Principal's Report

MUSIC ON THE MOUNT

We had our 2019 Music on the Mount event on Thursday, which was enormously successful.  Anyone at the performance would have seen the impact this experience has on the kids in terms of building their confidence and understanding of music and performance…...lucky kids. 

 

A massive thankyou to Gemma Turvey and Gorgi Coghlan, who do a brilliant job of supporting and guiding the students.  Thanks also to the sponsors who made it possible for us to run the Maestro and Me program and MOTM event, those being Buninyong Community Bank, UFS Pharmacies and Meridian Energy.

WORKING BEE

We have a working bee approaching for each campus in the coming week and appreciate any help that people can give at this busy time of the year.

At Scotsburn the working bee is happening on Friday afternoon (Dec 13 from 2:30pm) and is a general tidy up prior to the end of year Xmas breakup.

At Buninyong the working bee will be on Saturday morning (Dec 14, 9-11am) and the task will be to attack the area behind the BER.  This area is completely overgrown and will become a fire risk if we don’t sort it out before the end of school.  If you have a whipper snipper, rake or shovel to bring along, that would be brilliant.  With a few helpers, we should be able to sort this out in an hour or two. 

We also wish all of the best to our grade 6 students, who will have Orientation Days over the coming few weeks.  Those going to state secondary colleges have their Orientation Day on December 10 as well.

ORIENTATION DAY

Today we hosted our 2020 preps with an Orientation Day at both campuses.  The day was very successful and our new preps were very comfortable and settled.  Well done to our prep teachers who planned and ran the day.  Thanks also to all those who helped with the information session and the morning tea that followed.

Our grade 5 students did a fantastic job as buddies and are looking forward to continuing the connection with their new little friends in 2020. 

 CLASSES FOR 2020

Our teachers are close to finishing the task of sorting children into classes for 2020.  As always, we’re looking to develop classes that will work for all of our students.  Next Tuesday, between midday and 1:05pm, students will get an opportunity to meet their teacher and classmates for 2020. 

The attitude our children take to this will be shaped by trusted adults around them.  Please encourage your child/ren to approach this with a positive mindset.  Our aim is for all students to enter these transition periods with the confidence they need to achieve success. 

REPORT FROM SCHOOL COUNCIL

Last week we had our final meeting for 2020 and following is an outline of a few important topics that were discussed:

  • Uniform – Recommendations from the Uniform Sub-Committee were presented and endorsed.  The review conducted by the Uniform Sub-Committee has resulted in a few minor changes as outlined below. 
  • Cleaning Contract – Our current cleaners have now been on board for 3 years, so it was time to re-negotiate an extension to the original contract.  We have agreed to terms for a 12 month extension with Bohan’s Cleaning Service.
  • Facilities Audit – Over the past few months a Facilities Sub-Committee of School Council has been undertaking an audit of our buildings and grounds.  The outcomes of that audit were presented and we’re all feeling that we have a clear sense of maintenance priorities and a line of sight to improvement projects we’d like to undertake as opportunities arise.
  • Parent and Staff Opinion Survey Results – We spent some time looking over the results from this year’s Staff and Parent Survey results.  There were the usual small changes when compared to previous years, but overall the results for both are really strong. 

We’ve had another busy and constructive year on School Council, with a good deal of time taken up with the School Review, Base 1270, the fete, the Uniform Review and a facilities audit, in amongst everything else that is going on.

 

A big thankyou to all of the staff and parents who have served on School Council in 2020.

OUTCOMES FROM THE UNIFORM REVIEW

The final stages of our review of school uniform were to:

  • Present recommendations to School Council.
  • Update the Uniform Guidelines. 

The review focussed in on leggings, coats and shoe colour, as these were the issues needing consideration & clarification, as identified by the school community. 

After some good discussions with School Council and our PLPs, a survey was developed and circulated, with lots of parents participating.  The outcomes of the survey were discussed with our PLPs, before the Uniform Sub-Committee settled on recommendations for School Council.  These were endorsed by School Council on December 2.  Each of the recommendations were based on the views of the majority as expressed through the survey and discussions at PLP meetings.

 

Largely the Uniform Guidelines remain the same, with the most significant changes being:

  • Leggings - Removal from the guidelines of mention that leggings are to be worn under the skort or pinafore only. 
  • Shoe Colour - Runners and boots now required to be black.
  • Coats – Guidelines now to say that if a child chooses to wear a coat, it is recommended this be the school coat or a black coat.

A copy of the updated Uniform Guidelines document is attached below. 

Please keep these guidelines in mind when purchasing any clothing or footwear for school over the summer break.

 

The decision was made by School Council that the uniform would be next reviewed in 2024.