Leadership @ MPS

Fortnightly Q&A

Parent Payments

At the forefront of all we do at MPS is the desire to provide our students with the best education we can possibly offer. As you are aware, many of our learning programs and resources are not financially supported by the Department of Education. The financial support we receive from families through the Voluntary Contribution Program ensures that our school can offer the best education and support for our students.

In 2023 your financial support has directly contributed to the following:

· Purchase of Little Learners Literacy Program   

· Decodable Readers 

· Relocation works for new build   

· Class sets of novels 

· New goal posts 

· Dedicated staff member for first-aid management 

· Replacement of basketball backboards 

· Replace/install 3 x split systems in classrooms 

· Production including whole school term classes 

· Library upgrade (in addition to donations) 

· Additional furniture for classrooms and Japanese Room 

· Ground works and maintenance 

· Staffing and resources for the SAKG program. 

The leadership team and staff have recently undertaken a comprehensive review of the Parent Payment Arrangements and the 2024 booklists and carefully evaluated all resources to ensure that as a school, we are providing excellent, yet cost-efficient, education programs. We are also very aware of the cost of living pressures that families are facing in today’s financial climate. Our analysis has resulted in a reduction of some items, a change in a number of programs and in many cases, a better alternative has been sourced.   

In addition to this, we have reduced the number of paid subscriptions that students have access to for 2024. Although these subscriptions, including Mathletics, Reading Eggs and SeeSaw, have been very beneficial in the past (and throughout Remote Learning), these are now not as aligned with our current curriculum direction, as they once were. We have also been able to find other cost-effective ways of operating; for example, the wider use of Google Classrooms will replace SeeSaw. This has a saving of around $5,000 as annual subscriptions to these platforms has heavily increased following on from Remote Learning.

In 2024, our Parent Curriculum Contribution per child is $320 and $300 for siblings, which is a significant decrease from 2023. The table below shows the amounts that have been charged at MPS for curriculum contributions from 2019 to 2024. As can be seen by this information, next year's curriculum contributions amounts are the lowest they have been since 2019. 

Booklists 

In a nutshell, these funds are used to purchase student supplies. Some changes in our programming have allowed us to save in some areas and supplement others.

The table below shows the amounts that have been charged at MPS for booklists from 2022 through to next year. As you can see, most of our year levels now have a decreased amount when comparing 2023 to 2024. As well as this, most year levels will be paying less as their child moves up the school.

School Drop-Offs and Pick-Ups

Staff have noticed that several students are being dropped off, or are arriving, very early at school in the mornings. Department policy requires school supervision for 10 minutes both before and after school. At Monty Primary we have chosen to increase this to 15 minutes. 

Some families have been dropping off and/or picking up their child/ren well outside these times, leaving them unsupervised and putting the school in a difficult position. 

We ask that if you are finding it difficult to drop or pick up your child/ren off at a suitable time, alternative arrangements are made. We offer both before and after school care, starting at 7am and finishing at 6:30pm. Another idea could be to work with another MPS family to co-ordinate sharing drop-offs and pick-ups.

Foundation Transition

We have been so excited to meet all of our 2024 Foundation students during the Foundation Transition Program which has run over the past month. It culminates with a play at Petrie Park from 4:00pm on Thursday, 7th of December. This will be a great opportunity for the students and families to continue to get to know one another and spend some more time with their 2024 teachers. 

We can't wait to have these 'Monty Marvels' at school full-time next year, check out how excited they are! 

Christmas Concert

A reminder that our annual Christmas Concert is happening this coming Tuesday, 5th of December. The evening will also incorporate the Art Show which will be set up in the new building. Gates open at 5pm with the concert to begin at 6:30pm sharp and will be finished by 7:30pm. The staff have some very special things planned for their piece at the concert, it is not to be missed!

Take care, everyone.

The Leadership Team