School Council

School Council Update

Hi Monty Families,

Wow, is it really week 4 already! It’s such a busy time of year and there is a lot going on at Monty too. Hopefully everyone has well and truly settled back into school routines ready for a successful term 4.

At the end of term 3, school council was involved in the process of selecting an OSHC provider, as our agreement with Camp Australia comes to an end this year. A number of providers were invited to express their interest, and they were all very keen to be a part of Team Monty after seeing what a wonderful school and community we have. Council received detailed proposals and then heard presentations from 4 of the providers at our meeting in September. We also reviewed and considered the results of the OSHC survey that was distributed earlier this year - thank you to all of the families that provided valuable feedback. We are excited to let you know that an agreement has been reached with Camp Australia to continue as Montmorency Primary School’s OSHC provider for the next 3 years. And we would especially like to thank Eta for her commitment and dedication to the Monty OSHC program! 

Out first meeting of the term was held this week and centred around plans for next year, which Janene has communicated via Compass earlier this week. There is also a lot of work still going on regarding the school upgrades and hopefully there will be more to share soon. We would like to say a big thanks to everyone who has contributed to working bees and preparation around the school in the recent months to get ready for the upgrades. And also thanks to Dave Koolstra who has been a superstar coordinating the preparations and contributing a lot of his time to the school upgrade project on behalf of council, along with the leadership team. 

Finally, we have previously communicated the need for families to make voluntary contributions to ensure the continued success of our excellent educational programs here at Monty. While these payments are requested at the start of the year, they can be made at any time. If you haven’t already but are able to make a contribution before the end of the year it would be greatly appreciated. More information can be found in this / previous newsletters and you can also ask at the office if you have any questions.

Take care and have a great weekend, 

Nicole MacDonald (on behalf of School Council)

Monty Primary – School Fees 

Why do state schools have school fees, and why should you pay them? 

State schools are, in theory, ‘free’, yet the government only funds the bare minimum in terms of buildings, staffing and materials. 

All else - including important digital technology such as new chromebooks, the school nurse, extra support staff, SAKG staff, our Science program, our specialised wellbeing programs and staff, as well as extension/enhancement small groups -are all funded by the ‘voluntary’ payments parents make towards fees.

Recent changes mean that the Victorian Government does not allow schools to invoice parents directly for compulsory fees; rather, they are only allowed to ‘ask’ parents for a voluntary contribution towards the basics, such as stationery and books. But for schools such as Montmorency Primary to continue to deliver the standard and diversity of important programs that deliver maximum impact and benefit to all children, we rely on this additional funding from fees.  

We are very grateful to those parents who have paid fees this year so far. Fees are issue in January of each year as predictability of income assists the school immeasurably in planning and resourcing. However, if you have yet to contribute towards your fees, we ask that you please consider making a payment (in full or part)so that we can ensure that the wonderful programs we have on offer can continue to run. 

Thank you so much for making the education Montmorency Primary can offer your children as diverse and stimulating as it can possibly be. 

Kind regards

Montmorency Primary School Council