School Council
What is School Council?
All government schools in Victoria have a School Council. They are legally formed bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within centrally provided guidelines. In doing this, a School Council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students. Nominations for parents wanting to become involved in School Council are called for in March each year.
The pages that follow outline the various opportunities for involvement in the committees of School Council. These committees are open to all parents, not just those from the School Council. Teachers are also represented on our committee’s, however the participation of parents in the range of committees strengthens our entire school community and ensures that Apollo Parkways remains a vibrant progressive school.
Planning & Development
Planning & Development is a committee of School Council, made up of both parents and teachers, whose primary role lies in two areas.
Firstly, this group review existing policies to ensure that they remain current and accurately reflect the practise of the school. There are also occasions where new programs and processes are introduced into the school that will require a policy to be developed to ensure that all are aware of the intent or purpose of the activity and the procedures to be followed. The Planning & Development committee writes these new policies, often in conjunction with the appropriate group or committee. This is certainly not glamorous work but it is integral to the effective operation of our school.
The contribution of parents to this work is vital to ensure that our school policies are parent friendly, stating clearly and concisely, without jargon, the details of our school processes. The perspective of the parent can only be provided by you the parents.
The other main aspect of this committee’s work, the glamorous part, is organising the various parent evenings held throughout the year. Over the past years this committee has engaged a broad range of presenters who have covered a variety of education and social issues including: cybersafety, boys education, drug education, gifted education and a number of general parenting topics such as: behaviour management, self esteem, nutrition and well being. The response to these events is wonderful and the feedback from those attending always very positive.
If you have suggestions or ideas that might be covered on such an evening, or you have heard someone speak on a particular topic or issue and you think our community might enjoy hearing this too, then please contact us with your suggestion. Or better still why not come along to one of our meetings and talk through your ideas, your input would be greatly valued.
Building & Grounds Committee
Upon first visiting Apollo Parkways Primary School you were probably struck by the attractiveness of the school buildings, surrounding playgrounds and gardens. On parent opinion surveys this is always an area on which our school community comment most favourably.
Our Buildings & Grounds committee can take much of the congratulations for this. Over the past years they have worked tirelessly to maintain and further develop the aesthetic appeal of our school. The four beautiful and much loved playgrounds and climbing equipment areas were projects developed and managed by this committee. The completion of these areas with retaining walls, sandpits, seats and garden beds was work undertaken at working bees organised by the Buildings & Grounds committee.
Working bees are a cornerstone of this committee’s undertakings. Held once each term and strongly supported by the wider school community they have allowed for significant tasks to be undertaken. Working on the ‘many hands make light work’ principle, these working bees have seen acres of plants and seedlings planted, metres of fencing erected, mountains of mulch spread, hundreds of sleepers laid and of course dozens of sausages bar-b-qued and eaten.
So as you can see you don’t need to have a background in the building industry to get involved in the Buildings & Grounds committee – if you’ve tended a garden, renovated a home or are just a devotee of home make-over shows you will find a place on this committee.
Marketing Committee
Gail McHardy the President of Parents Victoria in a recently published article stated “creating a school environment where parents feel welcome can be crucial to a school’s overall success and communication is the key to making parents feel part of the school.” This is very much the work of the Marketing committee. This committee of School Council create the public presentation of our school to both its own community and the wider education sphere.
For those parents who have recently joined our school community your journey to and through our door was supported by the publications of this group. From the signs and banners on display throughout the local neighbourhood, that may have first drawn you to our school, to the DVD and various brochures presented to you on a school tour, through to the information provided upon enrolment and orientation sessions, the Marketing committee oversees all of these communication tools.
As a leading school, both locally and internationally, in the area of learning technologies, Apollo Parkways Primary School has an expansive public face. The Marketing committee works to both support and maximise the opportunities provided by this profile.
Again – no high level expertise in the world of advertising and public relations is necessary. If you read our school publications then you have a perspective and opinion to offer and a contribution to make to the Marketing committee.
Fundraising Committee
The Fundraising committee is the group of parents and teachers who gather to organise a number of significant events that not only support the financial arrangements of the school, but in many cases provide for the community to join together in a spirit of enjoyment for all. This very active group enjoys a strong connection to the school and its activities.
This is a group that operates around the ‘divide and conquer’ premise - with committee members dividing tasks amongst the members of the group and conquering what may seem like mammoth tasks. All members feel greatly involved and their input highly valued working as part of this team.
Of course all members of the school community can support the fundraising of the school by purchasing the raffle tickets for the Christmas Hamper or succumbing to the Chocolate Drive – but that chocolate will taste even sweeter if you are part of the group that directly assisted in organising this and other key fundraising events.
Out Of School Hours Care Committee
Our schools Out of School Hours Care Program is a very popular aspect of our school, with both the Before and After School programs providing a wonderful service to both parents and children. Of course the success of this program is largely due to the staff that organise and supervise children into the myriad of activities on offer. However the direction of the program is strongly supported by the Out of School Hours Care committee.
This group meet regularly to review the program, oversee financial and staffing arrangements and to provide whatever support may be required by the Program Coordinators and staff. For many working parents the service provided by Out of School Hours Care is an essential part of your family life, which is no doubt a busy one. However you might wish to consider supporting the program that supports you by coming along to a brief meeting once each month.
Parents & Friends Association
Their annual calendar includes a range of events that strengthen the link between the school and home. One of their long-standing contributions has been the organization of the Mother’s and Father’s day stalls. Here the committee provide inexpensive gifts for children to purchase at school. The work of the PFA helps to ensure that these days are special for children and parents alike.
The PFA are strong supporters of school highlight events such as Friday Night Fever and The School Production. They also work together with the Fundraising committee on many of our annual fundraising activities. Our PFA also provide a number of morning teas throughout the year that allow parents to gather together to discuss events and happenings at the school.
This group of parents – mainly mothers – meet regularly in a relaxed and informal atmosphere where pre-school children are most welcome. Toys and drawing materials are provided for the infants and morning tea for the adults – seems like an easy place to begin your contact with the school.