Galilee Newsletter

Principal's Report

Dear Families,

Last year we submitted a Building Master Plan and applied for funding through Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM). We have been busy this year submitting additional information to CEM and local politicians to enhance our chances of receiving funding. Last Monday we (Donna McMaster, Cameron Sinclair, Deb Butcher & Pauline Semmens) met with

Nick Wakeling (Liberal Shadow Minister for Education), Margaret Fitzherbert (Liberal Member for the Southern Region) and Bernadene Voss (Mayor-City of Port Phillip). We showed  them our Master Plan and discussed the needs of our school. They were all very receptive and we look forward to further dialogue and assistance with our potential project. Members of the Building Committee visited ORBIT Architects, where Chris Goss (father of Isaac Yr 2 &  Caleb Prep 2018) generously prepared a VR (Virtual Reality) concept of the Master Plan. We plan on showing this to CEM staff, politicians and other stakeholders  as an engagement tool  for our project. We thank Chris and the Building Committee members for their generosity of time. 

Movie/Disco Night

The Movie/Disco Night had a wonderful turn out with over 200 children attending.  All reports back to me have been that it was a resounding success and much fun was had by all.  These evenings are only made possible by the parents and staff who give of their time.  There were over 40 parents who made the evening a success.  A big thank you to those that stayed the entire evening, those who braved the cold to man the gates and crossing, for protecting the stage and disco equipment and for cleaning up at the end of the evening.  Thank you to Danielle Gerecke and Amy Burns who gave up their Friday evening with their families to be in attendance.

2016 Annual Report

Each year it is a requirement for school's to publish an annual report outlining their achievements and future directions. The report is restricted to activities that occurred in 2016. Below is a copy of what I wrote and for the full report go to our school website or the following link: http://www.gsmelbournesth.catholic.edu.au/uploaded_files/media/2016_annual_report_galilee_primary_school.pdf

 

In 2016, I was fortunate to join Galilee Regional Catholic Primary School after having spent the previous five years as Principal of St James P.S., Brighton. Each school is different and has its own strengths and areas to be developed. It has been an enjoyable experience working with the stakeholders of Galilee to work out our future direction and implement a cycle of change and improvement.

At the beginning of 2016, it was important to survey the landscape and gather thoughts on Galilee from the students, staff, parents, local community and Catholic Education Melbourne. It became evident that at Galilee there was a number of strengths to build upon. Together we embarked upon a time of implementing change with a focus on building our community and improving student learning.

Below I have listed a summary (more details in the remainder of the report) of some of our successful change initiatives introduced in 2016:

  • Communication through the development of a new newsletter format, weekly assemblies, website, electronic signage, updating security hardware and processes, new evacuation procedures, parent and staff calendars, use of Caremonkey, information evenings for parents and detailed transition program for Preps.
  • Student learning through a focus on data collection and analysis (student results), staff attendance at Catholic Education professional learning Networks, introduction of Levelled Literacy Intervention, modernising ICT infrastructure and purchasing of over 150 devices (Chromebooks).
  • Community-building with all stakeholders through the introduction of The Events Committee (organisation of parental events), the Dads Of Galilee (including regular meetings and Father/Child Camp) and the active participation of the School Education Board who assisted with a range of initiatives. We researched and completed a camp program for 2016 and beyond, leading to a variety of opportunities for students to increase their independence, resilience and leadership. Galilee is unique as it is Melbourne’s only regional Catholic Primary School with many families living in a variety of locations, making parent participation at school more critical in the building of our community.
  • To build a staff culture of collaboration that allows us to better cater for the needs of our students through the establishment of teams, meeting protocols and role descriptions. This led to a review of our leadership model for both the staff and students at Galilee, to be implemented from 2017.
  • The Building Committee made a significant contribution with the development of a Master Plan that was submitted as part of a funding application to Catholic Education Melbourne (we’ll be notified towards the end of 2017 if we have been successful). The process took six months, which included formal opportunities for a contribution from our community. I thank the members for their expertise, dedication and hard work.

I would like to thank Fr Hugh Brown and Fr Julian Messina; the wonderful students led by our School Captains (Adam & Sarah); the School Education Board, led by Donna McMaster (Chairperson); the hard-working staff, including Julianne Price (Deputy Principal); and the dedicated parents led by Sally Callan (President) of the Events Committee and Paul Mapley (D.O.G.S.). I would also like to welcome the incoming Deputy Principals, Mrs Danielle Gerecke and Mrs Amy Burns who bring many skills that will benefit Galilee.

 

I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together for our students in 2017 and beyond.

Simon Millar – 2016 Principal of Galilee Regional Catholic

Student Led Conferences

The PTO site is now open to take bookings for the Student-Led Conferences scheduled for Monday 26th June, 2pm - 7.30pm and Wednesday 28th June, 2pm - 5pm.

Please ensure you book a time to meet your child's teacher. To log in and retrieve your PIN, you must use the email address the correspondence was sent to (titled 'Galilee Student Led Conferences').

Staffing

We welcome back Miss Casey and Mrs Ford next week from Long Service Leave. Thank you Mrs Reilly (Year 2C) and Mrs Walker (Year 5F) for their care and expertise with our students. Mr Martello will be away on Long Service Leave for the last three weeks of term and be replaced for Italian/ICT by Mr Hill who is a regular replacement teacher at Galilee.

Music Soirees

We look forward to our upcoming Music Soirees from 5pm till approximately 7:30pm in the Hall on Tuesday June 20 (Drums & Vocal) and Wednesday June 21 (Violin, Keyboard & Guitar). Students who participate in our instrumental program will participate and receive a program from Anita closer to the event/s.

We thank Anita for her coordination and the other instrumental teachers for their involvement.

 

Peace and Blessings,

Simon Millar