School Council 

School Council for 2023

Dear Fellow Parents, 

Last week I had the pleasure of sharing our school's three overarching goals from our recently completed School Strategic Plan with my fellow councillors. These goals will form the foundation of all decisions relating to school improvement including budget allocation, staffing, professional learning and resourcing.  They will also provide a clear direction and indication for progress as they are matched with targets for each. The strategic goals for this year, and the following three are:

1. To maximise the learning and achievement of every student in English and Mathematics.
2. To improve student wellbeing outcomes.
3. To empower students to be active and engaged learners.

Recently the Department of Education provided funding for staffing at school camps to all schools across the state. Up until this, the increased cost to schools, and therefore parents, had put a hold on our camping program other than the free camps provided by the state government last year. I am very happy to say that at last week's school council meeting, we updated our school camps policy to once again timetable camps as a regular feature on our school's calendar. In their time at Mackellar, students will have the opportunity to attend a camp during either their grade 3 or 4 year, and then again in either their grade 5 or 6 year with the grade 3-4 camp starting in 2024 and the grade 5-6 camp starting in 2025. Now that the policy has been passed, further details can be arranged and communicated to you in coming newsletter editions. 

As we prepare for our upcoming school production, I did want to pass on my sincere thanks to all the staff for the effort they are going to in making this, our first production in many years, both a reality and a success. Having been wandering around the school at various times, it is so nice to see and hear the students performing, and the excitement that this brings.  No doubt the night itself will be all that and then some!

We do want all parents and guardians to be  part of this huge night, however we also understand that cost of living pressures are very real. If your family would like assistance to secure tickets for the night, yet finances are a struggle, please speak with us so we can support. 

Regards,

Vince Scarfo

School Council President