I am feeling a bit overwhelmed this week. As those of you who visit us regularly will know, we are in the middle of some serious building work. The school is almost surrounded by wire fencing as a new fire hydrant main is installed. This will eventually result in hydrant standpipes being situated at strategic positions around the school, but it is taking a long time to get completely signed off, and there are still many metres of trenches to be dug – including across the car park and the main drive.

In addition to this, I have had a meeting this week with the department of Public Works, which will soon be undertaking a major electrical upgrade of the school. This will also mean trenches and fencing as our power system is improved to cater for new buildings, building upgrades and 208 more computers.

The new Language Centre has moved to the design phase and I look forward to seeing the first plans and models of the proposed layout. Siting this is proving to be quite an adventure due to the underground facilities which run through our land. We have four possible sites, and these will need geo-tech testing to determine the best option. More trenches and fences!

There have been some significant staff absences recently due to illness, professional development and other personal circumstances. Last week there were over 40 staff members absent on one day! This has the potential to cause major disruption to the running of a site such as ours, but as usual, the school community worked together to minimise the chaos.

I spent some time last newsletter thanking various sections of the school community for their continued support and good will. I need to thank the staff and students again in this edition for the positive way in which they have managed the disruptions to their usual routine over the past fortnight. Things will slowly become more “normal” if that’s a word ever able to be used in a high school such as ours!

The School Opinion Survey will be administered next week. If you are one of the 40 parents who get a copy in the mail, please complete it and return it to the office in the envelopes provided. All responses are anonymous, and assist us in our future planning as well as in our annual review process.

Staffing News

Mike Loftus has been asked to relieve at Ipswich West State School for the remainder of the term, and he has accepted this position. He will be working with the community to develop productive partnerships and will no doubt enjoy the change of pace.

I have asked Rod Flood to act as Deputy for next week, and I shall ask staff for expressions of interest for the remaining three weeks of the term.

SIMON RILEY
Principal

 

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