Our staff, School Council, and broader school community work together to support our students on their learning journey. We aim to work in partnership with you to ensure that your child enjoys a successful primary school education and grows and develops into the best person that they can be. The Northcote Primary School community is made up of teachers, parents and students working together towards a common goal. We encourage everyone to lend a hand and to continue to get actively involved at Northcote Primary School and believe it is important for everyone to contribute in a way that suits their interests as well as their limitations.
Northcote has a strong tradition of welcoming participation from parents, carers, and other volunteers in many different aspects of school life. The school and community appreciate and value these special contributions, while also recognising that we have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for students, staff, parents, carers, and other volunteers.
Parents and carers are welcome to participate in a variety of whole school and class activities, as well as excursions and camps. There are so many ways to participate, however our classroom and specialist teachers will generally make specific requests for assistance throughout the year, and they will also be happy to hear your suggestions!
If you are interested in volunteering within the school, please speak with your child's classroom teacher about ways that you can be involved.
All people who volunteer to assist at our Nortchote Primary School must undertake an induction briefing. This is to clarify expectations and shared understanding of our duty of care for students. The short training induction covers areas such as Child Safety Induction, Occupational Health and Safety, related school policies. All volunteers will be required to provide a current Working With Childre Check (WWC) before being able to volunteer.
The school will keep a register of volunteers and their WWC card number.
Classroom Helpers
Some examples of parent classroom involvement are:
Camp Volunteers
In addition to completing the induction briefing, volunteers who have been selected by the school to attend camp participate in a more detailed camp briefing of their roles and responsibilities.
Wider School Community
There are also many ways to become involved in the wider school community. This can include:
Please note that Occupational Health and Safety regulations and requirements regarding volunteers apply to schools.
Click here for more information about working with children checks or how to apply.
We value and appreciate parents and community support, and work to build sustainable relationships between our school community and the wider Northcote/Darebin area.
We work in partnership with parents regarding their children’s wellbeing and learning progress and how we can best support this.
In term 1, teaching teams meet with parents to explain and discuss the learning programs and approaches for the year. A written report is provided at the end of term 2 and term 4, and parents are invited to meet with teachers for student-led conferences.
The reports outline achievements, areas requiring improvement and/or future learning, and how you can help at home. The reports will rate your child’s progress against statewide standards from A (well above the standard expected) to E (well below expected).
In student-led conferences, students explain and discuss with their parents and teacher their learning achievements, as well as areas for further improvement. They use samples of their work to demonstrate their learning progress across the semester and to clarify what they have learnt, how they have learnt it and what challenges they faced in the process.
These conferences are structured according to age and year level, with student involvement increasing with age. Of course, these are not the only times you might communicate with your child’s teachers – this may also occur outside the formal reporting structure.
The school newsletter is also an important source of information about what is happening at the school and will include notices about the school’s Community Subcommittee.
The School Council meets to discuss a range of issues relating to school governance. The work of the school council is further supported by the hard work of our subcommittees (Finance, Education, Environments and Community). A new School Council is formed every February/March via nomination, and voting is held if there are more candidates than vacancies. School Councillors are elected for two-year terms.
School Council meetings are generally open to all members of the school community. If you would like to find out more about getting involved in the School Council, or contributing via a subcommittee, please contact one of the School Council members below.
School Council Meeting Schedule 2023
Shaun Wells (Principal- Executive Officer)
Bale Micovski (Assistant Principal)
Rebecca Garrow (Leading Teacher)
Caterina Carnovale (Business Manager- Minute Secretary)
Dale Mclean (Teacher)
Joanne Pitt – President
Lucy Sinclair – Vice-President
Stephen Moore – Treasurer
Christian Scallan
Ellis Richardson
Sub-committees are open to all parents, and the school welcomes all contributions from parents and carers.
All sub-committees are responsible for the development and review of policies within the area of their responsibility for recommendation to the School Council. Sub-committees are responsible for regular updates of their activities via the school website and newsletter.
Treasurer: Stephen Moore
Function: To ensure the proper management of the finances of the school and to discuss and make appropriate recommendations regarding the school’s finances, financial policies and budget to the School Council.
Convenor: Christian Scallan
Function: To discuss and make recommendations to the School Council on a wide range of education policies and issues as they relate to the school.
Convenor: Jo Pitt
Function: To discuss and make recommendations to the School Council on a wide range of matters and policies relating to the improvement and maintenance of the physical environment at the school.
Convenor: Lucy Sinclair
Function: To discuss and make recommendations to the School Council on a wide range of issues and policies that foster productive and cooperative community engagement across the school and local community (including fundraising events).
We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing. We welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures and practices.
If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, please contact the school at northcote.ps@education.vic.gov.au or call (03) 94 81 0009.