School Council 

School Council Update

Hi Monty Families,

We’ve made it - the end of Term 3 is here, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one looking forward to a well deserved break from Webex next week! The improving weather and slight changes to restrictions will hopefully make for an enjoyable break, even if it is still somewhat restricted and close to home. Stay safe, stay connected, and enjoy some down time.

School Council met via zoom on September 7th - we're still hopeful we will meet in person again soon! But for now, there was no shortage of positive news from the school. Janene and the team shared so many wonderful things to be grateful for, which lifted our spirits immensely:

    - Our amazing Monty STUDENTS - who are rising to the challenges that 2021 has set them, showing up to all of their webex’s with their best smiles, and proving how resilient they are in the face of our latest lockdown. Well done to all of our students for smashing it this term!

    - Our brilliant Monty STAFF - who are powering through and keeping our students engaged and motivated through remote learning. Massive effort and brilliant work by all staff, thank you!

    - Our on-site program and all the staff and students that have had to be at school throughout lockdown have done a stellar job..

    - Mrs George, our new Wellbeing Lead Teacher, has hit the ground running - and I know I have been enjoying reading the information that has been shared on Compass. Welcome Mrs George!

    - And last, but certainly not least, the outstanding NAPLAN results our Grade 3 and 5 students produced this year! WOW - to outperform the Victorian means is a huge achievement. But then knowing that Victoria outperformed every other state in Australia is just amazing. This is a testament to everything that the school - including leadership, teachers and students - who have been working on this as part of the school’s 5 year plan. To see it pay off in such a challenging year is just huge. On behalf of school council, WELL DONE EVERYONE!

What else has been happening? Earlier in the year, School Council was involved in the early input phases to our school building upgrade. A massive amount of work (driven by the leadership team) goes into preparing input to the Victorian School Building Authority to guide decisions around building a fabulous new space for our school. There has been visits to the school from authorities (in between lockdowns fortunately!) and now an architect has been appointed. We look forward to seeing more on this soon.

You’ve probably heard about the Were St upgrades that have been discussed and consulted in the community earlier in the year - our understanding is that work will start early next year and I’m sure there will be more information from both Banyule Council in due course.

What’s ahead for Term 4? All I know is that we will tackle whatever comes our way with our Monty spirit and determination to see us through. Sending virtual high fives and thanks to all of you, our students and staff. And we hope to see everyone soon.

Take care,

Nicole MacDonald (SC President) - on behalf of School Council