School Council 

School Council Newsletter Report 

On Thursday 11th August, School Council met for the last time before Mrs. Seneviratne departed for her well deserved holiday.  Mr. Pickett has taken over as Acting Principal while she is gone, so although he has some very big shoes to fill, we think he will do an excellent job provided he stays off the scooters, we don’t want him getting hurt.

Our last meeting saw everyone back in attendance after a few apologies the month before.  Even Wynston attended, listening attentively.  

Mrs. Seneviratne ran us through incoming school correspondence which included the August Student Enrolment Census.  I learned that a census is undertaken twice each year with the information used to determine the Student Resource Package (SRP) funding - which is the major source of funding for schools.  

The August enrolment census will collect information on the occupations and education of our students' families. This information is then used to calculate funding for next year based on our school's student learning needs and equity requirements.  Along with the Census, enrolment projections for next year have now been submitted to the Department of Education with planning well underway to welcome next year's foundation students.

We did discuss the challenges of staffing, with teachers moving on to promotions, finding jobs closer to home or welcoming their own little bundles of joy. Although these vacancies are being advertised, it is acknowledged that there is a shortage of teachers across the country, which makes the recruitment process challenging.  Because of this, we will continue to see classes split when teachers are away.

The Policy and Curriculum Sub-Committee worked through updates for the Communication with School Staff Policy and the Camps and Excursions Policy.  All school Policies need to be regularly reviewed to ensure they are up to date and relevant.  These Policies as well as the Annual Report and the Schools Strategic Plan can be found on our website:

https://www.wyndhamvaleps.vic.edu.au/school-strategic-plan

The next few months will be very busy at WVPS with the not to be missed Art Show, the Community Picnic and multiple fundraisers. Make sure you pop those dates in your calendar and please reach out to the staff in the front office or the Parents and Friends Group if you would like to be involved.  

Our next meeting is 20 October 2022

Sharon Gatt 

School Council President