School News
A message from your School Council President
Welcome All!
Firstly I would like to welcome back the Preps, and Year 1 and 2 students into the classroom for the first time for Term 2. No doubt there was a great amount of excitement as well as relief from students, teachers and parents alike on the first day back!
It feels like an eternity since the last time were we able to provide an update on School Council activities. The last 8 to 10 weeks have been a trying time for everyone in adapting to the changing health and economic environments, restrictions, the "stay at home" normal, and thankfully the easing of restrictions. Whilst there are still restrictions and protocols in place, it feels good to be moving back to "normal" day to day activities that we have taken for granted.
The school council met last week for the first time since March. I say "meet" in the virtual sense as like most other organisations and teams in the current situation, we are utilising video meetings in order to keep things moving all.
I thought I would provide an update of some of the times discussed at the meeting:
Canteen
As a Council we decided that the canteen would not reopen this term. We will continue to assess the COVID-19 situation as well as guidance from the Victorian Health and Education Departments with the aim of resuming normal canteen operations at the start of Term 3. We apologise for the inconvenience that this may cause.
School Budget
One of the Council's responsibilities is to review and endorse the school operating budget for the calendar year. Whilst most of the budget and its various components are managed by Department of Education guidelines and practises, an area that the Council does get involved in is the allocation and approval for projects that are funded from school fundraising activities. One of the impacts from the COVID-19 situation is the inability to plan the various fundraising activities that we hold throughout the year. The various committees involved will look at alternative ways of still holding fun events that involve the students, however some of the other functions for parents and carers that provide a substantial portion of the fundraising budget will need to be put on hold until such time that we have a clear picture of what we are able to plan within guidelines.
Projects
The summary below is the list of projects that have been approved by the Council over the past two years that will be initiated and completed this calendar year:
1. New enclosed bike shed that will store more bikes and scooters and provide protection from the weather. This is mostly funded from a grant that we applied for and were successful in attaining.
2. Upgrade of landscaping and kitchen gardens around the new building. This was allocated and approved some time ago but was put on hold until the completion of the new classroom building.
3. New storage shed to store fete equipment and excess furniture.
4. Industrial dishwasher for the canteen.
Community Members
At the moment both of the community member positions on the Council are vacant. Unlike the parent and teacher positions on the council, these roles are co-opted onto the council. Community members are typically identified by the council as people who have a connection to the wider Beaumaris community, have a previous connection to the school (as a student or parent), or have skills or experience that the council requires for certain types of projects. If you know of anyone within our wider community who might be interested then please let Sheryl or myself know.
Until next time, stay safe and happy!
Regards
Bruce Baker
Beaumaris Secondary College
Beaumaris Secondary College have put together some videos for families who would like to learn more about the college from a student perspective. Click on the link to their webpage. https://beaumarissc.vic.edu.au/