School Council
School Council Newsletter Report - 20 June 2024
The fourth meeting of School Council for 2024 was held onsite to farewell Sue Seneviratne as she embarks on 6 months of long service leave. Sue did manage to give us the inside scoop on Chris Johns who will be acting Principal during this time, and we are confident that WVPS will be in good hands. Chris brings with him a lot of energy and experience and we look forward to supporting him during his time here.
This month the Policy Subcommittee met once again with Team Kids, our Out of School Hours provider. With over 100 students in their care, it is important to maintain open and productive communication to ensure our children are receiving consistent, high quality care. Goals from last month's meeting were reviewed as was feedback sought from parents. We hope that as they find their feet, parents and carers observe happier and more engaged children and of course, more artwork being sent home.
The Policy group also reviewed and updated documentation on Dogs at WVPS and Working with Children Checks.
The Finance Committee did what they do best and reviewed the finance reports for May, working through the details of funding coming into the school as well as that going out. Parent payments continue to come in and we can see a boost to the Library and Building Fund contributions. For those who aren’t aware, these are a tax-deductible contribution to support renovations, upgrades and maintenance of school infrastructure and to support the purchase of books and other equipment for our library. With the end of financial year almost here, if you haven’t already, consider making a tax-deductible contribution. I don’t think there can ever be too many books for our kids to read and enjoy.
There were updates to purchasing cards and signatories with changes being made to reflect recent staff movements. We approved an excursion to Science Works for the Grade 2 kids, scheduled for the end of August and we had a conversation about the Victorian School Savings Bonus. The Department of Education is still working on how this will be rolled out. It is expected that guidance to schools and families will be available in Term 3.
The $400 on-off School Saving Bonus will be available to parents and carers of children enrolled in a government school in 2025. The Bonus will be provided during Term 4 making sure families have time to plan and budget for the 2025 school year. https://www.vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus
A quick review of social and fundraising had us all thinking about dessert, with Billy G’s Cookie Dough fundraiser selling 520 tubs over the 2 week promotion. Thank you to everyone who participated, raising much needed funds for our school. I know the P&F worked very hard moving boxes, sorting and distributing orders on Wednesday afternoon, but I think they had a great time doing it. Gifts for the Fathers Day Stall have been ordered and received and a request will go out in August seeking volunteers to assist.
Finally, we say goodbye to Sue and wish her well on her next adventure. Appointed as Principal in 2014, she opened WVPS in 2015 with only 151 students, a thousand less than where we are today. I am sure it will not be easy to entrust its care to others, but we thank you for all of the blood, sweat and tears (I am sure there will be some shed on Friday) you have put into WVPS over the last decade. On behalf of School Council, we thank you for giving us the opportunity to represent our school community and actively participate in the governance of Wyndham Vale Primary School. Thank you for your leadership and support.
Our next meeting is Thursday 15 August 2024, this will be held at the school and all are welcome to attend.
Sharon Gatt – School Council President