Wednesday Feb 10,2016 From Sue Evacuation Drills Unfortunately a few schools have received hoax telephone calls threatening the safety of children and staff at primary schools across Victoria, interstate and some schools overseas. These calls have resulted in considerable disruption and concern at the specific school level; for neighbouring schools and from a risk management perspective, for the Department of Education and Training. Most schools have undertaken evacuation procedures to ensure that they are prepared and familiar with the process and can respond efficiently and effectively if they face a risk. Hampton has been involved in two drills over the last few days, one off-site and the other was a lockdown in the main school building. All teachers informed their children that a drill was going to occur later in the day. Our intention is to ensure the children, staff and visitors understand and can the follow the emergency evacuation procedures calmly and effectively. Our major focus is always on the safety of students, staff and community members. Educational Costs All government schools receive some funding to operate the school. Areas funded include: Core student learning allocation Language support English as an additional language Students with disabilities Equity or social disadvantage School infrastructure including contract cleaning, grounds allowance, Worksafe, utilities, maintenance and minor works funding, essential service and annual contracts Staffing We pride ourselves on offering a wide range of stimulating learning experiences and relevant and appropriate resources and setting and achieving the best possible outcomes. Unfortunately, most schools find the funding provided by the government falls well short of the schools’ requirements. One simple example is the grounds allowance from the department for Hampton in 2016 is just over $3000, by the end of February we will have spent $80,000 (the detailed list of the projects completed was in last week’s newsletter). It is for this reason that schools need to develop carefully formulated budgets to increase the revenue, often from the local community through fundraising and fees to enable the programs to be delivered and high standards achieved. My sincere thanks go to the many parents who have paid their fees to date. Your support is greatly appreciated. We do have a small number who have not done so; I encourage them to discuss their situation with our Business Manager, Nicole St Leon or me to enable a payment plan to be developed. I am very keen for all children to be able to fully participate in all school activities and events
15
Embed
From Sue Wednesday Feb 10,2016 - Hampton Primary · PDF fileWednesday Feb 10,2016 From Sue ... Assembly Presentation ... 3 Plain Garments $21.00 5 Business Shirts $16.50 HAMPTON 7
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Wednesday Feb 10,2016
From Sue
Evacuation Drills
Unfortunately a few schools have received hoax telephone calls threatening the safety of children and staff at
primary schools across Victoria, interstate and some schools overseas. These calls have resulted in
considerable disruption and concern at the specific school level; for neighbouring schools and from a risk
management perspective, for the Department of Education and Training. Most schools have undertaken
evacuation procedures to ensure that they are prepared and familiar with the process and can respond
efficiently and effectively if they face a risk. Hampton has been involved in two drills over the last few days,
one off-site and the other was a lockdown in the main school building. All teachers informed their children
that a drill was going to occur later in the day. Our intention is to ensure the children, staff and visitors
understand and can the follow the emergency evacuation procedures calmly and effectively. Our major focus
is always on the safety of students, staff and community members.
Educational Costs
All government schools receive some funding to operate the school. Areas funded include:
Core student learning allocation
Language support
English as an additional language
Students with disabilities
Equity or social disadvantage
School infrastructure including contract cleaning, grounds allowance, Worksafe, utilities, maintenance
and minor works funding, essential service and annual contracts
Staffing
We pride ourselves on offering a wide range of stimulating learning experiences and relevant and appropriate
resources and setting and achieving the best possible outcomes. Unfortunately, most schools find the funding
provided by the government falls well short of the schools’ requirements. One simple example is the grounds
allowance from the department for Hampton in 2016 is just over $3000, by the end of February we will have
spent $80,000 (the detailed list of the projects completed was in last week’s newsletter). It is for this reason
that schools need to develop carefully formulated budgets to increase the revenue, often from the local
community through fundraising and fees to enable the programs to be delivered and high standards achieved.
My sincere thanks go to the many parents who have paid their fees to date. Your support is greatly
appreciated. We do have a small number who have not done so; I encourage them to discuss their situation
with our Business Manager, Nicole St Leon or me to enable a payment plan to be developed. I am very keen
for all children to be able to fully participate in all school activities and events
School Council
School Council elections will be held during February and March. All councillors except the
principal have a two year term of office. The principal is the executive officer of the council and
therefore has ongoing membership. Hampton has a council comprising 15 people: 8 parent members
and 5 Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (this includes the principal) and
provision to co-opt two community members. In order to ensure that school organisation has
continuity and important decisions are made as required, half the council turns over each year. This
means the school would always have some councillors who have at least one year’s experience on
council.
We have vacancies for four parents, two co-opted members and two teachers (or Department of
Education and Training members). School Council meets once a month with the meetings going for
approximately two hours. In addition, school councillors are asked to serve on one committee.
Committees usually average one meeting a month and are required to report to council regularly. We
have the following committees in operation: Buildings and Grounds, Education, Finance,
Fundraising, Grants and Canteen. From time to time additional working parties are established as
required. For parents who have an interest in education generally and a commitment to Hampton, we
would welcome your input on council.
Nomination forms will be available from the school office on the 15 February.
The following councillors’ terms expire in March 2016:
James Buckley, Heidi Bergman, Kirsty Reynolds, Jamie Smart, Lisa Logue and Marion Marks.
Co-opted members: Chris Sampson, and Bec Wilson/Sally Morgan.
The remaining councillors’ terms expire in 2017:
Brett Anquetil, Damien Louis, Fiona Loveland, Jane Wright, Sim Paul, and Tim Bernau.
Please note the timeline below:
Monday 15 February Nominations open
Monday 22 February Nominations close
Wednesday 24 February Distribute ballot papers (if required)
Wednesday 9 March Ballot closes
Friday 11 March New council members announced.
If any parents have queries about the process, I would be happy to discuss these with them.
Student Leaders
Last year we had strong interest from our aspiring
leaders with over 60 children applying and
presenting for an interview for the various leadership
positions at Hampton. For some children, this
process took them out of their comfort zone but all
embraced the challenge and tried their best. I was
delighted to note the enthusiasm, strong interest and
varied ideas and suggestions for school improvement
that many shared at the interviews. Yesterday at
assembly our Year 6 student leaders received their
badges. I extend congratulations to the following
students and wish them a happy and productive year
as they develop their skills and confidence in their
leadership role:
School Captains: Jack Tuffley 5/6A, Wattles; Mia Henwood 5/6A, Wattles
Youth Ambassadors: Oliver Horrigan 5/6C, Eucalypts; Ruby Wilson - 5/6A, Wattles
Band Captains: Josie Cook from 5/6D, Sassafras; Declan Bakker -5/6G, Jarrahs
Music Captains: Dominique Doig from 5/6F; Oliver Hill from 5/6C
Peacemaker Leaders: Tayla Jones - 5/6D, Sassafras; Rafferty Netley - 5/6F, Red Tingle
Alex Taylor from 5/6A, Wattles; Ben Weis from 5/6A, Wattles