School Council News

As we gallop toward the end of another school year it seems the perfect time to take a moment to reflect on what has been another wonderful chapter for our school and community. 

On school council we farewelled Ali Rhen, Greg Sher, Ray Becher and Danny Lewkowicz as their tenure on School Council came to an end and welcomed new members Amanda Berger, Kym Hayat, Lauren Freeman and Rachel Bloom.  We thank Ali, Greg, Ray and Danny for their valued participation in school council and significant contribution to the sub-committees they were involved with.  We also welcome the insights from our newest members which help to ensure school council is a forum that represents the different perspectives of our school community. 

I would also like to acknowledge the retirement of Julie Pitts as Assistant Principal and a valued member of school council.  Julie has contributed a mountain of time and vigour into school council over many years, leading our child safety program and championing activities through the Building and Grounds committee.  Julie’s boundless energy has driven many projects including the Seinor Campus COLA, refurbishment of the toilets across both campuses, the new art room, development of a master plan for our school and our new Junior COLA and many other smaller but equally important projects to improve the safety and function of our school.  Julie will be sadly missed however I wish her every happiness as she enjoys life on the farm and time with family.

It has been another huge year of activities and achievements for our school including a re-branding made possible through David Marinelli’s generous donation of both his creative skill and time with the support of the Communications Sub-committee. Thank you David and team!  The STEM program continues to go from strength to strength. We were in awe at the performance of another sensational school musical. The Student Representative Council shone at our combined SRC and school council meeting. The school disco was a hit as always and there was the inaugural Gardenvale Primary weekend away! 

I would like to acknowledge the amazing contribution of our Parents and Friends Association led by the ever-incredible Robyn Krawitz.  The PFA are the engine room for all the fabulous fundraising and social activities held by the school.  Thank you also to all the parents who volunteer their time as class representatives and helpers for these activities.  It is these contributions that enable all the activities listed above to happen and help make our school the wonderful community it is.  The partnership between school council and the PFA is critical to the function of our school, as is the enduring support of the school leadership team and teachers who contribute their time and expertise to school council.

Looking ahead to 2025 there are lots of exciting opportunities for our school but also some challenges we need to navigate.  Road safety remains a high priority for school council, and we continue to make steps to improve this through development of a Road Safety sub-committee.  This team will look at activities including education strategies for children and families, engagement with local council and grants and programs offered through agencies such as TAC.  We continue development of our master plan and prioritisation of projects to upgrade the facilities of our school.  There is the exciting roll out of the new school uniform as part of completing the re-brand led by the Communications sub-committee.  School council will continue to engage with TeamKids to ensure the best experience possible for families and our Education sub-committee work to ensure all the policies that guide the operations and governance of our school are up to date and comply with Department of Education requirements.  Our Finance team continue to stay across all budgetary and finance matters with the support of Maree Prosser our wonderfully knowledgeable Business Manager. 

As we reflect on this year, I wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season.  Thank you to our Treasurer Darren Krawtiz and vice-President Tricia Ciampa for all your efforts in support of school council and of course Janine Hall and Dimi Sfetsas.  The collective skill, experience, compassion and generosity of you all makes my role enjoyable as well as fulfilling.  I look forward to seeing everyone at the start of 2025 as we embark on another action-packed year at Gardenvale Primary School. 

Onward Upward!  

Nicky Martin