School Council member feature

Name: Nigel Keegan

My wife Sarah and I have two boys, Oliver in Room 16 and Samuel in Room 4. We also have Rosie who is 20 months of age.

My favourite thing about MPW

One of my favourite things about MPWPS is the sense of community that is extended to all people within its reach and the value placed upon every child.

Name: Helen Lockart

Grade 5/6 teacher - Room 8

My favourite thing about MPW

Our community’s commitment to the wellbeing of each of our students pays homage to the understanding that it truly does take a village to bring up a child. No one person is

more important than any other and we all have a role to play in supporting our students.

School Council Membership

Parent members:

Ben Atchison
Lisa Shaw
Simone Beever
Lee Cath
Nigel Keegan
Matthew Kenny
Jane Kingsley
Brian Stanley
Nigel Toussaint

DET members:

Kerri Simpson - Executive Officer
Helen Lockart
Katherine Ayrton
Alyena Mohummadally
Barbara Springfield
Sandra Monaghan (School Council Secretary)

School Council Meetings

commence at 19:00

Monday 25th February
Monday 18th March (rescheduled)
Monday 27th May
Monday 17th June (rescheduled)
Monday 26th August
Monday 16th September
Monday 25th November
Monday 16th December

Sub Committee Meetings

Education Committee - Meetings commence at 18:30

Thursday March 14th
Monday May 6th
Monday June 3rd
Tuesday August 6th (date change)
Tuesday September 3rd (date change)
Wednesday November 6th
Monday December 2nd

Resources Committee - Meetings commence at 19:00

Tuesday 12th February
Tuesday 12th March
Tuesday 14th May
Tuesday 11th June
Tuesday 13th August
Tuesday 10th September
Tuesday 12th November
Tuesday 10th December

Environment Committee - Meetings commence at 18:00

Wednesday 27th February
Wednesday 20th March
Wednesday 22nd May
Wednesday 19th June
Wednesday 21st August
Wednesday 18th September
Wednesday 20th November
Wednesday 11th December

Community Partnerships

Thursday 20th June 4:00 pm

Sub Committee's 2019 - Expression of Interest

Are you interested in joining one of the School Council Sub Committees for 2019? Please find attached an Expression of Interest. You may return your Expression of Interest by email to the School Council Secretary @ monaghan.sandra.s@edumail.vic.gov.au

Annual General Meeting 2019 Report

School Council Report 17th June

It’s been a busy month for School Council with two meetings (due to rescheduling) and our annual School Council Governance training event. The school’s Sub-Committees have also been presenting the goings on from their respective meetings, which has meant the discussions and recommendations have been both exciting and comprehensive. This is to be expected in many ways as we approach our mid-year, as many ideas and actions are well underway across our school.

At this month’s meeting we were pleased to have two of our Junior School Council (JSC) Reps attend (Lachlan T and Aurelia M), outlining a summary of the things our students have been discussing in their classrooms and bringing to JSC. This includes classroom rules for footy card trading, feedback about the new toilet block and some fundraising ideas they are supporting.
School Council were presented with the final schedule for the upcoming Japan Tour - it certainly will be an exciting trip for all!
Council also approved the recommendation regarding the upcoming Swimming Lesson Program for our senior students.
Kerri outlined the role of the School’s Learning Specialists, which provide two of the teaching staff with a professional development opportunity whilst remaining in their primary classroom role. Our Learning Specialists (Kim and Vicki) are already in their roles and will be spending their time with the wider teaching staff sharing their expertise in Literacy and Numeracy.
We received an update about the plans for our Sensory Garden. Over the last few months, both the community and the students have been given the opportunity to vote on their respective preferences, which has led to an approved concept. We await the final funding approval processes which will hopefully progress to the concept going to tender soon. The architects are excited to be involved, which we are all very pleased about.
Kerri provided an update on the success of the School’s Intervention Strategy, which has been focusing on the key areas of reading and literacy, as well as the work the staff have been doing on developing an 'Educative Statement', (short but also sharp) that links the Vision, Philosophy and Values.
The Education Committee has been busy updating the Digital Technology Policy which will soon be finalised. Council was also updated on how the teaching staff have been meeting to learn and discuss the School’s Instructional Model, which is being implemented statewide as a requirement by the Department of Education. Along with that our teaching staff have been learning about childhood development and how the brain learns, as well as looking at a number of planning documents.
The Resource Smart sub-section of the Environment Committee hosted a successful whole-day workshop on what is happening in schools like ours, from a sustainability perspective. The Committee will also continue to work on an Action Plan, which will outline clear goals to help our students and wider community become more sustainable and ultimately greener! Council was also very excited to hear that a local architectural landscaper Sara Hastings (and school parent) has kindly offered her time and expertise to assist the students in coming up with wonderful ideas for green spaces around the school - initially for the area beside the new toilet building.

Council wishes everyone a nice mid-year school break and we look forward to working together across Semester 2.

Jane Kingsley

School Councillor

Community News

School Holidays Tennis