Dear parents and carers,
We held our P&C AGM and March meeting last night – it was my last as President of the Committee. One of the things that we are supposed to do at every AGM is reflect on the last year as part of a President’s report. Here’s a summary of mine.
I can safely say that my time as President has been nothing like I imagined it would be!
I first got involved because I wanted to help the school become a more sustainable place and with the help of 10 other parents we developed the Committee’s first Climate and Sustainability Action Plan.
My plan, when I then became President in 2020, was to put that plan to action and to develop a long-term overall strategy for the Committee but then a pandemic started!
I am so proud of what the Committee has been able to do and achieve despite the roller-coaster ride that we’ve all been on.
We managed to hold some very successful and fun events in between lockdowns – the Virtual Trivia Night, the welcome drinks and the Salvation Army Giving Ceremonies.
We also delivered some big projects for the school including:
- Getting new solar panels installed;
- Upgrading the outdoor toilets; and
- Installing air filters in all learning areas in the school.
I am particularly proud of the fact that since being elected, we dramatically increased the transparency of this Committee and decisions made with regular updates sent out at least once a month, it’s something I’ve encouraged the new Committee to try and do as well.
Even before the pandemic hit and lockdowns became a thing, we tried to introduce video conferencing as an option for P&C meetings. We found out that there was an old-fashioned rule that didn’t allow P&C votes to be tabled online and so during the pandemic we worked hard behind the scenes (with others) to lobby for that rule to be changed. We also lobbied for the rules in schools to be brought more in line with the rest of the community and it was fantastic to be allowed back into the school after nearly a year away but sadly the pandemic struck again.
As things ease up and we all get used to living with Covid, I’ve urged the new Committee to remain vigilant about the restrictions set for school as opposed to the general community. It really doesn’t make sense that you can go to a concert, a restaurant, the cinema, a play centre but you can’t walk into the grounds of your child’s school.
We should never forget how important it is for our children to see us involved and part of their school life. There is a mountain of research that shows that the more a parent is involved in their child’s education, the more the child benefits.
Our children have missed all that over the last two years. There are memories my older sons have of their early years at primary school that my son in year two will never have. Hearing his parents clapping and cheering at assemblies and carnivals; having a parent come in to help with reading or the special thrill when mum or dad is in the canteen for that day, having a parent there for excursions or watching him perform in a play or playing music.
It's really sad and I hope we can go back to how things should be.
I want to say a huge thank you to the rest of the Committee – Alvin, who was our treasurer in 2020, Paul, Victoria, Cliff and Gemma. It’s been a delight to work with you all. Thank you for your work, your humour and your genuine enthusiasm for helping make Balmain Public School the best place we can imagine for our children.
I also want to thank Maria and all the teachers at Balmain for your care, dedication and support of our children, especially these last couple of years.
Finally, I want to thank all our incredible parent volunteers who do so much to help the school every year – our school’s success is entirely dependent on your involvement, and we are so lucky to have such community minded and generous parents and carers at Balmain.
Shehana Darda-Teixeira
P&C President 2021
