Date of Dictation: Date of Meeting:

Mr Knox,

01 October 1997 08 October 1997

St Paul's School

Headmaster's Report

I have pleasure in presenting this report to the above meeting of the Council. I am writing it having had minimal contact with the School since the end of term - and hopefully continuing in that state for a few more days! Time will tell.

Matters for Council Decision:

• Loan and Contract Arrangements: Music Building

• Tender to review the Development Master Plan

• Reference Group for Development Master Plan Review

• Any other matters

Matters for Expression of Council Opinion:

• Enterprise Bargaining Arrangements

• Recommendation to Property and Finance Board regarding Presbyterian access

• Meeting schedule for 1998

• Any other matters

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1. Council

Mr Peter Klavins has returned, and attended the last meeting of the Education and Resources Committee. He has since returned to Italy, but, if I understand his schedule correctly, should be back again before Council meets.

We send condolences to Mrs Lyn Boucaut on the loss of her brother. Mrs Boucaut has asked me to express her appreciation: "the flowers sent to me after my brother's death made me realise I really do feel like part of the St Paul's School family."

The Report of the last meeting of the Anglican Schools Commission is enclosed. Mr Danielsen attended as I was unable to be present at the meeting and the subsequent dedication of the Anglican Schools Office's new premises.

I enclose a memorandum from the Anglican Schools Office regarding remuneration packages for Heads of Anglican Schools. The question of non-award remuneration will be an agenda item for our November meeting.

I shall again report when we meet regarding the former School Counsellor. It seems that the data-collection by the solicitors for the Diocesan insurers is reaching completion. I have referred one question raised about duty of care to the Chairman of Council for his opinion. Counselling within the School of the students who made allegations has been brought to closure in two cases, and will shortly reach that stage with the third.

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3. Students

At the end of Term 3 we had 962 students. Movements since my last report include:

Year 12: One student has decided to give up what she saw as an uneven struggle.

Year 11: 1 exchange student has arrived from Brazil. 1 student has transferred to a Private Business College.

Year 10: Nil

Year 9:

Year 8:

Year 7:

Year 6:

Year 5:

1 student has left following a major discipline breach in respect of her homestay responsibilities. She is believed to have entered a state high school.

1 student has left for financial reasons 1 student has left following her parents' inability to control her behaviour in the home situation. She has gone to a provincial boarding school. Her brother remains with us.

1 student has entered interstate.

1 student has entered from Hong Kong.

Nil

I shall report when we meet regarding one student whose skirmishes with other students have been extensive in recent weeks and whose case has also been drawn to the attention of the solic.itors for the Diocesan insurers.

As far as 1998 is concerned, we await some indication of unexpected leavers, whose parents have been asked in recent Newsletters to give the requested term's notice now. On the information we have expect a growth of about 35 secondary students, as the larger cohorts begin to move into Year 11. (As Year 11 requires generally smaller classes than Years 8 to 10, there will be an initial drop in pupil:teacher ratios.) At the same·time we expect some 30 fewer primary students, as outlined in my previous reports to Council. We are therefore planning the reintroduction of one "composite" Primary class unless these figures change significantly over the coming weeks. We expect Year 5 to have about 10 more students than this year, but Year 6 will be smaller because of the smaller Year 5 numbers this year. The main difference will be the smaller Year 7 group, and although this is line with demographic expectations it will not make filling Year 8 1999 any easier.

The 1999 call-up will proceed next week when the Registrar returns from the Bangkok Exhibition, and once a letter has been drafted to go from the Chairman to all current and future School families explaining the new fee arrangements adopted at the last meeting of Council.

The survey of interest in P-4 amongst parents with children already enrolled will be reported in detail to the next meeting of the School Planning Committee. By the closing date, however, 498 replies had been received out of a possible 926. 71 of these represented students whose parents were interested in taking up the proposed option. Most of the 71 expressed interest in starting from P or Year 1, with Year 3 being the next most popular starting point. It is important to remember that once we start talking about P in five years' time, we are talking about children who may not have been born yet!

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' St Paul's International School (The Elicos Centre) received provisional approval on 15 September, and may now therefore advertise its courses and actively recruit students. It is expected that the first class will commence on 6 October.

Application for full approval may be made only after 12 months' operation, 1e after 6 October 1998.

I have still had no further contact from Lendlease or their consultants in respect of the Mango Hill project.

4. Government Initiatives

Members of Council will already have received advance notice of an AISQ General Meeting, which will also provide an opportunity to discuss the implications of the r.emoval of the Commonwealth's New Schools Policy. A formal notice of this meeting and forum is enclosed.

The Brisbane City Council's environment levy on churches and non-government schools has received a great deal of press coverage. Most fear centres on the implications of future Council initiatives and the possible downside of threatened State legislation changes. The St Paul's Association has responded to a request from IPFC(Q) and distributed letters of protest for parents to lodge with appropriate representatives. Although the UCV of the School's 50.25 ha is $3M, the amount in itself is not large.

The Brisbane City Council has also advised that each building application from the School in the future may be required to have an Environmental Impact Study attached. The first suggestion has come in respect of the planned refurbishment of the Krebs Building and the possible effects upon the catchment of the South Pine River. The Council has signalled that following the completion of the review of the Development Master Plan, it may consider granting approval to projects outlined in the plan if the Plan itself has an appropriately low environmental impact.

The Commonwealth Government's ERi Review Committee is reported to have made a submission to Dr Kemp. They are now believed to be writing a second report likely to find greater acceptance than their first effort. Not knowing the implications of this Review for St Paul's funding position does not assist in considering the pros and cons of applying for membership of the Queensland Anglican Schools System Limited. At one stage it was proposed that the Chairman and I seek an appointment with Dr Kemp to gain additional time to make this decision. Mr Harkin, however, has advised that he had already arranged for an extension until 31 October this year (instead of 30 June). Mr Harkin also advises, however, that the difficulties of St Paul's joining QASS remain considerable in terms of the changes to the School's budgeting and operational structure which would have to be put into place for 1998.

In the absence of clarification of the allocation to the various system schools of the additional funds which St Paul's inclusion would bring to the system, some thoughts regarding possible future membership of QASS (say for 1999 or 2000) are appended. I share Mr Harkin's belief that the question of System membership for 1998 is not likely to succeed. At this stage QASS looks like having two new Schools next year: Trinity Anglican School, Cairns and The Glennie School, Toowoomba.

Dr Kemp has advised a supplementation rate of 7.4% for recurrent grants. (Letter enclosed) .,

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Also enclosed is a letter explaining that in future the State Government will no longer issue individual textbook cheques to the parents of resident secondary students. Only one cheque will be paid to each School.

As we have not contemplated the expense involved in establishing a textbook hire scheme, nor considered the desirability of same, I believe our only option will be to show a credit on each relevant account once the bulk sum has been received by the School. The alternative would be to generate some 800 cheques and issue them to each eligible parent. The amount payable differs between Years 8-10 and Years 11-12.

5. Entemrise Bargaining

The attention of members of Council is drawn to Joint Communique No. 8, distributed to staff on the last day of Term 3. It will be seen that a meeting of all St Paul's Staff to discuss progress with the negotiations will be held the day before Council meets. There will also be a meeting of Anglican Heads earlier on the afternoon of Council's meeting. As usual, Dr Coman and Mr Verdon will be able to comment further when we meet.

Reference will be found in the Joint Communique to the length of the School year. 1999 is one of those catch-up years in the calendar in which independent schools such as St Paul's have worked 39 weeks instead of 38 (and State Schools 43 instead of 42). Care needs to be taken to preserve this tradition.

In 1998 it is expected that another 1 % will be added to the Superannuation Guarantee Levy. After the initial 3% was granted in lieu of a national wage rise, the School has handled other movements by off-setting employer contributions to the voluntary School Superannuation Scheme. It is still the opinion of some staff that all increases to the SGL should be de facto wage rises. It will be important to communicate Council's decision in respect of the 1998 SGL increase very clearly.

6. Buildings and Developments

Construction on the Music Building site has commenced, but finalisation still has to be made regarding contracts and loan arrangements. These last were deferred to the Finance and Commercial Activities Committee at the last meeting of Council. Mr Verdon will provide up­to-date information when we meet.

While it is good to see the project under way the first few weeks of building operations have highlighted some communication problems between the contractors, the architects and the School. The architects have been asked to address these urgently.

Other building projects are reported on in the minutes of the Finance and Commercial Activities Committee. Since that Committee met, plans for revised traffic flows have been received which should significantly alleviate present problems.

Brannock Humphreys, Heathwoods and Richard Lonn have been asked to provide tenders for the revision of the Development Master Plan in order for Council to make a decision when we meet. This tirrielirte is necessary if the review of the Plan is fo meet the schedule proposed.

Council may also wish to ~onsider the ccmstitution of the Reference Group to be set up to assist the successful tenderer. Staff, students, supporters· groups, Committees and Council itself should have an opportunity for input without the group becoming unwieldy.

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7. Interest Groups

The report of a meeting of the supporters groups on September 16 is enclosed.

The Mothers' Auxiliary plans a constitutional change within the Association so that it will be knowri as "The Parents' Auxiliary". The question will be put to a General Meeting in November.

The Past Students' Association held its Annual General Meeting last night. I understand that no quorum was present (13 attended), but the meeting proceeded as no one wished to attend a deferred meeting. I also understand that despite previous protestations, John Langler remains President.

The Chairman of Council and I have met with John Langler, as foreshadowed at the last meeting. A number of issues were clarified, including the representative as against the real nature of the plans for the Sporting Clubhouse tabled at the last meeting of Council. Mr Langler indicated a preference for a site on the south side of Attunga Street. It was agreed that the matter would be placed on the agenda for the review of the Development Master Plan. Some parents have noted that Aspley State High School has acquired a new amenities building near its main oval at a cost of $92,000 despite difficulties with foundations on the site.

The Foundation has received a proposal regarding student group travel (copy enclosed). The interest in the proposal stems from concerns in both the Foundation and Association regarding their increasing responsibilities in handling arrangements for student travel in order to keep the expenditure away from ERI calculations.

The Rugby and Soccer supporters groups have combined to purchase a turf aerator for School use,· and will also provide manpower to assist in the maintenance of ovals and associated facilities.

The next meeting of supporters groups is scheduled with members of Council for 0800 hours on Saturday 29 November 1997.

8. Business Planning Matters

Following his presentation at the last meeting of Council, Professor Kiel and Ms Daniels have forwarded the enclosed copy of the Business Plan for 1997-1998.

Mr Knox, Dr Coman and I have not yet met to consider further the contents of the "Governance Manual".

9. Financial Matters

The financial report for August is enclosed. It will be seen that the School's financial position remains in line with budget.

The budget for 1998 still needs a great deal of work, now that student-numbers and staffi~g needs have been clarified. As indicated above a first draft should be available to the Finance and Commercial Activities Committee when it next meets. This is not to say that the task of determining the 1998 budget will be an easy one.

A proposal from Alexander & Alexander Limited regarding "School Fees Funding" has been received from the Diocese. A copy is enclosed.

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10. Safety and Security

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The concerns expressed regarding Site-Safe at the last meeting have been echoed in other schools. The Bursars are feeding information to the Anglican Schools Office.

Mr Rob Johns has confirmed his determination to resign as Workplace Health and Safety Officer. I shall be seeking a replacement from among the full-time support staff, probably the ground staff. I do not believe it is efficient or economical to give a member of the teaching staff these responsibilities.

11. Other Matters

The development of the School's new website has been delayed until some more appropriate text can be developed.

Since the last meeting of Council I have attended the Biennial Conference of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. Some of the papers given have been distributed to Council. I should be happy to share others as well on request.

The Year 12s attempted the Queensland Core Skills Test on September 2 and 3 with usual seriousness and application. Members of Council will have received copies of the test papers. Despite publicity, the nature of the tests is not widely recognised in some quarters.

The same Year 12 students, as last year's group, have proved very slow to lodge QTAC preferences, now that they must do this over an interactive telephone system (0055 number). I believe this is a combination of the novelty of the system and of their feeling that the technology (unlike pen and paper) is not suited to such potentially life-altering decision­making.

The Trent Lang Memorial Lecture delivered by the Rev. Canon Monty Morris on 8 September was well received by students and parents. It was good that a number of Council­members and the President of the Foundation were also able to attend.•The text of the lecture will be printed and distributed to all School families, as in the past.

Following discussion at the last Council meeting, plans are in hand for a traditional Secondary Speech Night on Wednesday 5 November at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall. Mr John Pitman, Director of the Queensland Board of Senior Secondary School Studies, will be the Guest of Honour.

The Valedictory Service and Dinner for"Year 12 students and their parents will be held on Thursday 13 November. Mr John Allen, a Past Student (1969) will be the Guest Speaker. After a career in Geology, Mr Allen now operates as Allen Management Solutions in Sydney and has a good reputation as a challenging speaker, especially future challenges.

The Primary Speech Night will be on Thursday 27 November in the Physical Education Centre. I shall negotiate with some of the members of Council yet to speak at such a functl.on regarding their availability.

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I mentioned in my last report the approach from the Presbyterian Church regarding use of the Hearne Street entry. Their manse is situated behind the Church, and the Minister has car access through the church grounds onto Strathpine Road. They are about to build a new church which will cut off that access.

They are therefore asking permission to use a triangle of our land near the Hearne Street boundary to provide car access for the manse. This triangle would contain 11.675m2 of land, and they would build a fence, containing a pedestrian and vehicular gate, on the hypotenuse of the triangle to allow access to the School. They would also pave the triangle, probably in concrete. I see no problem with the plan. They have proposed that there be a registered right of access executed by the two Church authorities, with right of withdrawal by _either party at anytime.

N

f School property

Child-care Centre

Proposed new fence, gates ---+

Manse

6.38m

Current Hearne gate -+ Street

3.66m

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12. Dates of Next Meetings

This is scheduled for Wednesday 12 November at 1600 hours. It will be essential that Council is able to adopt a budget for 1998 at this meeting.

Reference is made above to the meeting of members of Council with support groups at 0800 hours on Saturday 29 November.

Last year a December meeting was hurriedly convened so that members of Council, senior staff and their spouses could engage in informal discussion of non-agenda items. Mrs Case and I should be happy to welcome this group again and wonder if the early evening of Friday 12 December would be convenient.

If "second Wednesdays" at 1600 continue to be generally acceptable, meetings for 1998 could be arranged as follows:

11 February 11 March (if needed) 15 April (8 April is in Holy Week, and the last afternoon of term 1.) 13 May (if needed) 10 June 15 July (if needed: 8 July is during winter vacation) 5 or 19 August (12 August is Exhibition Holiday) 16 September (if needed) 14 October 11 November

Members of Council might care to indicate if one or more full- or half-day Planning Meetings should be scheduled in addition to or instead of some of the above.

GA Case Headmaster

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