From the Principal's Desk
Dear MSPS Community,
School Council - Call for 2022 School Council Member Nominations
All government schools in Victoria have a School Council. They are legally formed bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of the school within centrally provided guidelines. We are currently seeking member nominations.
There are 3 possible categories of membership:
- A mandated elected parent category. Department of Education employees can be parent members at their child’s school.
- A mandated elected Department of Education employee category. The Principal of the school is automatically one of these members.
- An optional community member category. Its members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences.
The term of office for members is two years. The MSPS School Council Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month (except for school holidays).
Nominations are due back to me by 4pm Friday 18th February. The nomination form is attached to this newsletter or can be collected in person from the office. Please return completed applications to the office or email them to me at Leanne.Sheean@education.vic.gov.au.
If there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted in the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.
Vacancies:
| MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY | TERM OF OFFICE | NUMBER OF POSITIONS VACANT |
| Parent member | From the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2022 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2024 | 3 |
| DET employee member | From the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2022 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2024 | 2 |
If you require further information about School Council or the process for filling vacancies, please contact me.
The election timeline is as follows:
Wednesday 9th February Notice of election and call for nominations
Friday 18th February Close of nominations
Monday 21st February Distribute ballot papers if required
Friday 4th March Close of Ballot
Count votes and declare ballot
Tuesday 8th March New Council meets at 7.15pm
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Marcus Walsh, Shayley Holland, Vanessa Edwards, Danielle Lee, Cecelia Ramsdale, Steve Gartner, Emma Di Pietro, Nghiem Tran, Jane Plunkett, Mitchell Dintinosante and Naomi Ivers for their contribution to School Council and sincerely thank them for their time, effort and dedication to Montmorency South PS over the last two and more years. These last two years have been especially difficult with Covid-19 and the Council has helped to guide the school through the necessary changes we have experienced. They have also been instrumental in facilitating the improvement of our school grounds, namely the recently completed playspace and a new playspace to be completed later this year. Thank you.
In particular, I wish to thank and farewell Nghiem, Jane and Shayley who have indicated they will not be renominating for Council this year after having held council positions for multiple terms each. We are extremely grateful to them for their years of service.
Rapid Antigen Tests
Families can now collect the second box of Rapid Antigen Tests from the office. It is strongly recommended that students test twice weekly for Covid-19 for the first four weeks of term 1. This box of 5 tests will get students through to the end of that recommended 4 week period. If you are unable to collect the kits from the office, please send an email to montmorency.south.ps@education.vic.gov.au giving us permission to send it home with your child.
Shade Sail – open air class room
The Victorian School Building Authority will fund a shade sail to be installed during Term 2. The shade sail will help create an open-air classroom in our portable hub area near the Year 4 classrooms.
Welcome
Last week, our new students commenced school with great confidence and excitement. We welcomed each of them by name in our last newsletter omitting those who prefer to not have their names published. We regret we did not extend a welcome to new students Danielle and Liam Steinmann. Welcome to you both and all the best for your time at Monty South.
Keeping up to date / Compass
To keep our community up-to-date with school news and events, I encourage you to check Compass as it is our main form of communication to families. We generally send out a weekly Compass email with information and links to the latest news and events at our school. All calendar events will be on Compass and the school website. Additionally, we have Facebook and an Instagram account for social media posts.
Our MSPS Parents’ and Friends’ group also have their own Facebook page.
SSG & Data reporting conferences - Reminder
Please be reminded that SSG & Data reporting conferences will be held next week (Week 3) beginning Monday 14th February. If you have not yet booked your child’s timeslot, please do so asap. These meetings will be via WebEx.
Parents’ and Friends’ Committee Nominations and invitation
Last week we announced the Parents’ and Friends’ AGM call for Committee nominations but did not include the nomination form. Please find it here.
Joining the P&F committee is a great way to meet other parents, be involved in the school community and in your child’s school life. Your level of involvement is dependent upon your availability. It is a fun and rewarding role and we welcome you to join.
Parents’ and Friends’ AGM
Wednesday 23rd of February 2022 at 7.30pm
Download the P&F information and nomination form:
Car parking / Kiss and Drop Zones
We wish to remind parents/carers that the Mitchell Ave car park is not a Kiss and Drop Zone. Dropping students off without properly parking your vehicle is dangerous. Students dropped off this way must move between and around cars that can be moving or reversing. Please park your vehicle in the parking bays to drop students off, or use the dedicated Grand Boulevard Kiss and Drop Zone instead.
New parking spaces and a second Kiss and Drop Zone will be completed soon on Reichelt Ave to help with traffic congestion at drop off times.
Leanne Sheean
Principal
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Montmorency South Primary School acknowledges traditional owners of country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to elders both past, present and future.
‘Montmorency South is an inclusive learning community where students are inspired to be respectful, creative, curious and independent learners.’
Our Belief:
We believe that every person in our Montmorency South school community has the capacity to assist each student in attaining our vision.
Motto - Together we learn, lead and achieve