Community is an integral aspect to positive school experiences. I have had a series of interactions in the past week or so that has drawn my focus into the importance of community and I wanted to share some of my more recent experiences with you today.

I am not sure that there is anything more important in terms of the long-term future of our children than focusing on how to be more sustainable. When I first begun at this school, a keen group of staff and parents approached me about starting a journey to become a ‘resource smart school’; this is a journey that I believe in whole-heartedly and will continue to strongly support. This week I met with Callie MacIntosh, one of the key drivers in this project, to discuss our progress towards achieving our first ‘star’ as a resource smart school. Later that same day, Katie and I sat with Emily Fenn, our teacher leader in this area, to plan how our teaching and learning program can make links with how we can live a more sustainable lifestyle. Next week we will meet as a School Council, where Megan Drysdale will report further updates to us as the chair of our Sustainability Sub-Committee. I am proud of our progress in this area and am committed to this being an ongoing focus for us.

Similarly, I had a discussion with another of our parents, Anthony Moran, about responsible composting. Anthony, with Melinda Williams, yet another of our wonderful parent volunteers, commit significant time to beautifying our grounds and developing our kitchen garden area. As our building project moves towards its conclusion, we will call on your support to complete landscaping around our new office administration area and passive play spaces. This community support is integral to providing the best possible physical environment for our students to learn within.

Whilst singing and dancing are absolutely not an area of strength of mine, I am always willing to step outside of my comfort zone for the benefit of our students and our school. When Steve Plarre reached out to me and asked whether I’d be prepared to play some air guitar or the like for a promotional video for the ‘Parents Battle of the Bands’ initiative, how could I say no?! The ‘Parents Battle of the Bands’ sees our local schools compete against each other for title of ‘best parent band’, with funds raised for the winners to go towards their local music program. Midge Bateup has been integral to this program, bringing our parent band ‘The Last Port’ together with our school program, led by Maria Chadwick. Through the talents of ‘The Last Port’, we have been able to book musical performances for our students to enjoy, whilst our parents have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to bond together over a shared love of music and performing. Be sure to book your tickets to the next instalment of ‘Parents Battle of the Bands’ at the Prince Bandroom in St. Kilda on Thursday 11th August.

I couldn’t talk about community without sharing some PFA news. I have headed across to one of our local cafes a couple of times in the past couple of weeks and each time I have seen various members of our PFA, discussing upcoming events over a morning coffee. Whether it was sushi day last week, the election day BBQ prior to that, or planning ahead for the return of our famous annual fete, our incredible team of parent volunteers are always supporting the school for the benefit of our students. In all the schools I have worked in, I have never seen a PFA as committed or as productive as our one here. I would like to thank each and every volunteer for all they give, much of it unseen, with the sole purpose of making our school a better place for each of our students. Be sure to get your tables ready for our upcoming Trivia event as tickets to go on sale soon.

When I first arrived at Port Melbourne, I was told that the community was strong and committed. Having been a part of this community for over two years now, I can honestly say there is no community that is more committed to contributing and more supportive of each other than the Port Melbourne community. That is something for all of us to be incredibly proud of.

Thanks for your support and keep doing your best.

Rohan.

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