Principal's Reprt
Welcome Back
I would like to welcome students, staff and parents to the 2024 school year. I would especially like to welcome the many new families who have joined the Merbein P-10 College community this year. We look forward to working with you to ensure your child achieves success in 2024. On the first day of 2024 we had 38 Preps and 115 Year 7 students starting, which was fantastic! I know they will settle in quickly and enjoy their time at the college.
Reminder: Term 1 Student Free Day - Friday February 23rd
As per the recent Compass post, Merbein P-10 College School Council has approved a Student Free Day on Friday 23rd February. This day has been allocated so that our secondary staff can continue the work they started last year with Janelle McGann, from Leading Learning Consultancy, on differentiated practice. This work is vital to build the skills and knowledge of our staff to cater for the wide range of students we have at the college. Our Assistant Principal, Casey Stoetzer, will be leading the professional learning for our primary staff on this day.
Whilst all staff are required that day, no students will attend school on the Friday.
Merbein P-10 College Council Elections - 2024
In accordance with DET guidelines, an election of members for the 2024 School Council will be conducted during February and March.
The new 2024 Council will be formed from an election process and will be based on a membership size of 12, with a configuration of 6 parents, 3 staff (including the principal), 1 co-opted community member and 2 student representatives.
Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of approximately half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.
All Victorian government schools with a year 7 cohort and above, also have a mandated, elected Student Member category on their school council. Each school’s constituting Order is increased by two positions to allow for two student members to be elected to council.
The school council election process for all four categories (Parent, DET Employee, Student and Community member) must be completed by 31 March 2024.
2024 Merbein P-10 College Council Election Process
Due to the scheduled expiry of their terms of office, several members of Council will be retiring in accordance with DET guidelines and the Council Constituting Order. Consequently, the following vacancies are being declared:
- 3 Parent category vacancies
- 1 DET category vacancies
- 2 Student vacancies (filled by the 2024 SRC leaders)
One Co-opted Community position will be filled by the newly formed council following the conclusion of elections.
I sincerely thank the members of the 2023/24 School Council for volunteering their time, expertise and energy to enable Merbein P-10 College to continue to grow as a successful community school.
I would also like to specifically thank the following retiring Councillors for their valuable contribution to the ongoing development of Merbein P-10 College over the past two years and sincerely hope any eligible members will consider re-nominating for council:
Ann Penny, Scott Barnes, Steve Liddicoat (Parent Category)
Laura McPhee (DET Category)
If either or both categories (Parent or DET) have more nominations than positions then a ballot will be conducted. All parents or guardians of students enrolled at the school are eligible to vote for parent members, and staff vote for staff members.
Parents who are DET employees may stand for election in the Parent category, but only up to a maximum of two. This is to ensure that the majority of the college council is created through a combination of parent and community members and not DET employees.
Nominations for a position on the Merbein P-10 College Council will open on Friday February 9th and close on Friday February 23rd, 2024.
The school council will continue to play a vital role in achieving the best-possible outcomes for our young people and in ensuring that our school continues to build effective connections with the local community. I therefore encourage parents and staff to consider nominating for a position on the Merbein P-10 College Council and to support us in the important work that lies ahead.
Parent nomination forms will be available at the school office for any parent considering nominating. If you would like a nomination form to be emailed directly to you, please contact the General Office.
As mentioned above, if there are more nominations than vacancies, an election will be called and candidates will be invited to prepare a statement of no more than 150 words. More details about the recommended content of statements will be provided for candidates if this occurs.
Privacy Collection
Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or, where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.
Please take time to read our school’s collection notice, found on our website.
We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school.
For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages.
Reminder - Facebook Page & Compass
Just a reminder to please keep a close eye on our Facebook Page and Compass, as well as regularly checking in with your child as to what exciting things are happening across the college and what events are coming up. These are the two major sources of information and communication between school and families. Our newsletter will also provide reminders and event dates for families, with a major newsletter sent home twice per term.