School Leaders

Parent Payments - Term 2 Update from Dragan (our School Council President)

Hi Everyone, my name is Dragan Rajak and I'm your School Council President.

At our School Council meetings we look into many "other bits and bobs" that go into running a school like contracts, formal communications, issues raised, fundraising and similar. One of the key items we also go through are the school finances to make sure they're healthy and can support the wonderful programs we have put in place that have made us a high performing school that we know and love. 

So far many families have been very supportive of the school which is fantastic! Thank you to each and every one of you that has supported the school and will plan to support the school in the near future!

We are the high performing school that we are not just because of our capable teachers but because your generosity enables those teachers to keep track and hyper focus on your child needs through our iPad and Laptop program. I recall that during our Department of Education school review, our iPad and Laptop program was praised as an example of a good implementation. As a parent I was skeptical on whether giving kids screens is a good idea but the proof is in the pudding and without them we'd be lost during lockdowns.

Here's a quick summary of what it takes to run our school:

Apart from teacher salaries which are not shown or controlled by the school locally, as you can see in the diagram, government funding does not cover all other school expenditure. The Government funding is determined by student numbers and is strictly allocated to particular budget lines such as utilities, maintenance and minor works, OH&S and disadvantaged students. As a parent I'd like government funding to fully cover all school costs but unfortunately it simply doesn't and as a result every school makes up the difference via parent contributions, fundraising, International Students and hiring out the facility. At our school just over half the costs are covered by your support and generosity. Department funds covers costs - but only at a very basic level. We want more than basic for our children.

In regards to Parent Contributions, here is where we are currently sitting: 

Looking at our internal budget numbers recently, as an example, on the iPad and Laptop program budget line items, the school is falling short and is sitting at an average of 62.44% contributions received. Our "classroom consumables" line item is also falling short and is sitting at 61.17% received. It's a similar picture across pretty much all other line items.

Given this is the case, we need to ensure our budget is sustainable so we can make decisions at School Council on whether we need to redirect funding, revisit expensive initiatives such as the device program and cut back on budget lines. 

The budget management job falls on our wonderful business manager Tess who will be calling you this Term to check whether you intend to contribute. It is important to note that we're doing this so we can lock in and manage the budget going forward.

Thank you all for your past, present and future support!

Celebration of Learning Day

We are thrilled to announce that we will (finally) be opening our doors to our wonderful families during Education Week (May 23-May 27). On Tuesday May 24 our current families will be invited to join the children in their classrooms from 2:45pm to celebrate their learning and participate in some fun activities together. 

Following this,  we will be hosting some games from 3:30pm-5:00pm in the Forecourt and welcome families to bring a warm jacket, picnic rug/deck chair and mingle with other families. Our fabulous FAF team will be providing a sausage sizzle and cake stall. Please check out the FAF page for volunteering opportunities and ways to donate. 

SMPS Open Day

Following our Celebration of Learning, members of the wider community and prospective families seeking to enrol their children will be invited to attend the School's official Open Day. This is a significant event for the School as we showcase our wonderful teachers, students and programs at the school. 

If you know of any family who is looking for a great school for their child, please encourage them to register their details for the event via the link on our website: register here.

Tissue Box Donations Wanted!

As we are well and truly getting into the colder weather, we are please asking for donations of boxes of tissues to distribute to class spaces in preparation for some sniffly noses over the next few months. If you have a spare box to donate, we would greatly appreciate it. Please bring your donations to the office. Thank you so much. 

Competition Time - Name our iNewsletter

The Lighthouse Times? The High-Rise News? The SMPS Times? The ...?

Our Family iNewsletter is a significant part of our School Community and we think it deserves its own name. And, this is where we need your help! 

We invite all families and community members to have a chat at home and submit their recommendations to name our iNewsletter. We will then create a poll in the next iNewsletter and invite our community to vote on their most preferred name. 

Click here to submit your ideas by next Friday 13 May: Name our iNewsletter

The students belonging to the winning contribution will win a special lunch with Mr Noel and Miss Carmen!