P & C News

Message from Brian Chiu

President, Chatswood Public School P&C Association

Webpage: http://chatswoodpublicpandc.org.au/

Facebook: Chatswood Public School P&C

Chatswood Public School Family and Friends

Email: president@chatswoodpublicpandc.org.au

Your P&C - Fostering cooperation and engagement between parents/carers and school.

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Earlier this week, we held our P&C AGM on Tuesday, 25 November, and have now formed our new committee for 2026. As part of this transition, we also acknowledged three remarkable parents who have served the CPS P&C for close to a decade each. With their children finishing Year 6 and leaving CPS at the end of 2025, they have now rolled off the committee, but their legacy will stay with our school community for many years to come.

Joe Grundy

Joe has served an extraordinary 10 consecutive years on the CPS P&C executive team, taking on major leadership roles across a full decade: Vice President (2016–2019), Secretary (2020–2021), President (2022–2024), and Secretary again in 2025. Throughout this time, Joe has been a steady pillar of the P&C - always stepping up where needed, guiding the committee through periods of growth and change, and continually advocating for improvements that directly benefit CPS students.

One of Joe’s earliest contributions was overseeing the installation of classroom air-conditioning in 2016, an upgrade that improved the learning environment for every student. The following year, he co-led the P&C’s community campaign to push for a complete rebuild of the school. With the old campus ageing, overcrowded, and no longer suitable for the rapidly growing CPS community, Joe helped mobilise families, craft messaging, and advocate strongly for state investment. This campaign was successful and ultimately secured a major government commitment to rebuild CPS into the modern, spacious campus our students enjoy today.

From 2017 to 2023, Joe represented the P&C on the School Infrastructure Project Reference Group, contributing countless hours to ensure that community perspectives shaped the final design. His practical feedback, based on local knowledge and day-to-day school realities, influenced many outcomes, including the popular amphitheatre-style outdoor learning space and more student-friendly campus features.

Joe also played a pivotal role in the change of Uniform Shop by helping transition it to LOWES in 2024. This shift - supported by community feedback - created a more convenient and sustainable model for families. Beyond these major projects, Joe has been a tireless champion of student safety, successfully advocating to Council and Transport for NSW for numerous improvements: upgraded signage, extended school zones, safer crossings, fencing, pruning and foliage cleanup, and better pedestrian visibility across multiple streets surrounding CPS.

And in true community spirit, Joe has always been ready to roll up his sleeves, for example, coordinating school discos, helping at BBQs, and supporting social events whenever an extra pair of hands was needed. His decade of service has left a tremendous legacy.

Pearl Chan

Pearl has been the backbone of CPS P&C’s financial operations for many years, serving as Treasurer from 2018 to 2024 and as Assistant Treasurer in 2025. Her contribution spans nearly a decade, and what makes her story even more remarkable is that she accepted the Treasurer role in late 2017, before her eldest child even started Kindergarten. From day one, Pearl brought professionalism, diligence, and an unwavering commitment to doing what was best for the school community.

One of Pearl’s biggest achievements has been the complete modernisation of the P&C’s financial processes. Under her leadership and hard work, the organisation migrated from outdated accounting systems to a modern platform designed for accuracy, transparency, and efficiency. She introduced structured forecasting within the system, replacing manual spreadsheets, and played a key role in consolidating various P&C operational entities to simplify governance and reporting.

Pearl also led the consolidation of multiple banking accounts, reducing complexity and strengthening P&C financial oversight. She initiated the transition from a single-person, informal bookkeeping arrangement to a professional bookkeeping service, greatly improving the robustness and continuity of our financial operations.

Always thinking ahead, Pearl implemented the P&C’s term deposit strategy to ensure surplus funds were earning meaningful interest - helping maximise the money available to support CPS programs, facilities, and student needs. Her technical skills, integrity, and calm leadership have ensured the P&C’s finances are in excellent shape for years to come.

Paul Battaglia

Paul has contributed across multiple areas of the P&C for an impressive decade, from technology to uniform operations, class parent coordination, and events. His roles have included Uniform Shop Committee Member (2015–2025), Technology Coordinator (2016–2025), Class Parent Coordinator (2018–2022), and Events Committee Member (2015–2019). Across all of these, Paul has been known for his deep technical expertise and willingness to help wherever needed.

As part of the Uniform Shop committee, Paul led a technology transformation in 2015 by migrating the shop from a desktop MYOB POS setup to a fully cloud-based POS and inventory system, integrated with both the online shop and Xero accounting. This upgrade not only modernised operations but proved invaluable when the Cottage fire occurred in January 2016. Because the shop’s data was securely stored in the cloud, the $70,000 stock loss was fully recoverable through insurance, an outcome that would likely not have been possible under the old system.

Paul also initiated and shaped the Technology Coordinator role itself, recognising early on that the P&C needed modern systems to operate effectively. He went on to build and manage the Google Workspace environment now used by all P&C office bearers, bringing professional-level organisation, security, and accessibility to our internal processes.

His contributions extend well beyond technology. Paul was an integral part of the Moon Festival organising team from 2015 to 2019, helping deliver one of the most beloved community events at CPS over those years. He also supported countless Democracy BBQs and every P&C Father’s Day Breakfast, joining a group of dedicated dads who proudly served as the event’s “BBQ Masters.”

Paul’s long-standing service has quietly strengthened many parts of the P&C, often behind the scenes, but always with meaningful impact.

The entire Chatswood Public School community, especially our students, have been incredibly fortunate to benefit from the dedication of Pearl, Joe and Paul. On behalf of all CPS families, I extend my heartfelt thanks to each of them for their years of service, passion and care.

As we look ahead, I warmly encourage other parents and carers to consider joining the P&C as volunteers. With more hands, we can share the workload and achieve even more together for our children and our school.

Kind regards,

Brian Chiu

President, Chatswood Public School P&C