School Council Minutes
2014
DATE: Wednesday June 18th, 2014
WHERE: Staffroom
TIME: 7.05 pm
PRESENT: Rohan Stone, Mary Hawker, Gayle Bedford, Scott Trewhella, Pat Turner, Libby Preston, Andrew Thompson, Lynda Reid
APOLOGIES: Paul Hon (Leave), Trav Cartwright, Ange Procter, Mel Mann. (Gavan Hughes, Shaq Mubariz)
Minutes of MAY School Council Meeting are true and accurate.
Moved: Mary Hawker Seconded: Rohan Stone Carried
1. BUSINESS ARISING FROM MINUTES:
Item / ActionMal Whyte Brick Wall / Quote to fix crack $450 from Neil Thomson – approved go ahead
Co-opted Community Members / Andrew Thompson has asked Leo Welch (Builder) as a community member and he has said agreed to join. Gayle to phone him with details.
Student Engagement Policy review / Slight amendments have been made since last meeting and document now approved.
Reading Support / No interest shown in forming a support group of parents. However, Scott will follow up with a local newspaper article about a group of retired professionals looking for volunteer programs with assisting children. ****Follow up next meeting***
YMCA Afterschool Care / Application for Service Approval attached to agenda for discussion. Thanks Pat.
SWEP usage alert Excessive water usage 500 litres of water per hour in May / Gayle has had Tim Denahy, plumber look into the problem. No excess water was found and no leaking cisterns. There have been no further notifications from Andrew Hinchliffe and by his email the problem was fixed within 24 hours of the notification. We have been using water as ‘normal’, since.
2 CORRESPONDENCE:
2.1 Inwards
Date / From / What / ActionJune / DEECD / Use of School premises during state Elections, 29th November 2014 / Principals to ensure follow obligations as stated. Schools do not distribute, promote or display material that maybe considered political in nature & no perceived or actual preference for any political party is generated.
2.2 Outwards
Date / To / DetailsMotion
Motion: The Inwards Correspondence is received and the Outwards Correspondence is endorsed.
Moved: Seconded: Carried
2.3 Excursions
Week 8 / Year 3 & 4 Port Walks, local excursionsCross country, St Arnaud
Soccer Tournaments- Bendigo.
One & All Inclusion Camp – two girls attending (see below details in Scott’s report)
2.4 Pupil Free days for Approval
Motion: Moved approval of camps and Pupil Free Days
Moved: Mary Hawker Seconded: Pat Turner Carried
3. REPORTS
3.1. Finance Report - Motion: That the Financial Reports for the date of June 3rd, 2014 be received and that the accounts paid therein be ratified and further that the tabling of the receipt journals for the month of April 2014 be acknowledged.
Moved: Rohan Stone Seconded: Andrew Thomson Carried
3.2 Principal’s Report: presented by Gayle Bedford
After School Care- YMCA
Thank you Pat for liaising with Eli Geary in regard to the after school Care Program.
Enrolments
From Thursday 12th June, enrolments are 503. This is still fluctuating with transfers out and in.
2015 we have 68 enrolled for Foundation.
Student Bus Program
Echuca Primary will join Echuca College in a Pilot Program in regards to the School Bus Program. Email from Chris Eeles-Echuca College is keen to participate for a number of reasons. We (I have ) always expressed concern about the lack of funding for a co-ordinating school to manage this program. I have long expressed for this role to be removed from schools. We have also expressed concern over the unnecessary pressure this role places on the principal and staff of the co-ordinating school, especially around the placement of students on/off buses, fare paying issues and discipline issues.Sometimes dealing with families who do not attend our school.
We hope that by participating in the pilot that we can influence some of the changes that will be implemented in the future.
Events for May
Whole school Mother’s day morning tea
One & All Inclusion Wear Orange day.
Golf clinics and AFL visits for senior students.
Year 3 & 5 completed the NAPLAN assessments. Mostly, a smooth process, some anxious.
Year 3 & 4 involved in Swimming program
Education Week- Scientists Do Amazing Things was recognised with an open school morning for parents after assembly. Experiments, research and readings were conducted across the school. The amazing work of our Science teacher Mrs Clee as highlighted.
Reconciliation Week acknowledged by a whole school walk around school oval with Elder Rick Roan who welcomed the school to country and raised the Reconciliation Flag. Year 3 & 4 Koorie students and a buddy accompanied Gayle Bedford, Paul Hon & Corbs to the Shire Reconciliation Service. Years Foundation, 1 & 2 watched a performance of the dreamtime story Tiddalik the Frog and many other relevant activities across the school.
Division Cross country success with 16 competitors making it through the Regionals at St Arnaud. Five students have qualified for the State Cross Country in Melbourne on July 17th.
Years 5 & 6 Netball Tournament. A great inclusion experience for all students at this age regardless of ability.
Sustainability Soldiers are on the war path for rubbish in the yard with the introduction of a monthly Nude Food Day. Hope it catches on, as there is far too much wrapping litter left around.
The Student Action Team held their first Disco on Friday the 13th. Yes the theme was a scary one!!!
Public Speaking is back on the agenda through the Lions Club. This is open to Years 3-to 6 students.
Year 3/4 An Australian holiday be a tourist officer and convince the audience to holiday in a particular region.
Year 5/6- A Toast to someone you admire- it must be a person in our local community.
Echuca College Community project- year 9 students presented a talk on the importance of being active. Our 5/6 students posed questions about health & the causes of obesity. They conducted three fun active games
Peer Observations by Echuca College staff – teachers viewed teaching practice and classrooms at our school. It was a positive process for us to showcase our school.
Report writing is in full flight along with teachers developing Performance & Development Goals in the new, more rigorous review process.
Coming up- Trivia night June 20th
Paul Hon will be returning on November 4th 2014. This has been confirmed by Region.
3.3 Teaching & Learning Report: Rob Hogan
May and June are easily the busiest months for teachers, in regards to their Teaching and Learning expectations. In May, we see the NAPLAN grade 3 and 5 testing, which was extremely well run and the students were very well prepared. We don’t get whole school results until August, but raw data would indicate we are performing very well in almost all key learning areas. Our NAPLAN preparation and administration is extremely thorough and highlights our reputation as leaders in Teaching and Learning practice within the local network.
June sees teachers collating assessment for mid-year reports. The whole school report writing day and term 3 interviews have eased the stress. Reading area minutes, there is a lot of collaborative discussion around student achievement, which ensures consistency across the level and much more accurate assessment of student progress. Newsletter article highlighting our reporting process and what parents should expect, hopefully alleviated common concerns about the student report.
Classrooms appear vibrant and busy, with the team teaching and collaborative approach to teaching, planning and assessing certainly having a positive impact on our children.
3.4 Staff Development: Gavan Hughes, will deliver at meeting. (???) (add the report here)
3.5 Community Engagement/Parents & Friends: by Scott Trewhella
Lorin Nicholson
On the 21st of July, Lorin will present to our school community from 12.00pm – 1.30pm. Lorin is a blind musician and motivational speaker who will share stories of resilience and overcoming adversity. Lorin has spoken throughout Australia and the US. He was a guest speaker at the National Young Leaders Day and has featured on 60 minutes. Lorin’s visit has been funded by the Rich River Golf Club.
Hugh Van Cuylenburg
On the 25th and 26th August, Hugh will present student, staff and parent workshops based around his highly acclaimed Resilience Project. Student sessions will focus on gratitude, positivity, empathy, kindness and mindfulness. The staff and parent workshops will focus on 7 Learnable Attributes of Resilience – emotional awareness, impulse control, optimism, casual analysis, empathy, self-efficacy and reaching out. Hugh’s visit has been funded through the school professional development budget and the CCLEN.
It’s My School Too!
The program is starting to gather momentum. Jamie Roberts is about to commence another round of movie making to look at specific bullying issues using children from our school. We are awaiting the delivery of our pledge board for staff and students to sign as a statement of support and acknowledgement of the program. We also have wrist bands that will be presented at assembly to students who carry out acts that support the ideals of the It’s My School Too! program.
Other community activities that are taking place or have recently been held include:
Australian Navy Band
SAT – Disco – Friday 13th June
P&F Trivia Night – Friday 20th June – coming up
One and All Leadership Camp – Niamh O’Kelly and Tayla Ramsay
Community reading program – 3/4 AB visits to Johnny and Lyles, Bendigo Bank, Lockwoods and Evan’s shoes
First Aid in Schools F
Author Visit – Glenda Millard
3.6 Facilities Report: – by Gayle Bedford
Guttering has been cleared of leaf litter. Need to investigate water seepage from sprinkler heads. The controlling solenoids are difficult to locate. May need to engage Dennis Compton to locate them. Tim Denahy looking into the cost. Front fence has been fixed where new portable was transferred. Soft fall around playgrounds needs to be topped up. May Whyte wall approved to fix cracks. Quote from Neil Thomson Builder was $450.
4. STRATEGIC FOCUS
4.1 Student Engagement & Well Being - Scott Trewhella, as above
4.2 Literacy – by Kylie Coutts
Team Members: Rob Hogan (Teaching and Learning/Level 1 and 2), Alison Meggs (Foundation), Shona Fullford (Level 1 and 2), Brendan Leersen (Level 3 and 4), Nicole Jenkins (Level 5 and 6).
Literacy SFG spent the majority of Term 2 developing our Writing Resource Folder, specifically targeted to Echuca Primary School. The aim of this is for teachers to be able to access one document (hard copy and digital copy) and know the writing expectations, assessments and activities of Echuca Primary School.
We have also had numerous professional discussions around the Whole School Spelling Program and what is best practise for our students. This will be an ongoing discussion with the SFG member’s trialling and investigating different approaches to find the best fit for our students.
Learning Walks will be another focus for Term 3. Members of the SFG will take time to walk throughout the school to take notes and photos of different aspects of Literacy – anchor charts, structure of the Literacy Block and use of ICT in the Literacy Block.
Our Writing Resource Folder will continue to be a focus of our meeting with Term 3’s meeting designated to the ICT component.
4.3 Numeracy – by Dylan Cuttriss
The Numeracy SFG have been working towards achieving our goal of effective use of data within the classroom.
In order to achieve this we have been implementing the following:
Reflective practice of how data is used within each level.
Sharing of ideas/concepts for how data can be collated and used.
Sourcing professional reading documents relating to the use of data in the classroom.
We are preparing to start peer observations, which will allow members to observe teachers from different classrooms with a focus on how they can improve their teaching practice.
Term 3 will see a Maths Morning run, with Level 1&2 showcasing warm up games with the focus of number facts, whilst levels 3-6 will be displaying ways to learn times tables. Parents will also leave with a handout of ways to help their children to learn real life Maths.
Our forward planning will relate to the outcomes of NAPLAN testing, focusing on addressing questions that a high percentage of students got incorrect, as well as attempting to understand the misconceptions to why students may have chosen an incorrect answer.
4.4 e-Learning – presented by Trav Cartwright
What has been happening?
Classrooms are still continuing to use available technology. The use of iPads is increasing in the year 3&4 level, with uptake of the trial continuing.
The focus of the eLearning team is shifting towards increasing teacher capacity with the use of Edmodo. Edmodo is a web based collaboration tool that will allow teachers to connect with educators worldwide. Teachers can set up student logins for student collaboration.
This has been used in the 3&4 level with the use of Edmodo on iPads through the Edmodo app and with other students accessing through the Netbooks. Students have been able to respond to class polls and quizzes, collaborate with classmates online, submit work and access web links. Teachers involved with this innovation have compared it to the Ultranet but are finding it much more user friendly and quicker.
Currently 15 teachers have Edmodo user accounts and have accessed the Echuca Primary School Community page to collaborate and share resources.
4.5 Inquiry – by Kirsten Wright
The inquiry team has completed the Echuca Primary Inquiry Plan and is now developing and Odd & Even Year Scope & Sequence to include- History, Geography, Science, Health, Civics and Citizenship and Interpersonal development.
Motion: That the all Reports for the month of June 2014 be received and acknowledged.
Moved: Scott Trewhella Seconded: Rohan Stone Carried
5. GENERAL BUSINESS –
ITEM / DETAILS / ACTION5.1 Student Engagement Policy / Feedback / Reviewed altered and approved since last meeting.
5.2 YMCA After School Care Program / See below / See below
5.4. Face Book / The Parents & Friends Facebook page has been changed Echuca PS, Trav, Ange & Lisa are administrators. / All OK, working fine.
5.5 Signage / School promotions. Looking at the construction of a sign at the front of the school to promote events / Lisa has investigated costs and quotes received. Discussed lack of money, and new signs are very expensive. Vic Roads rules state we cannot have electronic signs, must be static.
Andrew Thomson will check on some old signage being wasted at the Shire. Maybe investigate making our own.
5.6 Fete / Friday 14th November (Date decided) / Need to engage families and classroom parent Reps.
5.8 Trivia night / Friday 20th June / Facebook page, newsletter
5.9 Speedy drop off point / Request to the Shire for ideas to implement “somewhere” at our school. / Follow up with shire regarding suggestions. Request a letter from the Shire about their ideas.
5.10 VIC SUPER FUND / Amendments to VicSuper SuperStream information, needs to be approved.
Approved in principle, dependant on date due.
Moved: Gayle Bedford
Sec: Mary Hawker / Rohan Stone feels that the date has been extended. He will check the date and advise Gayle tomorrow.
The DEECD is this Year
5.11 SOLAR INSTALLATION PROPOSAL / Rohan Stone suggested the feasibility of Government schools loaning money to install solar panels to reduce electricity costs. Suggestion in contacting corporate business. / Gayle will speak to Education department regarding the rules of loaning money.
ACTIONS