Out and about with Mr Walsh

Year 3-6 Surfside Cross Country Event

Call for family helpers

We will be holding our annual Cross Country event for students in grades 3–6 at Kingston Park on Wednesday, March 27th. The event will commence at 9.15am and conclude by 1.00pm. Race times are as follows;

Year 5 & 6 event is between 9:15 - 10:45
Year 3 & 4 event is between 11:30 - 1:00

To ensure the smooth running and safety of children we will require the assistance of parents or carers. If you are available and willing to help, please answer the questions and complete the details below.

All volunteers must have a current Working With Children's Card that has been presented to our office and completed the 5 minute annual Induction, before the day of the event.

CROSS COUNTRY HELPER EXPRESSION OF INTEREST LINK

Thanks so much in advance for your support with this event,

Mr. Fraser

A Message From our School Captains

Hello Surfside Community, it’s us, the four school captains!

We just wanted to say hello and tell you a bit about what we have been doing so far this term. Every Thursday all of the student leaders have been meeting together to discuss what it means to represent the school and what our goals are as leaders. We want to be role models for the students, be more confident at public speaking and lots more. So far we’ve been writing role descriptions and talking about some goals that we want to achieve. As school captains, we have had some jobs like speaking at our first assembly. We were all nervous but really excited. We have even done some small jobs like taking out the bins. As Grade Six students we are all leaders so many of our Grade 6's have been helping kids in the yard whenever they need and leading games in 3/4 and 5/6 sport. All of us have been helping our new Foundation buddies settle into school. We look forward to being your school captains for the year and learning alongside our peers.

Thank you for reading from the four school captains, Daisy, Sophie, Rafferty and Arlen.

SCHOOL COUNCIL 2024 CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Our first school council meeting for 2024 will take place on Tuesday 20th February. This will be our final full meeting with our current school council. We look forward to welcoming our new school council following our upcoming Annual General Meeting and returning members for 2024. Nominations for our 2024 school council is now open and elections will take place if required.

We would like to thank our outgoing school council members over the last 12 months for their support, commitment and dedication . We look forward to welcoming our new 2024 school council at our upcoming AGM .

School Council 2024

School Nomination forms may be obtained from the school and must be lodged by Friday 1st March 3.00 pm (nominations following this date and time will not be accepted)

The election ballot if required will close at 3.00 pm on Friday 8th March

Terms of Office

Membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:

Membership category - Parent members & Co-opted member

Term of office - From the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2023 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2025

School Council 2024

What is a school council and what does it do?

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the broad directions of a school in accordance with their constituting Order and the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. In doing this, a school council is able to work collaboratively with school representatives to aid in the direction and quality of education that the school provides for its students.

Who is on the school council?

For most primary school councils, there are three possible categories of membership:

An elected parent member category – more than one-third of the total members must be from this category. DET employees can be Parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not engaged in work at the school
An elected DET employee member category – members of this category may make up no more than one-third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members
An optional Community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. DET employees are not eligible to be Community members.

Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.

Why is parent membership so important?

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help inform and guide the direction of the school. Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

Do I need special experience to be on school council?

Each member brings their own valuable life skills and knowledge to the role. However, councillors may need to develop skills and acquire knowledge in areas that are unfamiliar to them. What you do need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help guide the school’s future.

Code of conduct for school councillors

School councils in Victoria are public entities as defined by the Public Administration Act 2004. School councillors must abide by the Code of Conduct – Employees issued by the Victorian Public Sector Commission. The Code of Conduct is based on the Victorian public sector values and requires councillors to:

act with honesty and integrity (be truthful, open and clear about their motives and declare any real, potential or perceived conflict of interest and duty)
act in good faith in the best interests of the school (work cooperatively with other councillors and the school community, be reasonable, and make all decisions with the best interests of students foremost in their minds)
act fairly and impartially (consider all relevant facts of an issue before making a decision, seek to have a balanced view, never give special treatment to a person or group and never act from self interest)
use information appropriately (respect confidentiality and use information for the purpose for which it was made available)
exercise due care, diligence and skill (accept responsibility for decisions and do what is best for the school)
use the position appropriately (not use the position as a councillor to gain an advantage)
act in a financially responsible manner (observe all the above principles when making financial decisions)
comply with relevant legislation and policies (know what legislation and policies are relevant for which decisions and obey the law)
demonstrate leadership and stewardship (set a good example, encourage a culture of accountability, manage risks effectively, exercise care and responsibility to keep the school strong and sustainable).

How can you become involved?

Nominate or be nominated for a position on school council. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant. In view of this, you might consider:

standing for election as a member of the school council or encouraging another person to stand for election.

What do you need to do to stand for election?

The Principal will issue a Notice of Election and Call for Nominations following the commencement of Term 1 each year. All school council elections must be completed by the end of March. If you decide to stand for nomination, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself in the Parent member category.
DET employees whose child is enrolled in a school in which they are not engaged in work, are eligible to nominate for Parent membership of the school council at that school.
Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the principal within the time stated on the Notice of Election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt via post, email or by hand following the receipt of your completed nomination.
If there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted during the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.

Remember ask at the school for help if you would like to stand for election and are not sure what to do. We are happy to assist. Please see below for the election process and timeline.

School council election process and timetable

Name of the School: Surfside Primary School

Notice of election and call for nominations - Friday 16th February 2024
Closing date for nominations - Friday 1st March 2024 3.00pm (nominations following this date and time will not be accepted)
Date by which the list of candidates and nominators will be posted - on Monday 4th March 2024
Date by which ballot papers will be prepared and distributed if required - on Monday 4th March 2024
Close of ballot if required - Friday 8th March 2024 at 3.00pm
Vote count if required - Friday 8th March 2024 following 3.00pm deadline
Declaration of poll if required - Tuesday 12th March 2024
First council meeting to elect office bearers (the Principal will preside) - The Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Tuesday 19th March at 5.00 pm prior to the first meeting at 5.30 pm

*Please see our administration at the office for the nomination forms for school council membership.