A message from the Principal
Getting involved at SKiPPS
Of all the features that contribute to making our school such a special place, the active and supportive parent community is without doubt one of the most important. Without our parents giving so generously in time and resources, we wouldn’t be able to offer such a varied, interesting and supportive curriculum in our classrooms, such a wide range of extra-curricular activities or to raise vital funds through our many excellent activities throughout the year.
As schools are constantly changing and evolving communities that welcome and farewell families on a regular basis, we are always in need of new parents and community members to become involved in the school, donating time, expertise, ideas and resources to allow us to continue to thrive and provide such a welcoming and effective learning environment.
As many of the parents who have previously been heavily involved in these activities have left the school, we really need an injection of new faces into these roles to ensure they can continue to happen in the future.
This support and involvement can come in many different forms, both major and minor and, as we start the new school year, we ask all of our parents and carers to consider whether they are able to get involved at school to ensure we can continue to be such a wonderful environment for our students.
As Catherine Sharples, our outgoing School Council president, outlines later in this newsletter, we are currently looking for four parents to join our School Council. There are further details about what this important role involves and nomination forms are available from the school office.
All parents are invited to join our School Council Sub-committees. These groups meet at the school once a month and are a vital part of the organisation and day-to-day running of our school. Sub-committees discuss key issues for the school and make recommendations which are then taken to School Council for decisions to be made. All parents can attend any meetings of our sub-committees and we especially welcome any community members with a passion or expertise relating to the work of that group. The details of our sub-committees can be found below;
Buildings and Grounds sub-committee
Buildings and Grounds Sub-committee (BAGS) monitors the condition of and needs of the school buildings, furniture and grounds. They formulate proposals to School Council on major and minor works, urgent works submissions for the DET, health and safety submissions to the DET and School Council contracts. We would be especially interested to hear from parents with a background in trades or building maintenance who could share their expertise with the group.
Next meeting: Wednesday 11th March
Time: 6pm
Location: Staff Room
Convenor: Neil Scott scott.neil.n@edumail.vic.gov.au
Finance sub-committee
The role of finance sub-committee is to examine and consider the financial statements as prepared by the Business Manager each month, monitor and review budget performance regularly and prepare draft budgets for consideration of School Council by November of each year.
Next meeting: Thursday 12th March
Time: 8:15am
Location: Principal’s Office
Convenor: Neil Scott scott.neil.n@edumail.vic.gov.au
Education and Policy sub-committee
The job of Education and Policy sub-committee is to support the development of a comprehensive and inclusive curriculum in accordance with the Department of Education and Training guidelines. They discuss and develop the policy documents that set out key directions for the school and monitor and evaluate progress against our strategic documents and goals.
Next meeting: Monday 9th March
Time: 5pm
Location: Staff Room
Convenor: Michelle Bove bove.michelle.m@edumail.vic.gov.au
Fundraising Sub-committee
Fundraising sub-committee provides a representative body to coordinate the major fundraising projects in the school. In conjunction with SKIPPA (our parents’ Association) they organise fundraising/social functions with the school community both to raise funds for the school and also to provide an opportunity for the school community to meet in a social context.
Next meeting: Tuesday 10th March
Time: 8:15am
Location: Principal’s Office
Convenor: Neil Scott scott.neil.n@edumail.vic.gov.au
Our Parents’ Association (SKIPPA) are always very keen to welcome new faces to support us to run the many SKiPPS social events each year and to build stronger connections between parents.