A message from the Principal

This time last year I wrote in the newsletter than 2020 had been the most challenging year for education that I have ever experienced. Litttle did we know what lay around the corner.

Like the rest of you, the second year of the pandemic came with new challenges and a level of exhaustion that pushed us to the limit and forced the whole school community (staff, students and parents) to find reserves of resilience, enthusiasm, energy and creativity that we never thought that we had. Once again, I need to pay tribute to how we got on with this and kept going, kept learning and kept improving - a real growth mindset in action.

Dealing with a number of confirmed COVID cases within the school this term has also added new challenges and I need to thank the way that the school community supported the school and each other through this tricky time.

I thank and pay tribute to everyone for the herculean effort and wish us all a long and restful Christmas period (thankfully spent in the presence of families and friends, rather than under lockdown).

I am very proud of our Leadership Team (Michelle Bove, Mel Borella, Matt Cook, Jane Bennetts and myself) who have done a great job of managing this level of upheaval and providing clear direction for the community through this year. On top of the other challenges, we also found a way to complete our school review, set targets for the next four years (and learn some new contact tracing skills on the way). 

Our teachers and educational support staff are a genuine team with a clear focus on what is most important – our students. We have a staff who are committed to collaborating and creating a happy and supportive environment both for their students and fellow professionals. 

School Council and its Subcommittees have continued to work hard and deal with uncertainty to ensure the effective running of the school. Thanks to Elisa Webb for her work leading council this year. Her hard work and commitment to making our school even better, participating in our school review and supporting what we do has been much appreciated. 

Our School Councillors have supported the work of Council and the sub-committees.

All subcommittees have operated in such a way that has resulted in council’s work being easier and our processes completed on time. Special thanks go to our convenors of sub committees for their leadership:  

Michelle Bove – Education and Policy

Neil Scott – Buildings and Grounds

Nova Whitehead – Finance

Neil Scott - Fundraising 

Michelle has valued the rigorous discussions that have taken place at staff meetings and Education and Policy Sub-committee meetings. Thanks to Natalie Gallucci, Mel Borella, Elisa Webb, Hannah Lawson, Kyla Davies, Mathew Bowden and Amanda Lo Cascio for your expertise and support. 

Thank you to Paul Yates, Damon van Horne, Nemanja Milovanovic, Greg Manonian, Chantel Jose, Marko Vukobrat, Mathew Saliba and Andres Lopez Vidal for your involvement on our Buildings and Grounds Subcommittee. The school grounds have continued to shine and, despite the lockdoewns and industry shutdowns, we have achieved an awful lot in 2021.

The work of Finance Sub-Committee - Nova Whitehead. Mathew Saliba, Justin Benson, Stephen Athanasakos and Hannah Lawson has provided close oversight and management of our school’s financial processes and ensured we finished the year in a very strong financial position once again.  

Our Fundraising sub-committee, Rachael O’Connor, Neil Scott, Chantel Jose,  Sonya Stephen, Bec Walton, Chrissy Manonian and Rani Martin have found ways to bring the community together and raise much-needed funds and this has allowed us to create wonderful classroom librraies in each space - something that all of the students love already!

In addition we have had a couple of working parties this year in Sustainability, Reconciliation and Out of School Hours Care and I would like to thank Paula Muraca, Claire O'Brien, Allison Shanahan, Rosemary Greagg, Alexandra Russ, Christine Phillips, Yuuki Omura, Lauren Campbell, Alex McCall, Amanda Lo  Cascio, Hannah Lawson, Aimee Dash, katrina Findlay, kathryn Bowen, Laura Marini, Betty Vassiliou, Kate Patterson and Helen Speranza 

SKiPPA, our Parent’s Association, have done their best this year to keep our community connected. Jo Gibbs, Sam Hutchison, Priscilla Mulhern, Elise Brettagh Lee-Ann Marotta, Simon Chatfield, Lilian Rudd and Sophie Storen alongside a range of enthusiastic others.

I hope our families have an enjoyable Christmas and safe holiday and return next year ready to take on the work ahead with renewed energy. I wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Neil Scott

Principal