School Council News
A focus upon driving continuous school improvement
Master Plan Development-
Community Consultation Survey
Over recent years, Upwey South Primary School has achieved many positive facility and curriculum enhancements, many of which fell into the category of ‘need to do’. We are now in a position that we can consider some of the ‘would like to do’ projects.
School Council, in conjunction with School Leadership, are currently working to formulate a Facilities and Program Enhancement Master Plan for the school. This plan will help to identify and prioritise facility and curriculum enhancement needs, and opportunities, for the short to medium term (one- five years); direct school funds over coming years including locally raised funds (PTA fundraising and parent voluntary contributions); and to support our existing School Strategic Plan.
A working group has been formed consisting of members of School Council and School Leadership to facilitate the development of the Master Plan. All projects need to complement or enhance either the ‘curriculum’ (Learning programs), ‘culture’ (Learning atmosphere) or ‘climate’ (Learning environment) of the school.
The teachers have already provided input on their priorities for the teaching and learning environment. The following ‘bigger’ projects have been identified under the category of needs vs would like.
Projects that fall within the 'Need' Category:
- Installation of sliding doors for classrooms in the main building (currently housing Year One - Year Four students). Purpose: to allow for room partitioning, temperature control, and noise reduction in order to support productive and comfortable learning environments.
- The replacement of the louver windows in the main building. Purpose: to allow for better temperature control in both Summer and Winter months, to support comfortable learning environments.
- Development of an Indigenous Garden. Purpose: to reflect the school’s commitment to embedding a meaningful acknowledgement of Indigenous Australians into our school curriculum, culture and environment. Initially this would involve the redevelopment of garden beds bordering the Administration Building/basketball court, but could extend to other identified areas of the grounds.
Projects that fall within the 'Would Like' category:
- The development of an Outdoor Learning Space, incorporating multi-purpose outdoor seating and natural landscaping (large rocks, indigenous planting). Purpose: this would provide a specifically designed space for outdoor learning, as well as additional seating for students at recess breaks.
- The development of an Arts Hub; encompassing the relocation of Performing Arts and Digital Arts into the current Library space, adjoining the current Visual Arts room, with relocation of the library to the current Performing Arts and Computer Lab. Purpose: this would allow for enhancements to the Performing Arts space over time (mirrors, dance floor), easy access to the green room for digital integration, and capacity for all individual instrument tuition to be housed within the same space.
- The installation of a running track around the school oval. Purpose: to enhance the provisions for students who attend Running Club, and those who represent the school at cross country running events. Pre-Covid attendance at weekly Running Club was averaging ~15% of our student population.
Policy Spotlight
With a hot Summer forecast, it is an important time that we once again bring to your attention the importance of being Sunsmart.
The first day of Term One 2021 will be here before we know it! Therefore, please commit the time to making sure that your child/ren have a sunsmart school hat packed and ready for Day One, 2021.
We wish all of our families a wonderful Christmas, and a Happy New Year. Thank you to everyone for your valued support throughout 2020.
Do You Want to Get Involved with a Subcommittee?
For information about how to get involved with a School Council Subcommittee, please visit:
or email
Peta Cartwright- School Council President
Peta.Cartwright2@education.vic.gov.au