Farewell From: Andrew Schoenmaekers  

Farwell From:  Andrew Schoenmaekers - Past SAC Chairman & Finance Chairman and Alumni Committee

This is an opportunity for me to thank all those I have been involved with over my time as Finance Committee member and Board/SAC member since August 2016. I will continue to represent the Alumni as best I can.

To Tim, Symone, Shelley, the Parish Priests, Teachers and Board/SAC members present and past thank you for the opportunity to be present and part of the activities over the past six years and there has been a lot that has happened at the school with improvements across all areas.

To the students, thank you for allowing me to support and participate with you in areas such as mock interviews, graduation days, opening and closing days and the wonderful musicals! It has been fantastic to see all the achievements and talent many have made and expressed over the years in all areas of academic, sport and support to the community.

As a past student (1975) and having my children attend St John's as well, it was an opportunity to give back to the school for all I have experienced over the years. 

I was approached by Fr Brian Collins and Michelle De Koning to take up a Finance Role as an Accountant to support the Board and management. I had no hesitation to step in and work with them. Then moving to the Board as Chairman  and Chairman of the Finance Committee following the hard work of Michelle De Koning and Kellie Waldron.

To be able to attend the Musicals, Debutantes, opening and closing Masses was a real treat and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the P&F, teachers and students and their efforts come to fruition.

A lot has happened over the years of my involvement and it was great to be able to provide support as best I could during those times.  Working with Brendan Watson then Tim and Nic Salvatore and now Shelley we were able to continue to improve processes, reporting, compliance, policies and procedures and responsibilities to assist the staff in all areas to be comfortable that the controls and support were available to them and to the students. Complispace provided a secure and accessible avenue for the storing and easy accessing of all policies and procedures.

We worked on the Constitution to ensure all members of the then Board understood their obligations and requirements to undertake their duties and also enjoy their time on the Board.  Part of this included opening communications to staff, students and the community to interact with the Board more openly and ensure all lines of communications was transparent. Then the change to the SAC (School Advisory Committee) changed a lot of direct responsibilities to the Archdiocese under the MACS structure but provided a mechanism for Working Parties to be formed to invite community, parents and staff to actively participate in areas that interest them or that they have skills to provide support. I highly recommend that if you can join the SAC or one of the Working Parties it is very rewarding. 

Then the Master Plan for the redevelopment and expansion of the facilities at the school. This was started early in 2017 as a 10 year plan with involvement of all groups across the school.  The initial Library, ground floor of the De La Salle building and then the sporting area showed that the school was committed to improving facilities. Then the Stage 1 of the Admin building provided the basis to highlight a grand entrance and improved facilities for staff, teachers and students to access.

The new sports soccer area created new opportunities for an A grade facility for the students and the school to market and attract new students and the community in general. It was great to see the related primary schools enjoying their sports days and the soccer clubs also using the facilities.

And to date the completion of the Sr Genevieve Robertson Junior STEM building as Stage 2 of the Master plan...Well done to all involved, it was fantastic that I was able to see the recent opening.  To Tim, Shelley and staff congratulations for a job well done.

During this time the school also upgraded communications (well needed during the COVID period) and the Solar panels to save on energy costs and provide sustainable energy source to the school.

To the staff, teachers and students:  well the past two years have been nothing more than disruptive but managed exceptionally well to maintain support and continued education as best they could during the lockdowns. We were kept up to date and it was a credit to you all for getting through it through all different means of communications, well done and thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the school.

Finally to my friends and colleagues on the Board/SAC and Finance Committee over the years, a huge thank you for your commitment and support to me and the school. I have made many friends on these committees and their participation was and is always exemplary and fun. 

All the very best and God Bless,

Andrew Schoenmaekers