School Council News

School Council Report

School Council sends best wishes to the Chelt Sec community and deep gratitude to all the families, students and staff for hanging in there and contributing during lockdowns and remote school. We are so thrilled to have the kids back on site. We hope everyone is looking after themselves and doing OK. If you need support at this time, please contact School.

At recent School Council meetings, our key topics have been budgets and planning for 2022 to make sure we give our amazing kids the best learning experience possible, and work on the forthcoming new website - launching soon!

Report from Finance Sub-Committee

This month we reviewed the provisional 2022 budget prepared by school staff, balancing the demands of curriculum, infrastructure, immediate needs and long term planning. Key items on the table include

• Plans for the Year 7 Village - how we can best build a welcoming and inspiring new environment for our new intakes each year
• Shade sails to create outdoor learning spaces
• Getting all our school activities back to something like normal - learning, events, fundraising

The Finance Sub-Committee welcomes new community member Bridget Geers. Bridget has current year 11 and year 8 kids at Chelt and a background in finance and business and we look forward to her valuable contributions to Council. Sub-committee members are Karl Russell (Principal), Andrew Hall (President), Susannah Bowen-Wheatley (Treasurer) and Bridget Geers.

About School Council

Every government school has a council. School Council participates in the development and monitoring of the school’s strategic plan and school policy, and plays an important role in overseeing the school’s financial operations and budget. School Council members are drawn from students, parents, Department of Education and the community. Chelt Sec’s School council includes sub-committees Student Services, Education Policy, Engagement and Communication, Building and Grounds, Finance.

Meet your School Council members

Helen Page is an Assistant Principal who has taught for over 35 years. She has been Assistant Principal at Cheltenham Secondary for five years, moving from Frankston High School where she was Head of English.  As a passionate teacher of English, she is excited by innovative Teaching and Learning initiatives and chairs the Education Policy Sub-committee. Helen retires shortly and we thank her for the valuable insights and input she has made to Council, over and above her AP duties. 

Andrew Hall works in higher education and is a parent of two CheltSec students, a daughter in year 10 and a son in year 8. He has been a member of School Council since his daughter started at the school in 2018 and during that time has been involved in the Finance, Education Policy and Student Services sub-committees. His special interest areas include strategy and sustainability, diversity and inclusion, student voice, and he has a soft spot for the creative and performing arts.

How to get involved

To find out more or get involved with School Council, contact Andrew (President) at ahal@unimelb.edu.au