RIPPONLEA PRIMARY SCHOOL

School Council President -Final Words For the Year

What a huge year 2018 has been for

Ripponlea Primary!

To think how far we’ve come since the start of the year, when we had: a new (Acting) Principal; a new (Acting) Assistant Principal; a new School Council President; 6 new School Council members; and new teachers across all year levels including a completely new Specialist Team.

All these new faces quickly became part of the Ripponlea family, and now we’re blessed with a strong school leadership team led by our Principal Natalie Rose and Assistant Principal Jess Grey (congratulations Jess!), a fabulous cohort of teachers and support staff, and of course the brilliant community of Ripponlea parents, carers and friends who contribute so much to this wonderful school.

School Council also had an enormous year in 2018, meeting 8 times with lots of robust participation from all Council members. Achievements this year include: overseeing a strong budget outcome for the year; ratifying a host of school policies (check them out on the school website); overseeing facilities and environment projects including the new outdoor learning deck, the new flag pole, working bees and a bunch of other repairs and odd jobs across the school.

School Council also hosted a series of fabulous events in 2018 including the Welcome Picnic, the Father’s Day breakfast, the Twilight Market, the Election Day BBQ, and of course the GREATEST FETE!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow School Council members for all their hard work this year, and for making my job as School Council President remarkably easy. Particular thanks go to:

  • Michael Kent, our illustrious Treasurer, for his openness and diligence in scrutinising the books, ensuring the school is in the strong financial position it is in today;
  • Martyn Rose, our Vice President, for always being there to back me up and pitching in wherever needed.
  • Jaclyn Paltos, convenor of the Governance Committee, and the members of the committee for doing such thorough job reviewing and drafting school policies (with a HUGE thanks to Raynia Theodore for your many years of expert assistance).
  • George Keon-Cohen, convenor of the Facilities and Environment Committee, and everyone who has pitched in to the F&E committee and contributed to all the great work around the school.
  • Fiona Harris, convenor of the Marketing and Publicity Committee, for continuing to spread the good word about our fabulous little school.
  • Kylie Jeffares and everyone involved in the School and Community Partnerships committee and Ripper Families for more than I can possibly do justice to in this brief report – I’ll just say that without Kylie in particular, and the many others who contribute to school events, much of what we take for granted about our school community simply wouldn’t happen.
  • Colin Smith, our ‘community representative’ and one of our newest members of Council for throwing himself into his role on Council, and particularly for the enormous effort he put into trying to score the school an iconic W-class tram (sadly we weren’t successful).
  • Jess Grey, Alicia Oliver-Cook and Lucy Clover, the staff representatives on School Council, for diligently hanging around for meetings after school hours and always bringing the views of staff to the table.
  • Natalie Galati, our school’s Business Manager and School Council Minutes Secretary, not only for her skilful note taking but also for her absolute brilliance in managing the office and looking after the school’s financial affairs.
  • And last but not least to Natalie Rose, our wonderful Principal, for your tireless enthusiasm and dedicated commitment to Ripponlea Primary from day 1. We are so lucky to have you.

Finally, an enormous thanks to everyone in the school community who’s come to a meeting, flipped a snag, dished out pork or beans, slapped on some paint, helped out in a classroom, volunteered for Snack Shack, helped on excursions, dropped leaflets, baked cakes, purchased raffle tickets, sewn a costume, filled in a survey, come along to assemblies, sports days, and other school events, or done anything else to help make Ripponlea the great school it is.

Thanks to all of you for your passion and energy and for everything you’ve contributed to the school and school community throughout 2018!

I wish everyone a happy and safe holiday. A fond farewell to all the staff and families leaving the school at the end of 2018, and hope to see the rest of you all fresh and raring to go at the start of the 2019 school year.

 

Jeremy Aarons

President, Ripponlea Primary School Council