School Council Sub-Committee

Our Community is what makes our school special! Our families are dedicated to giving their time and supporting our school by contributing to working bees, helping with fundraisers, supporting our student’s learning in the classroom or by being a part of one of our school’s important committees.

Below is a list of our school’s groups/committees and organisations for 2021 with a brief description of their purpose. If you are interested in learning more about one of the groups or finding out when each group’s next meeting is, please contact Ross, Luke or someone in the office.

Parent & Friends Association - Community Events & Fundraising

The Newlands Primary School Parents and Friends Association is a friendly, social group of parents and guardians who meet regularly and help the school in a variety of ways.

The PFA aims to:

Contribute to the wellbeing of the students, staff and other members of the school community
Promote the development of facilities for education generally to support the school council
Raise funds for the purpose of providing amenities and enhancements for Newlands Primary School for use by the whole school community
Endeavour to stimulate interest in Newlands Primary School and education generally
Promote interaction between all members of the school community

School Council Committee

Newlands School council is a partnership between the school and community to provide oversight into the school’s operations and school’s committees. The school council has three main responsibilities:

Finance: overseeing the development of the school’s annual budget and ensuring proper records are kept of the school’s financial operation
Strategic planning: participating in the development and monitoring of the school strategic plan
Policy development and review: developing, reviewing and updating policies that reflect a school’s values and support the school’s broad direction outlined in its strategic plan.

More detailed information can be found on the following link, if you are interested in being a member

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/management/community/Pages/schoolcouncilsfunction.aspx

Education Sub Committee

The Newlands Primary School Education Sub-Committee is a committee that aims to be pro-active in the matters relating to education, particularly those that involve parents and carers at Newlands Primary School. The Education Sub Committee aims to do the following:

• Improve school-to-parent communication and vice-versa

• Draft, support, and publicise school education policies

• Reviewing whole school data

• Ensure schools initiatives and programs are beneficial to the students at the school.

• Help develop and implement the ‘Community Engagement in Learning’ element of the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes.

Buildings and Grounds Sub Committee

The Newlands Primary School Building and Grounds Committee consult on matters relating to maintenance together with immediate and future plans to improve the school’s grounds and buildings.

The scope of Newlands Primary School’s Buildings and Grounds Committee includes the commissioning, coordination and oversight of the following:

General playground maintenance;
Working bees;
Building projects;
Schedule of maintenance;
Playground audit;
Supporting the Principal with major and minor development and improvement projects

The Sub-committee works in consultation with the Principal and Assistant Principal who outsource certain buildings and grounds jobs on an as-needs basis to different contractors. The work of the Sub-committee is undertaken in addition to these outsourced jobs. A key component of the Sub-Committee’s work is its occasional community working bees. These scheduled events are held on either a Saturday or Sunday and a BBQ lunch may be provided for the families attending. Together with maintaining the school building and grounds, these events provide opportunities for informal social gatherings for all those involved.

Finance Sub Committee

The responsibilities of the Newlands Primary School Finance Committee include:

Consolidation of revenue and expenditure,
Dedicated transfer of fundraising,
Assisting the Principal and School Council with the development of the school’s annual budget;
Ensuring that the annual budget supports the school strategic plan;
Regularly monitoring and reporting to Council on progress against the budget; Ensuring that the school finances are in accordance with DEECD guidelines and that relevant internal control procedures are maintained;
Making recommendations to Council on fundraising activities and liaise with the Community Committee and other school groups concerned with these activities;
Assisting in the completion of school tenders e.g. works contracts, school council building contracts;
Review of parent payment policy;
Assisting the Principal in ensuring that the school operates to a balanced budget and that all liabilities and financial commitments are brought to account in the relevant year.

OOSH Committee

The OOSH sub committee’s purpose is to ensure that Newlands Primary School has a high quality program for children who attend the Out of Hours Care.

The responsibilities of the Newlands Primary School OOSH Committee include:

creating clear communication between OOSH and school council
documenting key work by program staff
supporting the service by researching best practices
networking with local and state organisations
ensuring the OOSH service meets standards set by state and national regulators.

Spanish Sub Committee

The Spanish Sub-Committee is a committee that aims to be pro-active in matters relating to Spanish bilingual education and culture, particularly those that involve parents and carers at Newlands Primary School. The Spanish Sub Committee aims to do the following:

Work with teachers and school on the implementation of the Bilingual Action plan.
Organizing events whereby Spanish speaking countries are promoted within the school and the broader community.
Promoting our Bilingual program with the local community, Spanish playgroups, Spanish childcare centres and promote this visually in the schooling community.
Organize Spanish conversation workshops with Newlands parents and carers.
Liaise with teachers to support the bilingual program and parents participation in school activities such as the Reading program, PMP and Builders program.

OH&S Committee

To provide a forum for consultation and dissemination of information on matters which are likely to affect the health, safety and welfare of Newlands Primary School in accordance with the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act 2004).

The scope of the OHS Committee involves:

OHS training and education of employees, OHS Committee members, HSR and Deputy HSR.
Monitoring and review of workplace inspections, workplace hazards, incidents, injuries and investigations.
Developing and reviewing risk assessments and risk controls.
Reviewing safe work procedures (SWP).
Reviewing any purchasing checklists/guidance for items with OHS implications.
Developing safety rules and information.
Reviewing emergency procedures and drills.

NPS Sustainability Committee

This committee consists of parents, staff and student leaders who will utilise their interest, skills and capacity to guide and support positive environmental actions within the school and the broader community. We aim to connect the efforts of the school with other organisations, government support programs and grants.

The committee will work with school to support, encourage and manage initiatives that demonstrate care for our local environment, including:

Continuing to deliver the Resource Smart Schools program which improves environmental performance
Reducing energy use
Address consumption and improve waste management
Enhance biodiversity values
Increase understanding of natural cycles through food growing and sharing
Build community-care networks for extreme weather events (e.g. heatwaves)
Support civic engagement by students on environmental issues
Provide teachers with professional development and team planning support for units of work appropriate to all the above.

Spanish Sub Committee

The Spanish Sub-Committee is a committee that aims to be pro-active in matters relating to Spanish bilingual education and culture, particularly those that involve parents and carers at Newlands Primary School. The Spanish Sub Committee aims to do the following:

Work with teachers and school on the implementation of the Bilingual Action plan.
Organizing events whereby Spanish speaking countries are promoted within the school and the broader community.
Promoting our Bilingual program with the local community, Spanish playgroups, Spanish childcare centres and promote this visually in the schooling community.
Organize Spanish conversation workshops with Newlands parents and carers.
Liaise with teachers to support the bilingual program and parents participation in school activities such as the Reading program, PMP and Builders program.

Student Leadership