school council 

dear families

Last night School Council met for the third last meeting in 2020 and my third last meeting as President and a member of this amazing school community. With this said, I encourage anyone with even a passing interest in contributing to BNW to consider joining School Council or any Sub Committees. We are so keen to get more people on Council and the Committees, who can contribute their valuable experiences and perspectives. As someone who volunteers to a number of different organisations, I can tell you from my experience there is no volunteering experience more rewarding than contributing to your children’s schooling experience.

We had many conversations last night, some of them more robust than others. We did a deep dive into the return of all children to face to face learning this week. I appreciate there are different perspectives about the staggered return. We heard a comprehensive range of views expressed last night. We also heard more about the decisions which underpinned the staggered return – all of those decisions were centred on student wellbeing and student welfare. The starting point for every decision taken by BNW leadership, in close consultation with the teaching team and senior area leadership, has and is always student wellbeing, student welfare and learning outcomes.

What also came through in the discussion last night was a deep acknowledgement of the impact the staggered return had on families. School Council and BNW leadership empathise with the position parents and carers have been in with the massive challenges of remote learning. And then with an extra impost of a staggered return. It’s been such a difficult and challenging year for families, teachers and leadership, no one could imagine what we would face as we started Term 1 this year; I feel it’s so important we mutually acknowledge the pressures we are under and the impact decisions made to our feelings of stress and distress. 

Anyone in the school community is welcome to reach out to me, as they are to anyone in the school leadership team. There is so much to opportunity to listen, reflect and learn from the unique experiences that 2020 has provided thus far. 

Please take care, be gentle on yourselves and those around you.

Sam Cohen

School Council President

e schoolcouncil@brunswicknwps.vic.edu.au 

m 0412 375 061