Governing Council Community Voice – August 10th

Parents, community members, student leaders and staff braved wintry conditions to meet again as your PLHS Governing Council. For the first time, we met inside the school’s new Specialist Building. Being surrounded by the students’ vibrantly creative art, design, technology and languages work provides ideal motivation for this group to discuss, consider and make decisions that are important for the wellbeing, learning and developmental aspirations of all students. This positive, action-centred collective enjoys the challenges and opportunities to have influence, and we welcome other members of the school community to join us. Our next meeting is Wednesday September 7^th, from 6:30pm in the Specialist Centre; come in from the cold and see what your Governing Council does. A few key items from this week’s meeting follow.

Principal Student Leaders Nell Cane and Mitchell Paterson began the meeting by providing a succinct account of the launch of the SABRN Circular Plastics Economy in Port Lincoln. Briefly, PLHS has partnered with the venture which will re-manufacture quality plastic materials suitable for student design, technology and engineering projects. The production and universal application will mean that industry and community enterprise can benefit, whilst students will be at the forefront of research, design and engineering solutions. A hands-on entrepreneurial learning experience founded on vision and passion to reduce single-use plastic waste. Further information about this exciting project will appear in our next school Newsletter.

Did you realise that PLHS has been continuously educating and servicing the youth of our community for (almost) one hundred years? The school celebrates its centenary next year and planning continues for a succession of activities and celebrations so that you can join the party. The PLHS Centenary committee meets on Wednesday August 17^th from 6:30pm in the Specialist Building (access from Ruskin Road).

Good news; the much-anticipated redevelopment of the Technology Centre has finished – as soon as the surrounding paving is completed, it will be open for business with staff and students able to access leading-edge design/technology instruments and tools. This completes the school’s infrastructure improvements to facilitate integrated learning and teaching in the key areas of Science, Technology Maths and Engineering (STEM).

Just finishing one project and already thinking about the next… Principal Todd George shared his goal of removing the last of the antiquated transportable classrooms and replacing these with a modern flexible learning centre. This will blend with the recent redevelopments achieved and complete the picture of an integrated and modern secondary school that caters for all student years (7-12), providing diverse and enviable curriculum choices and multiple career pathways.

The Clontarf Foundation works to improve education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects of young Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander men; it is a valued component of the PLHS education and personal development fabric. Community Connections member Harry Miller updated us about the community’s deliberations in determining what is/can be achieved for young Indigenous men and women. Building on success and fine-tuning is a continual process for improvement and moving with the times. Connecting with and hearing the voice of community to guide the Governing Council and support the school is essential; we greatly appreciate and are fortunate to have Harry’s wisdom and membership.

Plus:

• Work to establish the Japanese Garden is about to commence
• Governing Council supports the SRC planning for “Purple Day”
• And too many other good things from the meeting to write about

So, until next time, cheers,

Brian Gabb, Chairperson (on behalf of the PLHS Governing Council)

How can you support your Governing Council?

Stay informed. Your Governing Council regularly publishes school community news and the minutes of meetings.

Respond. From time to time we may directly seek your opinions and feedback via surveys. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts.

Attend. Join ourmeetings, workshops or events of interest. Meetings are our way of connecting and keeping us on track to serve families and work with the school.

Join. Become a member of the Governing Council. Our strength comes from participation. Although you can nominate at any time to join, a good time to do this is to come along to the first meeting of the year and sample.

Register. Consider being included on the Parent & Community Reference Group. On occasions, the Governing Council will contact members of this group to capture their opinions and thoughts for consideration at meetings. This helps those people who want to be heard and are unable to attend meetings.

Contact us at any time. We are here to listen and represent you.

• Contact: Rachael Boyce (PLHS Governing Council School Administration Officer)
• Phone: 8683-6000
• Email: Rachael.Boyce774@schools.sa.edu.au