School Council

SCHOOL COUNCIL UPDATE - Wednesday 20th June

The Bush Dance went incredibly well 0on Friday 15th June – thank you to the Community Building Committee for organising and to all of those in the school community who volunteered and participated and made it such a fabulous night.  

The Victorian Government is offering funding opportunities to local communities through Pick My Project (https://pickmyproject.vic.gov.au/). The School Council and other local community members have identified an all abilities playground as an opportunity for funding. This playground would be inclusive and accessible to all school children and the broader community. The application is close to finalisation as the deadline for submissions is Sunday 8th July. Sam Day (Vice President) has pulled this submission together in a very short time frame and mobilised a number of school community members to bring the submission to life. Thank you Sam.  Initial concepts for the playground will be submitted as part of the application. Designs optimising sensory play are included. Should we be successful in receiving funding (up to $200k) we will refine the playground concepts in consultation with relevant community members and stakeholders, including the City of Yarra Disability Advisory Committee.  If we make it through the application process the entire community will have the opportunity to vote to ensure we secure the funds. Fingers crossed and watch this space for voting details!

Raffle tickets have gone home to families – buy up quickly! A special thank you to Mikela Dalrymple for all of her amazing work in sourcing the prizes. 

Another great initiative from the Community Building Committee  - a grade 5 afternoon tea raised $293 for Black Dog and the grade 2 raised $640  for TAKE  3 at their afternoon tea.  Well done to all of those involved.

 The School Council discussed the importance of our school value of inclusivity and is proud of many of the initiatives we already have in place to support our school community. We are always investigating other opportunities and agreed at our June meeting to investigate the feasibility of pet therapy for students.

The School Council also discussed the Building and Grounds Report prepared by Nick Scarborough (Treasurer) and the Building and Grounds Committee. There are a number of works that are being costed and scoped for prioritisation. Many hazards have been identified and maintenance funding covers an ongoing hazard works program.

Many great ideas have been proposed by the school community for the 2018 School Fair funds. Thank you particularly to the School Fair Committee being led exceptionally by Kate Lovett. 

The School Council is delighted to reveal that the funds raised at the 2018 School Fair will be used to upgrade the Multi-purpose room. This room is the heart of the school and investing in an upgrade will ensure it keeps pace with our school community expectations. We have already committed to investing in a dividing curtain to maximise the use of the space, which will be installed in the coming months. We are now investigating a range of other ideas including improved audio-visual equipment, an additional entry/exit point, and flooring that is better suited to dance and play.

The School Council also agreed that a portion of the funds raised at the School Fair will be earmarked for ongoing minor infrastructure upgrades. We are lucky to have such a beautiful main building that has a great history - our School was built in 1874. What comes with historic buildings erected in the 1800s is increasing costs for infrastructure works. The School Council has agreed that it is prudent that the infrastructure works funding allocation be increased to ensure we keep pace with a deteriorating building and get ahead of the works required to make sure this building remains comfortable and suitable as a twenty-first century teaching environment.

There has been a lot of discussion about whether school fundraising activities can be used to clean, upgrade and build new toilet facilities. Schools should not be fundraising for toilet works – the Department of Education provide us with funding for basic services.  Extensive investigations and minor works have been completed to resolve the odour in the existing toilets and general maintenance funding will be utilised should an appropriate solution be found.

Thank you all for your continued support and please contact the School Council should you wish to be involved in any of our committees.

Mim Slattery

Secretary