Acting Principal

Mr Chris Grimmer

Fortnightly Newsletter Trial

Following this week’s newsletter we will be trialing a fortnightly production of the main newsletter. The fortnightly newsletter will contain all the reports, photos, events etc (as it always has) but then the following week we will be just producing an A4 single page, a 'Reminders & Events Page' for families. This will contain the upcoming event dates and any reminders that need to go out for the week. It won’t have reports & photos included, with the idea that you can put it on the fridge if you normally print it off, or just quickly scan through the key reminders on your device.

We will also continue to put a lot of information & photos out on Facebook, Compass and via email so that families will still have ample information about school events. We will seek feedback from our school community early in Term 2 as to whether this is an effective way of maintaining great communication between school and home.

China Exchange

Last year marked the final year of our ten year student exchange with our Chinese schools. Unfortunately, due to increasing costs and a limited number of students across the four local schools interested in attending future trips we have made the difficult decision not to renew the exchange agreement. Last year we investigated the possibility of running trips every second year for Year 9 and 10 students but unfortunately, whilst we had a number of students interested, there were only one or two other students interested in attending from across all three of our partner schools. Whilst we are not ruling out the possibility of organizing an alternative experience in the future, at this time there will not be a trip to China offered for our current Year 10 students. 

Important Reminder-Kiss & Go Zone

With our growing student numbers comes an increase in traffic during pick up and drop off times, so it is even more important that families observe the signs at our Kiss and Go zone at the front of the school. Please ensure you don’t leave your vehicle in these areas as the traffic becomes congested and it is extremely frustrating for others if they are unable to pause in these areas to drop their children off. Thanks for your co-operation with this issue.

Merbein P-10 College Council Elections - 2020

In accordance with DET guidelines, an election of members for the 2020 School Council will be conducted during February and March. 

The new 2020 Council will be formed from an election process and will be based on a membership size of 15, with a configuration of 8 parents, 5 staff (including the principal) and 2 co-opted community members.  

Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.  

All Victorian government schools with a Year 7 cohort and above, now have a mandated, elected Student Member Category on their School Council. Each school’s Constituting Order is increased by two positions to allow for two student members to be elected to council.

The School Council election process for all four categories (Parent, DET Employee, Student and Community member) must be completed by 31 March 2020.

2020 Merbein P-10 College Council Election Process

Due to the scheduled expiry of their terms of office, several members of Council will be retiring in accordance with DET guidelines and the Council Constituting Order. Consequently, the following vacancies are being declared:                              

• 2 Parent category vacancies
• 2 DET category vacancies
• 2 Student vacancies

Up to two Co-opted Community positions will be filled by the newly formed council following the conclusion of elections.

I sincerely thank the members of the 2019 School Council for volunteering their time, expertise and energy to enable Merbein P-10 College to continue to grow as a successful community school. I was made to feel extremely welcome throughout my time on council and I’m looking forward to continuing the work again in 2020.

I would also like to specifically thank the following retiring Councillors for their valuable contribution to the ongoing development of Merbein P-10 College over the past year:

Steve Liddicoat and Scott Barnes (Parent Category)

Sandra Luitjes and Chris Blackie (DET Category)                

Xander Rothwell and Bree Antonie (Student Category)

Graeme Worthington (Co-opted Community member)

I also would like to thank and acknowledge the support and leadership provided by both Steve Liddicoat and Scott Barnes in their roles as School Council President and Vice President throughout 2019.

If either or both categories (Parent or DET) have more nominations than positions then a ballot will be conducted.  All parents or guardians of students enrolled at the school are eligible to vote for parent members, and staff vote for staff members.

Parents who are DET employees may stand for election in the Parent category, but only up to a maximum of two. This is to ensure that the majority of the college council is created through a combination of parent and community members and not DET employees.

Nominations for a position on the Merbein P-10 College Council will open on Friday February 7th and close on Monday February 17th, 2020 at 4pm.

The school council will continue to play a vital role in achieving the best-possible outcomes for our young people, ensuring that our school continues to build effective connections with the local community.  I therefore encourage parents and staff to consider nominating for a position on the Merbein P-10 College Council and to support us in the important work that lies ahead. 

Enclosed in this newsletter is an information sheet that provides information about the role and membership of School Council. 

Parent nomination forms will be available at the school office for any parent considering nominating.  If you would like a nomination form to be emailed directly to you, please contact the General Office. 

Nomination Forms can also be downloaded from the school web page.

As mentioned above, if there are more nominations than vacancies, an election will be called and candidates will be invited to prepare a statement of no more than 150 words.  More details about the recommended content of statements will be provided for candidates if this occurs.

School Council Elections 2020 - Information for Parents

What is a School Council and what does it do?

All government schools in Victoria have a School Council. They are legally formed bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within centrally provided guidelines. In doing this, a School Council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.

Who is on the School Council?

There are four possible categories of membership:

• A mandated elected Parent category. More than one third of the total members must be from this category. Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DET) employees can be Parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not employed at the school.
• A mandated elected DET employee category. Members of this category may make up no more than one third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.
• An optional Community member category. Its members are appointed by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. DET employees are not eligible to be Community members.
• A mandated elected Student member category. This membership category is required for all schools with a Year 7 and above cohort.

Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. Half the members must retire each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.

Why is Parent membership so important?

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of the school.

Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

Do I need special experience to be on School Council?

Each member brings their own valuable life skills and knowledge to the role. Councillors may need to develop skills and acquire knowledge in areas that are unfamiliar to them. What you do need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.

How can you become involved?

The most obvious way is to vote in the elections, which are held in Term 1 each year. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant.

In view of this, you might seriously consider standing for election as a member of the school council or encourage another person to stand for election.

What do you need to do to stand for election?

The principal will issue a notice and call for nominations following the commencement of Term 1 each year. All school council elections must be completed by the end of March.

If you decide to stand for election, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself in the Parent category.

DET employees whose child is enrolled in a school in which they are not employed are eligible to nominate as parents for the school council where their child is enrolled

Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the principal within the time stated on the notice of election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt in the mail following the receipt of your completed nomination.

If there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted during the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.

Remember

Ask at the school for help if you would like to stand for election and are not sure what to do.

Consider standing for election to council this year.

Be sure to vote in the elections.

Contact the principal for further information.