Principals Message
Welcome 2025 School Council
All government schools in Victoria have a School Council. School Councils are legal entities that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within state-wide guidelines. In doing this, our school council directly influences the quality of education that our school provides for our students.
School councils have three main responsibilities:
Finance: overseeing the development and expenditure of the school’s annual budget and ensuring proper records are kept of the school’s financial operation.
Strategic Planning: participating in the development and monitoring of the school strategic plan.
Policy Development and Review: developing, reviewing and updating selected policies that reflect a school’s values and support the school’s broad direction outlined in its strategic plan.
Our final meeting for the 2024 School Council was held on 26th February. As we begin a new school year, we take a moment to acknowledge and sincerely thank several members of our School Council who have made outstanding contributions to our school community. Paul Zelenewicz, who has served as School Council President for the past seven years, has been a driving force behind many of the programs and improvements that have shaped our school. His leadership has guided two school review panels, significant facilities upgrades, the establishment of our onsite Kindergarten, and the introduction of specialist programs, including our Sports Program. Equally, we extend our gratitude to Cindy Coulson, and Jade Farmer who have both dedicated similar lengths of service to the School Council, contributing their time, expertise, and unwavering commitment to ensuring the best outcomes for our students and families.
We also acknowledge Naomi Landmeter, who will continue attending School Council in her role as Assistant Principal but has concluded her term as a Staff Representative, and Rick White, who also concludes his term as a Staff Representative. As our Sport and PE teacher, Rick has played a key role in supporting the establishment of our Specialist Sports Program and ensuring staff perspectives were well represented in council discussions. We thank Paul, Cindy, Jade, Naomi, and Rick and the 2024 School Captains for their dedication, leadership, and invaluable contributions to our school.
The nomination period for parent and DE reps has now officially closed and at next week’s Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 26th at 6:30pm we welcome our newly appointed 2025 School Council representatives.
Our School Captains: Ada Crow, Leila McKinnon, Imogen Radic and Amelie Brown will be welcomed as co-opted members of School Council. Students have a unique perspective on learning, teaching and schools. We believe having student members on school council allows students to have a say in the future direction of their school and ensures student input into decision making. Student representation on school council also assists in the development of students’ skills, including leadership skills and communication skills.
We would like to welcome our newest parent members: Ella Coffey, Jennifer Schembri and Jane Cook. A further vacancy in the Parent Representative category remains. We warmly welcome back Kiley Woods, Sophie Visser, Shane Paynter and Jade McIntosh who are in their second year of council.
Welcome to our new DE representative Michael Beamish and returning School Councillors Emma Semaan (now serving in the DE category), Meaghan Bartrop and Sarah Nash.
Thank you and congratulations to all office bearers, we are extremely excited to begin the 2025 school council year. We look forward to year ahead.
Staffing Update – Teacher Recruitment Challenges
As many families would be aware, schools across Victoria – particularly in regional areas – are currently experiencing significant teacher shortages. Unfortunately, Trafalgar Primary School is not immune to this challenge.
We recently advertised three full-time teaching positions on the Department of Education’s state-wide jobs portal. These roles have now reached the mandatory minimum advertising period. Despite our best efforts, we did not receive any applications for any of the positions.
While this is disappointing, it is not unexpected given the broader workforce pressures affecting many schools. We are continuing to work proactively and will readvertise these positions. In the meantime, we are exploring a range of options to ensure students in classes where teachers are about to take leave remain well supervised and supported. This includes the use of internal staff arrangements, casual relief teachers (if available), and ongoing consultation with the Department.
We are also encouraging our community to help us spread the word. If you know of any suitably qualified teachers who may be looking for work or considering a move to the area, please direct them to the Department’s School Jobs platform or encourage them to contact the school directly.
The Department of Education is also providing support to schools like ours through a number of measures for hard-to-staff schools, including:
- Centralised recruitment support and job-matching services
- Targeted financial incentives for teachers willing to relocate to regional areas
We still have some time before the affected staff members take leave and remain optimistic that we will find a solution. Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we work through these challenges with the goal of maintaining high-quality education for all students.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss further, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.
Sincerely,
The Principal Team,
Trafalgar Primary School