It has been a busy start to the year for the school Board having met twice already this year and holding its AGM this week. At the AGM, a review of 2020 occurred through various reports which highlighted the obvious challenges we all faced through COVID. It was also great however to reflect on all that had been achieved despite such a strong focus and distraction of a global pandemic. I’d encourage the school community to review the AGM documents for an awareness of what progress was made during an unprecedented year.

We were very fortunate to retain unchanged Board membership for 2021, so the ability to maintain continuity and a focus on our strategic objectives will be possible.

A number of items have been discussed this year and a few key points are summarised below.

• The Board discussed uniform supply chain feedback and the issues have been taken up with the supplier. We also discussed the new challenge of managing second hand uniform stock considering new COVID requirements.
  
  
• This year’s Budget was reviewed and highlights the very healthy position the school is in despite heavy investment in infrastructure in the last few years. Through years of responsible financial management, securing of grants and appropriate loan management we’re able to make continued progress on our master plan. We have also submitted grant applications for future stages of the development.
  
  
• A new app will be released for the start of Term 2 to assist with Canteen orders, and once embedded will be expanded for use of other payments with the school such as P&F.
  
  
• A series of student surveys have occurred and are planned as part of our ongoing monitoring of student wellbeing and growth, and contribute to developing support plans as needed.
  
  
• Preparations for NAPLAN testing later this year are also underway, and will be largely electronic.
  
  
• Extensively discussed the Catholic Education Office’s ‘A Blueprint for ‘Step Change’’ proposal which is a new strategic document setting the vision for Catholic Education in SA. This will see a new focus in St Pius X on a ‘Quality and Performance’ leadership team who have dedicated time to develop strategy on a range of important areas including;
  
  Inclusive Education, Maths and Numeracy, Early years literacy, Quality Differentiated Learning (recognising the range of needs in each individual classroom), EALD and Literacy in Years 3-6, data collection/analysis and wellbeing.
  
  
• Discussed future growth opportunities for the schools SHIP program (Student with High Intellectual potential).
  
  
• Discussed the recent education regarding eSafety for Year 5 and 6s and the decision to expand that education to all school families and Years 3 and 4 students.
  
  
• Discussed current enrolments and future projections which all look healthy as part of our growth strategy towards a 3-stream school (3 classes per year level of Year 2 – 6).

As usual, we anticipate this year will be another busy one and as we return to the ‘new normal’ we encourage parents and the community to continue engaging with the school and ensure if you have any questions to approach any member of staff or the Board.