2015 Annual Report - Summer Hill Public School

Summer Hill Public School
Parents and Citizens Association
2015 Annual Report
The role of the P&C
The Summer Hill Public School Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) is an incorporated body
under the Parents and Citizens Associations Incorporation Act 1976. We are a not for profit
organisation which promotes the interests of the school by bringing parents, teachers and
students into close cooperation.
We also:

assist the school by providing facilities and equipment through fundraising;
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promote the recreation and welfare of our children;
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encourage parent participation in the curriculum and other education issues;

act as a forum to share information to benefit the school community

advocate for local educational improvements; and

promote public education
We do this by:
 meeting to discuss relevant issues either raised by the P&C or by the school at meetings on
the 3rd Tuesday of each month during term;
 giving our time through working on committees, volunteering at events and representing
the parents on school committees and panels; and
 organising events. Not all our events are to raise funds, some are to publicly celebrate and
engage with the school community.
The Annual Report summarises the performance of the P&C against its objectives, outlines
initiatives and events during the year, provides a statement of the P&C’s finances including an
audit report and celebrates our successes during 2015.
President’s Report - 2015
This is my first Annual Report and looking back over the year we have much to be proud of as
an organisation. The success of a school depends on many things and as important as any of
those is the close cooperation between the school and its community. In Summer Hill we have
that cooperation. We have a strong sense of community that I believe revolves around our
school. Many of the things we do as a P&C bring our community together and at the same time
raise money for our school.
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Due to ongoing funding pressures in public education it is increasingly up to parents and the
community to assist our school to get the resources it needs. This year we raised close to
$80,000 through events and by obtaining grants. In accordance with our Disbursements Policy,
these funds were used to support the school in many ways including funding:
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the second installment for the 2014 playing field upgrade ($30,000);
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hall sound system improvements and upgrades ($13,000);
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the purchase of eight laptops for use in the classroom ($12,000)
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various improvements to the grounds and playground ($5,000);
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the provision of sporting equipment and resources ($2,100);
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music committee initiatives and support of the school’s music program ($2,700);
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student injury insurance premiums ($3,600);
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sustainability education and a traffic education project ($1,500)
Major Events & Achievements
Looking back over the year, we have organised many successful events and programs. One
long-standing project that was completed was the traffic and parking changes around the
school. After many years of consultation with Council, changes were made to physical
crossings and traffic and parking rules on Moonbie Street, Herbert Street and Junction Road
resulting in a safer environment for our children at pick-up and drop-off. I would like to thank
Deborah Samuels for all her work in seeing this project through to completion
We organised an education campaign to inform our community of the traffic changes and reeducate parents about traffic rules around schools. We were also successful in obtaining a
grant of $2,000 from NRMA Insurance to promote road safety. This grant covered much of the
cost of our education campaign and included banners and flyers informing the community of
the changes and promoted safe behaviours. I would like to thank Kelly Johnstone for
coordinating this project and all the volunteers who assisted.
During the year we organised a Comedy Night at the Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL Club. This
was a new initiative to hold a parent event away from the school, reducing organisation and
set-up time. The evening was a great success, allowing the school community to come
together and enjoy a fun night out while at the same time raising close to $7,000.
The Wild Inner West Hoe Down was the 2015 parent event at the school. Ticket sales were
lower than for previous year’s parent events but takings from the silent auction and prizes
more than made up the shortfall and the evening raised close to $15,000. I would like to thank
the organising committee for all their hard work in making this event happen. Many days of
effort and time went into creating an incredible outback venue in our Hall.
This year’s Spring Fair was a tremendous success and testament to the efforts of and time
spent by the orgnanising committee. Organising the Fair is a huge logistical challenge involving
the coordination of hundreds of people and is a process that begins early in the year. This
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year’s Fair Committee had a number of new volunteers who brought fresh ideas and
enthusiasm to re-define the Fair notwithstanding the restrictions on use of the new artificial
playing area. The Fair raised approximately $30,000, which was around 30% more than in
2014.
As we continue to seek new ways to raise funds, this year was the first year we accepted
sponsorship from orgnaisations in return for allowing promotion of businesses to parents at
school events. Much effort went into developing a Sponsorship Policy to ensure transparency
and fairness in dealing with businesses in our community. I would like to thank all of those
businesses that were sponsors of our Spring Fair.
The Lend Lease Community Day was held at the school on September 17th. This was a new
initiative led my Helen De Wolfe who organised over 40 volunteers to complete many projects
in our grounds and gardens. Thank you to all our volunteers and Lend Lease staff who were
involved.
While always being an informal forum where we can have open discussion it is important to
have an appropriate governance framework around how we operate as a P&C. This year we
revisited our Constitution, developed By Laws and a Code of Conduct, reviewed our
Disbursement Policy and created a Sponsorship Policy.
Committees
Turning to our committees, we are fortunate to have a number of dedicated volunteers
working tirelessly across many different areas of school life including music, grounds,
sustainability, sports and fundraising and events
The Fundraising committee led by Helen De Wolfe organised a number of other very successful
events during the year including a Disco, Mothers Day Breakfast and Stalls, Hot Cross Bun
Sales, Fathers Day Breakfast, Card Creations, Art Show coordination and an Election Day BBQ.
These events (along with those organised by other committees) involved staff, students,
parents, carers, friends, the local community and local business all working together to support
our school.
I am amazed that we are able to provide such a range of events at our school. We couldn’t run
these events without our volunteers, so I would like to heartily thank all the event coordinators
and volunteers for all the work they do at the school. It is inspiring. I would also like to thank
Sam Vickery and Harsh Ugarte for all their efforts in sourcing prizes for many of our events.
Our music program is one of the strongest of any primary school in the state and we should be
incredibly proud of what it continues to achieve. In 2015 there were 230 students between
years 3 and 6 participating in the band and orchestra program. This represents over one
quarter of the school roll being part of the music program at our school.
The Music support committee works with conductors, music teachers, administrators and the
school Principal to promote the music and provide support to the Band and Orchestra program.
The committee supported over 15 school musical events throughout the year including:
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
coordinating and catering for morning and afternoon teas for parents and musicians at
select rehearsals;
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coordination and catering for two weekend band and orchestra workshops;
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catering and support for the evening concert series;
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ticket selling and support for two Musicale concerts;
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planning and support for the school music tour; and
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coordination of the cafe performances at the School Fair
A music tour was held in September with 45 Senior Stage Band and Chamber Orchestra
students travelling to the Port Stephens area. The tour was a great success with performances
and band workshops being held at three country schools.
I would like to thank Shelagh Doyle and Karen Taylor for their many years of support and time
given to our school’s music program.
2015 was an inspiring year for the Sustainability committee, supporting the school in a process
of developing mascots for each of the School Houses. This project made possible by an Arts,
Community and Environment grant obtained from Ashfield Council and support at the Lend
Lease Community Day. The aim of the project was to create a focus for innovative learning
programs about biodiversity and cultural diversity within the school.
Kerry Toomey, a contemporary Aboriginal artist, guided students from the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander community along with House Captains and SRC Representatives through
the process of designing new symbols for our House mascots.
Parents and other volunteers cleared weeds and installed a landscaped path and seating circle
to create a new Diversity Garden at the Junction Road entrance to the school. Students
commenced planting of a bush tucker garden to create habitat for birds and native bees. The
new mascots were revealed during a ceremony at end of 2015 and have been mounted on the
wall overlooking the garden. The Committee is excited about the opportunities this project
provides, engaging students and their families with Aboriginal culture and sustainability in the
years ahead.
The Sustainability committee continued to support activities such as Waste Free Wednesdays,
National Ride to School Day, Reconciliation Week, and National Tree Day in 2015. Cycle
smoothies, composting and recycling competitions were a focus this year at our popular
sustainability stall at the Spring Fair.
The Sports committee worked closely with the school to determine equipment requirements
and support for teachers in organising extra curricula sporting events.
2015 was another busy year for the Grounds committee with gardening bees held throughout
the year and many projects completed including a new stage and seating in the kindy area,
painting of playground surfaces with new games and planting and tidying gardens.
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Looking ahead
The school’s roll continues to be under pressure though growth in student numbers, despite
the reduction in students taken into Opportunity Class program. It is likely that we will
continue to face challenges from an increasing roll and maintaining suitable outside space in
our playground.
Technology is an ever-increasing part of our lives and this also impacts the education of our
children. A focus going forward for the P&C will be assisting our school to meet its technology
needs.
Like all community organisations we face challenges of getting volunteers and running
successful events. In order to stay relevant and functional we need new talents, ideas and
enthusiasm as existing parents and children pass through the school and on to high school.
I would like to acknowledge those families who are leaving the school having made a
considerable contribution. This year we say goodbye to Shelagh Doyle, Steve Burkitt, Tegan
Sadlier, Tony Clayton, Dipika & Kalpesh Gandhi, Kath Wawatai, Karen Taylor, Jacob Messer,
Sandy Robertson and Deborah Samuels.
On behalf of the community I thank everyone who has helped at the school either as a class
parent, helped in the classroom, helped at an event, attended a P&C meeting or attended one
of our events. Thank you for supporting your child’s school.
I would like to thank our Principal Karen Shehata for her stewardship and hard work over the
year. We are very fortunate to have such an experienced and dedicated principal.
I would also like to thank the school staff who have given us so much support throughout the
year. Thank you to Eve and Kathy for helping with all my queries and requests, to Mark and
Jane who come to our meetings bringing their energy and commitment to the education of our
children, to all the teaching staff who support our events and to the other administrative staff
who help us.
Finally I would like to thank the office bearers and executive team of the P&C. You are all a
dedicated group of parents who work incredibly hard to support your school. Thank you for
your support, ideas and efforts throughout the year.
Paul Gaukrodger, President
Priscilla Strachan, Vice-President
Chris Braga, Vice-President
Gina Newling, Vice-President
Frances Notman, Secretary
Helen De Wolfe, Deputy Secretary
Bridget Grant, Deputy Secretary
Sandy Robertson, Treasurer
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