Principal's Report

Jells Park Primary School

Principal:                        Kevin Oakey

                                          Kevin.Oakey@education.vic.gov.au

Principal &

Assistant Principal:    Kellie Stewart

                                         Kellie.Stewart@education.vic.gov.au

Assistant Principal:     Scott Zachariassen

                                          Scott.Zachariassen@education.vic.gov.au

Child Safety - Taking Photos

Can I remind parents that you should not be taking photos of any other student other than your own, and quite definitely not sharing any photos with other people or social media. This would be a clear breach of the Child Safe Standards. Please assist us by keeping your phone in your pockets while at school.

Parent Contributions

There has been some recent media commentary around the School Parent Contributions, some even suggesting that schools are ‘slugging’ parents with exorbitant amounts.

I wanted to add a little commentary myself, on behalf of Jells Park PS, for transparency and clarity.

Firstly, Parent Contributions are voluntary, in fact they always have been, but we are required to make this very clear now. When we ask for contributions we understand that some families can donate and some can’t and some partially.

Secondly, schools have always asked for Parent Contributions to support our enriching and extended learning programs. Contributions from families supplements government funding and allow us to provide more to your children. This is a feature of Jells Park PS and we want to continue with this ideal.

And in the big picture of financial  management, what schools request in contributions is not excessive, despite the current economic environment, in fact, at Jells Park PS it works out at less than $2 per school day per child. This is a long way from ‘slugging’ or ‘gouging’ of parents.

Finally, I want to reassure Jells Park PS families that any contributions made to the school do not just get sucked up in the general expenses bucket – contributions are used purposefully and effectively throughout the school, in ways that directly support you children. 

Please don’t get drawn into the ‘click-bait’ media that want to imply your money is being wasted.

Money at School

A reminder that students should not be bringing large amounts of money to school. At most a few dollars in coins should suffice for the canteen window. We have had a number of students turning up with $20 and $50 notes wanting to buy food at the canteen. This is strongly discouraged.

Thank you - Tania Maisey

I wanted to pass on thanks to former teacher Mrs Tania Maisey, who has been teaching eslewhere for a few years and has advised that she will not be returning to Jells Park PS. Tania taugh recently in Foundation and helped shape the early years of a number of students. We thank her for her contribution to the school.

Kevin Oakey

Principal