Principal's Report
Final School Council Meeting for 2020
It certainly has been a strange year for School Council. Like so many other organisations, we have had to find new ways of doing business. We’ve managed to continue to meet each month, albeit via-Webex. Whilst this has allowed us to tend to key business, it can be a challenge for all members to engage and participate in discussions. Last night we managed our first face to face meeting in quite some time, which was nice.
1:1 iPad Program for Grade 3s - It was good timing to have a face to face meeting this month, as we had a long and productive discussion about the pros and cons of introducing a 1:1 iPad program for grade 3 students in 2021. In 2021 our grade 3s and 4s will be in composite classes together, so it makes sense for all students in these classes to have access to the same resources. This presents a significant change for our grade 3s and is something that needs to be managed well, taking into account the capabilities of grade 3 students and the needs of families. In the end the decision was taken to approve the introduction of 1:1 iPads for our grade 3s and information will be sent out to relevant families in the coming week. Please note that students participating in this program will be using an iPad leased by the school, so there will be no need for parents to go out and purchase an iPad for their child. The approximate cost for this will be $120 per year.
Budgets for 2021 – Late last week our Finance Committee met for a half day to take a good look at our cash budgets for 2021. These were presented to School Council for approval last night. As per usual, we struggle to make ends meet with our cash budgets and have limited control our big ticket items, those being cleaning, utilities and Casual Relief Teachers. We are very pleased that numbers are building back up at Base 1270, as this program is certainly playing an important role in enabling us to make ends meet. Fees and charges statements can now be finalised and will be circulated to parents in the coming week.
Members Finishing up with School Council – Last night we took the opportunity to thank two of the team who were finishing up. Katie Adamson has been on School Council for a few years now and has been our secretary for the past 2 years. Katie will be teaching in Swan Hill in 2021. Shaun O’Loughlin has been coming along to School Council meetings for the past 6 years, keeping us in touch with what’s happening at Scotsburn and advocating for the Campus. Both have done an excellent job and made a significant contribution to School Council.
ORIENTATION DAY
As mentioned last week, an Orientation Day is going ahead in all state schools on December 8. We’re very pleased about this and invitations are being sent out to all with a prep enrolled for 2021. For our new preps, the day will look very similar to previous years, but things will be quite different for parents. Normally our parents are invited to drop off their children and then stay for a parent information session. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the information session will be delivered virtually this year.
SCHOOL PHOTOS
It was great that we managed to squeeze our school photos in last week and we look forward to receiving the photo packages before the end of the school year.