School Council  

The school council met again on Tuesday this week. We kicked off the meeting by going through the sub-committee reports. 

The most important thing to come out of that discussion was the decision to increase the before and after care rates next year. We understand the cost-of-living pressure everyone is facing, and this is not a decision that we have made lightly, however we believe it is a necessary one if we want the service to continue and grow. Operational costs including resources and staffing have grown considerably since we last increased the cost of the service. We also had to consider the upkeep and maintenance of the C-Block building that houses the program. We are also aware that the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) absorbs a large amount of the cost most families pay for the service, but as with all school related expenses, if you are facing financial hardship please speak with the school leadership about any assistance that might be available.

The new costs will be:

Before School Care: $27 for permanent bookings, $29.50 for casual bookings

After School Care: $29.50 for permanent bookings, $34.50 for casual bookings

Pupil Free Day Care: $70 Late Pick Up Free: $1 for every minute after 6:00pm

The school council has also decided to end its school holiday program agreement with Team Kids. We are aware that many families were not happy with the service being provided by Team Kids. Our highest priority is that a third-party school holiday program provider is running a safe, secure and fulfilling program, and we don’t have confidence Team Kids is meeting the standards we require. We are currently in discussions with other providers and hope to have an arrangement in place before the January holidays. If that cannot be arranged, we will provide the community with information about other local programs as soon as possible.

On behalf of the school council, I would like to thank everyone who gave their time to make the school Primavera Fete happen again this year. What a great day! There are too many people to thank here personally, and I think that might be happening elsewhere in this newsletter, but I would like to single out Olivia Petroni for spearheading the whole endeavor. Thanks Liv!

While I’m on the fete, I would like to let the school community know that the state government member for Preston, Nathan Lambert, dropped by to enjoy the festivities with his family. I spoke to him while I was on the sausage sizzle and he was having a great time. We spoke about how the school was going and how Luke was settling into his new role. We also talked about things we could improve at Newlands. I’m sure you are all aware that while the new buildings are great, we have something of a two-tiered site now – all shiny and new at one end and a bit run down at the other end. It is going to be a focus of the school council for the rest of this year and into next  year to campaign the Education Department to assist in completing the master plan. We will be asking the community to help in this campaign so keep an eye out for communication about that in the coming weeks and months.

To kick things off, Nathan and I discussed the original master plan, and he agreed that more work was needed. Nathan suggested he bring the new Education Minister Ben Carroll to visit the school, to see the new buildings and witness the bilingual program, but also discuss what needs to happen next. I formally invited Nathan in writing this week, and extended the invitation to Ben Carroll and he has kindly accepted. 

Finally, Nathan had some kind words to say about Ross in parliament this week. Below is a transcript of his speech taken from Hansard:

This school council will meet once more this year and one final time at the start of next year before the new school council is convened.

Thanks,

Adam Palmer

School Council President