School Council 

School Council President Speech

Good Morning parents, grandparents, special family members, staff and students. Thank you to all of you for coming today to celebrate Gray St as we near the end of 2022. For those that do not know me, my name is Anna Robertson and I have the privilege of being your School Council President.  In my role I am lucky enough to work with an amazing team of parents and staff to help our school run smoothly and I would like to thank them for their tireless efforts and the significant contribution they have made to our school this year. Your parent representatives are Alison Quade, Russell Bennett, Michael Davies, Tamara Hardy, Mark Hibberd and Brad White and your staff representatives are Ben Kelson, Georgie Paton, Janelle Harms and Lachie Watt. While not a member of the school council, a special mention must go to Maree Falkenberg, our school Business Manager, who works incredibly hard on all finance matters and is endlessly patient answering all our questions, as well as Leesa Dorman for all her work behind the scenes with documentation and support.

The president’s report is an opportunity for me, on behalf of school council, to share and celebrate the achievements of the year with the school community. In preparing for today I looked back through newsletters, spoke with my own children and read through school council notes. It has been an action packed year and even without remote learning, still a challenging one – I think we are all feeling that now and are ready for a well-earned break! 

I wrote my speech and was pretty happy with what I had written… and then last night I attended the Year 6 graduation. For those that haven’t yet reached that milestone – parents and students alike – each Year 6 student prepares and presents a speech. Speaking in front of people is hard. It is hard for adults, but last night I was in awe of 40 young people who stood up in front of their families, friends and teachers and spoke. They spoke of first days in Prep, of favourite moments at school, in the classroom, fun camp experiences, the support of families, making friends, facing challenges, the support of teachers and educational support staff, funny stories, excitement, fear and readiness for their move to Year 7. And some found it hard to speak and I watched as their friends quickly and quietly stood by them to support them. And I realised as I listened and watched that these young people perfectly displayed all that there is to celebrate about our school. 

What stood out the most was the celebration of the learning and growth of these students as individuals. Each and every one celebrated by their teachers as they introduced them and a kind and encouraging word from their principal, Mr Kelson, as they completed their speech. Underpinning every moment was the care and knowledge of all of our children and celebrating them all. 

So just as the Year 6 students were celebrated last night, today we celebrate all of the Gray St students and community on a wonderful 2022. On the sporting front, Gray St students excelled individually and as team members, representing our school in athletics, swimming, netball, cross country, basketball, AFL 9s, Hockey and cricket. Our incredible choir achieved 1st place in the Eisteddfod under the expert guidance of Megan Garland, and again entertained the community at the Combined schools’ carols and the Carols in the Gardens. Today we will see each class present wonderful music items – a great addition to this end of year celebration. Beautiful artworks are shared throughout the school and open learning area as well as on Facebook.

Our Science & STEM night returned with a bang with an incredible turnout of families enjoying all the amazing activities. Camps, extended days and excursions were again a highlight for the students, and we particularly thank the parents who were able to attend and support staff at these events.

From a community and school council perspective we celebrate the success of several fundraising drives such as the Easter Raffle, Kings Pie Drive, Cookie Dough and an incredibly successful Cake Stall. Special thanks must go to Leesa and Maree in our school office as coordinators of these fundraising events alongside school council as well as the many parents who were finally able to be involved in these great initiatives. We look forward to continuing to welcome families and volunteers back in to the school in 2023 so stay tuned for a letter from school council at the Term 1 Meet & Greet meetings for your children which will outline some of the many ways you can be involved in our school. 

We thank parents for supporting these fundraising events and supporting the school to provide the best programs possible via parent payments for materials. School Council strongly encourage families to continue this support to enable our teachers to continue to provide excellent programs. 

School council continues to focus on the maintenance and grounds of our school and were delighted to work with the Student Voice team this year as they presented their ideas to school council. Their ongoing commitment to their school and making it a better place for those that come after them speaks volumes about the young leaders that our school produces. This included the introduction of the Polar Fleece Jumpers, Gray St Beanies, the indigenous garden and the finalising of our shade sail project. School council also oversaw the installation of security cameras to improve our school site security as well as very successful year of OSHC resulting in the reintroduction of the School Holiday program which is a great result for our school and the wider community. 

Future projects for school council include school oval improvements as well as a large re asphalting project for the school grounds. 

But ultimately, at the end of the day, it is really about what our Year 6s shared so beautifully last night. It’s about learning, growing, making friends and memories in a safe, connected and supported school. As I listened last night all of the students mentioned the people in their community who supported them. They named the enormously dedicated classroom and specialist teachers, the ES staff and our incredible admin team of Leesa and Maree who welcomed them each day and often took care of them in tough moments. All of this is possible too because of the dedication of our school principal. I want to particularly thank Ben Kelson for his passion for our school and for his time and care for each and every student, staff member and family. 

And finally a thank you to all of you, the parents and families who continue to help and support our school as we continue to go from strength to strength.

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday break.

Thank you

Anna Robertson

On behalf of the Hamilton (Gray St ) School Council