curriculum programs, administration, and other running costs (the salary budget, which falls under workforce planning, is not a responsibility of the School Council).  In November 2022 the School prepared an indicative budget for the upcoming year based on projected student numbers, estimated revenue, and expenditure. This indicative budget was presented to the School Council at that time for review. With the recent enrolment census and confirmation of student funding complete, the budget was returned to School Council this month for confirmation.

 

Finally, whether you are a new parent/carer or a seasoned one, we would like to encourage you to explore ways a Parent Association could enhance and strengthen our wonderful school and consider being a part of it.

 

Liesl Coulthard

President, School Council

 

Mullauna Parent Association

Last Monday evening, a group of Mullauna parents met at the college with school council representatives to discuss the formation of a Mullauna parent association. We were joined by Diana Eaves, president of the Vermont SC Community Association, to give us with an overview of the benefits and challenges of forming such a group. After close to an hour of questions and discussion, the parents present agreed to commit to the next stage of the project by forming the interim committee to develop the draft constitution, based on a Department of Education template. This draft will then be sent to the Minister for Education for approval; once received, we can hold our inaugural meeting. 

Student Representative Council Report

Last Monday’s SRC meeting was an extremely productive session, receiving input from many student leaders on numerous topical issues. 

 

  • We discussed the impressive turnout of students and prospective families on Open Night on Thursday 4 May and possible improvements to be made to the way tours are run. 
  • As the Student Attitudes to School Survey is approaching, Mr Ruff ran through data from previous years and students brainstormed ideas for how best to smooth out procedure and questions in the 2023 Survey. Several representatives raised the ambiguity of language in the survey and how to increase the rate of student responses, with further meetings being set up for students to have a more active participation in, and greater understanding of the Attitudes to School Survey. 
  • The Fundraising free-dress day is coming up soon (Friday 23rd June, at the end of term) and the SRC will discuss and plan how it can support Rafter House in the Push-Up Challenge.  The Rafter House team, led by Keira Pontefract, has set the whole Mullauna community a challenge – the Push-Up Challenge. There is a website which will take you through to the information you need. We've also made a community within the website where anyone can go to sign up. People can create or join teams or even just sign up on their own.  Here is the link to the community page:  https://www.thepushupchallenge.com.au/fundraiser/mullaunacollege  This QR Code will also take you to the page 

Andrew Fankhauser, Lucy Ongaro, Matilda Ridgway, Alexander Sayle

College Captains