Dear CHPS Community,

As term 1 draws to a close it’s time for a quiet reflection and celebration that the children have completed their first full term of school in over two years. Over the last few weeks of term 1, we have formed a new School Council and are already working on ways to bring the community back together. We have a lot of ideas including year level dinners, comedy and trivia nights, music/talent shows and much more, but we’re very keen to offer events that the school community want, so please keep an eye out for a survey in the near future so that we can coordinate and offer events that you want.

This brings me to the major school fundraising event, the School Fair. The Fair has traditionally raised a large amount of money for the school, which has been used to improve the facilities for the students. Examples of the School Fair fundraising include installation of solar panels, building of the Science Centre, evaporative cooling in the multi-purpose room, renovation of the prep courtyard, allocation of funds to the All-Abilities Playground, Wellington St Playground play equipment replacement and general buildings and grounds maintenance. We have been fortunate to have had a long-standing Fair Coordinator in the CHPS community, Kate Lovett. After many years of service, the time has come for Kate to pass the baton. The School Council would like to acknowledge and thank Kate for the time, effort, and dedication she has put into coordinating multiple Fairs. She is responsible for ensuring the school has raised the funds required to deliver many of the projects listed above.

For the Fair to proceed, we need a member of the school community to volunteer to take on the 2022 Fair Coordinator role. This role is quite time intensive in terms 2, 3 and 4 and requires a good deal of organization. If you are feeling ready for a challenge (or know someone else that is) please reach out to me (bryony.nayagam@education.vic.gov.au) by Friday 29th April. You may wish to share this role with another person. The School Fair cannot run without a coordinator! Are you the next School Fair champion?

An important aspect of our fundraising for the school is allocating the money raised to school improvement projects. The School Council has several ideas about how to allocate funds but would like to hear from you. Please click here to share your ideas about how we can improve the school. This link will close on Friday 13th May so that we can discuss ideas at our next School Council meeting on Wednesday 18th May.

As we all work into our new roles on the CHPS School Council, I’d like to say a big thank you to our retiring School Council members for the fabulous job they did during their tenure (largely during the pandemic), particularly Brian Bird, our outgoing President. Brian played an integral role in securing funding for our new campus and was involved in the design process for the new build. The new Council are eager to hear your views and opinions, so please continue to share your feedback and/or concerns with us. We look forward to re-igniting our vibrant school community in 2022.

Wishing you and your families a safe and restful break.

Bryony Nayagam

School Council President

Planks!