School Council      President's Report

2022 was an important year, as the school community came back together after two years of interrupted learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The School Council was focused on providing opportunities for the school community to reconnect whilst the school focused on the key areas of learning and wellbeing.

The Annual General Meeting is an opportunity to surmise our Council’s focus throughout the year, but also highlight the excellent progress of our students following a difficult time.

In 2022 we had 701 students, 48.5 full time equivalent (FTE) teaching staff, a principal, three assistant principals (2.8 FTE) and six leading teachers and learning specialists. Additional support was provided through the allocation of 6.3 Education Support (ES) staff, including classroom integration and office administration staff and 1.25 (FTE) tutors.

The Annual Report demonstrated that the schools focus on learning outcomes was effective with NAPLAN results showing that CHPS had a higher percentage, in comparison to all schools and to similar schools, of students in the top two bands for Year 3 Reading, Writing and Numeracy and Year 5 results being close to that of similar schools.  This was supported by PAT-Reading and PAT-Maths results where; Pat-Reading adaptive assessment results indicated that 64% of students in Years 2 - 6 were working 1 year or more ahead of the expected level and 30% were working at the expected level and Pat-Maths results indicated that 54% of students were working 1 year or more ahead and 39% of students were at the expected level.

With the return to fulltime onsite learning, the School Council recognised the importance of focusing on student and staff wellbeing.  The School Council supported the implementation of the following initiatives: Smiling Minds as a prevention and evidenced based mindfulness practice for all school staff which was then extended to the classroom, EIPulse a student wellbeing tracking tool for grade 3-6 students and the continued implementation of the Respectful Relationships curriculum. 2022 saw the full re-instatement of school captains, the Junior School Council, Peer Activity Leaders program and buddies to support leadership development, school connectedness and foster relationships.

The School Council fully supported the return of the grade 4-6 production, "Ngulu-Nganjin" (meaning "everyone's voice" in Woiwurrung, the language of the Wurundjeri people). This performance aimed to build strong relationships between our school and families - also branching out to the community through developing a working relationship with local indigenous people.  We also saw the return of the Annual Art Show and Trivia Night and the introduction of the Colour Run and Comedy Night.  A highlight for the school community was the return of the School Fair which provided the school with an opportunity to celebrate the school year and build on its focus of reconnection.

In 2022, CHPS undertook a school review inform the direction of the school’s 4 year School Strategic Plan (SSP). Leadership coordinated the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) and staff reviewed data and other evidence to form a collective view of current practice and areas for improvement. This was followed by a formal 3 day review, conducted by a panel utilising the expertise and convened by an independent school reviewer.

Throughout 2022 the School Council continued to engage with the Victorian School Building Authority on the building of the Senior Campus on the corner of South Terrace and Gold St. 

The school ended with a $154,407 deficit for the year ending 2022 which was significantly attributed to the high costs of replacement staffing due to illness and COVID related absences following the pandemic.  Salaries and allowances for 2022 were $87,715 higher than the previous year.    There was a reduction in the payment of parent charges of approximately $100,000 in comparison to 2021, which is likely due to the inability for schools to provide individualised statements to families.  A major expense for 2022 was the upgrade to student toilet facilities, costing in excess of $100,000.

2022 saw the reintroduction of fundraising activities, including the Colour Run, Trivia Night and the School Fair.  These events led to a significant increase in the school’s ability to locally raise funds.  We acknowledge the role the school community plays in financially supporting our school through such events as this ensures we have state-of-the-art materials and equipment and quality teaching and learning opportunities for all students.In 2022 we were able to re-commence camps and excursions for our students.  Expenditure for this area was up almost 50% when compared to the previous year.  Students greatly benefited from these experiences.  The School Council was committed to ensuring our students were able to re-engage with these valuable experiences.

The school had contract agreements with Theircare (Out of Hours School Care Provider); German Saturday School, UJEB and the Merri Creek Anglican Church with revenue returning to pre-COVID levels for hire of school facilities. The school went to tender and recruited a new Out of School Hours Care provider for 2023.

As a Council we are proud of the progress we made in reconnecting our school community and we continue to support our teachers who consistently aim to sustain and improve educational outcomes for our children.

Sally Ball (Vice President) on behalf of Bryony Nayagam (President)