Board of Trustees

The Hamilton West School Board of Trustees has a strong record of governance since boards were established in 1989.

Our current Board of Trustees has members from different walks of life which is healthy in bringing a range of views and opinions to the board table.

All board members are focussed on providing the students at Hamilton West school with the best possible education with the resources available. In board deliberations the question is always asked ”is this good for our kids?”. If the answer is “Yes” based on research then the board will focus on making things happen in the interests of the students and their families.


The board is very aware that their success as governors is greatly influenced by the relationships that exist within the board - including with the Principal, between the board and the staff and with the community. These relationships are strong, they are not taken for granted but worked on to ensure they are best able to guide our work.


The Board adopts a wide view of the curriculum and is focussed on providing a wide range of learning opportunities for students across all subjects, the key competences and school values. This is what parents have told us is important to them on many occasions - an expansive curriculum acknowledging a wide range of skills, talents and attributes.


The Board is very efficient in carrying out its administrative role so it can focus on what's important - finding ways to further develop the opportunities and support we provide for the children. An example of how this happens is when parents and students attend goal setting meeting at the beginning of the year, the teachers and teams feed this information back to the Principal who provides it the board who discuss how some of these ideas can happen.


Each year the Board of Trustees has a number of obligations to the Crown to meet. This involves submitting an annual Charter and Annual Plan, submitted audited financial accounts and providing data on the roll and student achievement.


Self-review is an important part of the Board of trustees operation and a number of Self-reviews are undertaken annually. These reviews inform the work of the board and how it allocates resources. Reviews are completed in the areas of student achievement, policy, finance and how Charter goals have been achieved.


The board is committed to incorporating student voice in its decision making, as a result students are invited to attend board meetings to present their ideas about their school and their learning. In 2015 the Board will invite the student council to attend a meeting to hear their ideas about developing an Outdoor Classroom.


Rachel Chapman

Chairperson - Board of Trustees.

Our Board members in 2016 are:

Rachel Chapman - Chairperson
Mark Penman
John Purcell
Ratu Ratu
Maree McCracken
Cameron Old
Stephen Seator  - Staff Representative
Vic Stone Pearn - Secretary

Policies

Attendance
Swimming Pool
Student Mangement

Recent Achievements

Over the last few years the Board of Trustees has invested considerable resources to refurbish all the classrooms at Hamilton West School. We want our classrooms to be attractive for our students and teachers to do their work in.


The Board of Trustees has also developed the school grounds in recent times. You will now see lots of new murals and sculptures that the BOT has commissioned. The new gates at our Fow Street entry was a fantastic project that was undertaken last year as part of sesquicentennial celebrations and was the Yesterday Today Tomorrow Garden, which was dedicated to Friend of the School - David Lloyd.


The Board has ensured that every classroom at Hamilton West School has either an InterWrite Board or large screen TV to support the eLearning going on in the school.


The Board of Trustees major achievement each year is to ensure we are fully staffed with teachers who are enthusiastic and come to school to provide our kids with an exciting vibrant education.