Mackellar Buzz

School Council 

School Council for 2023

 

Dear Fellow Parents, 

 

I was very fortunate to be a part of the school review over the past few weeks and I am excited to take part in the final day this coming week. This process has been a great opportunity to hear from all parts of our school community about what we are doing that is working, well and what we can improve upon. Parent voice is very important and I wanted to pass on my thanks to those parents who attended the parent forum last week. 

 

Before works commenced
After works completed
After works completed
Before works commenced
After works completed
After works completed

 

By now I know that many of you have seen firsthand the magnificent new playing surface for our basketball and tennis courts.  This work was completed just prior to the holidays and the students have thoroughly enjoyed playing on them. They add to what is now a very attractive and exciting play area for students encompassing three new playgrounds, an upgraded oval and soon to be installed shade sail for extra sun protection. A very big thank you to Anthony Michielin and the Buildings and Grounds sub-committee for their hard work in bringing all of these yard projects to fruition. 

 

At our last council meeting, we discussed the current student report format and ways to make it more parent friendly and provide more detail. Based on that feedback, staff will now take these suggestions and finalise a new student report format ready for the semester one reports to be finalised in June. Your feedback on these once they are released is certainly welcome as we look to find the most effective way to detail student progress in a parent friendly manner. 

 

Also at our last meeting we also discussed the need to align our expectations of student homework between classes and across grade levels.  Council acknowledged that homework can be a vexed issue with some parents wanting a high level of homework whilst others do not want homework at all. To assist with this, the Education sub-committee will be sending home a survey for parents to complete which will inform the creation of our updated Homework Policy.   Council's approach will be to assess all the feedback and determine a balanced approach that acknowledges the input of all. That being so, please have your say when the survey comes out so we know your view. 

 

Regards,

 

Vince Scarfo

School Council President