Community Engagement

Parent Involvement

We value our community and know that our school functions more effectively with strong support from parents and carers. This is an area in which we place great importance. It is now a requirement of the Department for Education for all regular volunteers to undertake a Department for Human Services (DHS) Working with Children screening and volunteer induction session prior to starting. Please visit the front office for more information.

You may be able to assist in some of the following areas:

• Establishing positive morning and afternoon routines
• Playing an active role in your child’s learning in the home environment
• Creating a co-operative relationship with your child’s classroom teacher
• Reinforcing the school’s expectations
• Committee/Office Bearer level – taking an active role in various committees through  Governing Council

Governing Council

Parafield Gardens Primary School is governed by a Governing Council, which is an elected body of parents and staff. The role of the Governing Council is to identify and incorporate where possible, student, parent and community input and values into the broad direction of the school The Governing Council oversees the management of the school and employs staff for the canteen and OSHC and Vacation care.

Each year in February, there is an Annual General Meeting where a parent majority council is elected. Council meetings are held at the school on the 3rd and 8th weeks of each term and usually run from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Meeting are included in our school newsletter Diary Dates and all parents are welcome to come to observe these meetings

Canteen

Our canteen works together with parents, teachers and students to support a whole school approach to building a culture which promotes students choosing a healthy lifestyle.

We follow the Right Bite strategy where food and drinks are classified into three categories according to their nutritional ‘healthy eating’ value:

GREEN Choose Plenty = the best choices for schools and preschools
AMBER Select Carefully = food and drinks that should be selected carefully
RED Occasionally = foods and drinks high in fat, sugar and/or salt, banned from sale in school canteens

Our canteen relies heavily on volunteer help from parents and the wider school community. If you have some time to spare and would like to become a part of the canteen team, please contact our Canteen Administrator Cherie Honson, on 8258 1816.

Community Room

“Our new community room is a shared space that is open before and after school for parents to drop in for a yarn, a cuppa and meet with our Aboriginal Community Education Officer (ACEO) Winnie regarding any concerns they may have.  Students also have access to the room during the school day if they need any support from Aunty Winne.  We also have Mr Luke who is our Aboriginal Education Teacher (AET) and he supports Staff and Aboriginal students in all areas of the curriculum.”

Acknowledgement Of Country

Acknowledging when you’re on the land of Traditional Owners is a sign of respect which acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ownership and custodianship of the land, their ancestors and traditions. Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples can show this form of respect. Here our students acknowledge the Kaurna people as custodians of the Adelaide region.