Statute

Article I Name and Location

• to teach children, youth and adults the Polish language
• to teach children, youth and adults the Polish literature, history and geography
• to preserve the Polish culture and customs
• to provide religious education for children from Catholic families whose parents give their consent -­‐ in a spirit of complete respect for other religious beliefs

2. Students of the school may also be adults and people of other nationalities who wish to learn the Polish language and culture.
3. The Polish Language School at Phillip cooperates with the ACT Community Language School Association (ACT CLSA).
4. The school’s teaching is based on:

• programs developed by the school teachers with the understanding that students in Year 9 and 10 prepare for the program of Year 11 and 12
• the accredited program for Year 11 and 12 accredited with the BSSS Accreditation Section, Tuggeranong, ACT.
• The advanced level program was approved in 2009 -­‐ will have to be renewed in 2014
• The continuing level program was approved in 2010 -­‐ will have to be renewed in 2015
• appropriate  textbooks, reading materials, audio-­‐visual materials, maps and other teaching aids.
• the premise that all students will systematically develop their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in Polish

5. The languages of instruction are Polish and English.

The school comprises the following governing bodies:

• General meeting
• Managing Committee
• Coordinator of the Committee -­‐ who retains the title of School Principal
• Teachers, volunteers, students and their parents

1. The general meeting
The general meeting of The Polish Language School at Phillip is the highest governing authority
within the school and makes decisions in following areas:

• appointment and removal of members of the Managing Committee and the School Principal (known also as the Managing Committee Coordinator), when required
• evaluation of the school
• approving statutes and amendments to statutes
• other matters

All motions at a General Meeting require 51% of parents to be present (counting each family as
one vote). In the event that a parent has been invited to a meeting but cannot participate in
person, they may communicate (either orally or in writing) their support for binding resolutions
and decisions taken by the current participants in the meeting and their vote will count towards
the simple majority.
An extraordinary General Meeting can be called in special circumstances upon the request
from:

• the Managing Committee
• the Principal
• fifty per cent of the parents

2.  The Managing Committee ­‐ members and duties
1. Adult Students’ coordinator
a. Reads and replies to all adult student enquiries
b. Creates and regularly updates lists of all adult students in each school year
c. Keeps a record of all enquires
d. Discusses all enquiries with the Managing Committee
2. Year 11 and 12 Accreditation and Registration Coordinator
a. Is responsible for accreditation of Advanced and Continuing courses for Years 11-­‐12. The school’s current advanced Polish program was approved in 2009 and is due for renewal in 2014. The Continuing Polish program was approved in 2010 and is due for renewal in 2015.
b. Negotiates with the Board of Senior Secondary Studies issues related to the compulsory registration of Year 11 and 12 teachers with the Teacher Quality Institute.
3. Kindergarten through Year 8 Coordinator
a. Is responsible for looking after the needs of Year 1 through to Year 8 students and their teachers at the school level
4. Treasurer, is responsible for the following:
a. The School’s finances (reporting, receipts, financial advice and an oversight of financial matters)
b. The collection of School fees and bank deposits
c. The deposit of school grants
d. Teachers’ reimbursement preparation and payment
e. End of term and annual financial statements
f. Petty cash management
5. Grant Acquittals Coordinator
a. Helps with the administration of grants, produces accounting statements and grant acquittal statements
6. Website Coordinator
a. Maintains the School’s Website and Facebook page, including placement of relevant photos and some marketing activities
7. Coordinator of contacts with Polish Community Organisations including the Polish Catholic Church
a. Cooperates with relevant Polish organisations, including participation in their meetings and events, including the Embassy of Poland in Canberra, SPK: Polish Ex-­‐Servicemen’s Association (Stowarzyszenie Polskich Kombatantów), Polish Organisations’ Council, The Polish White Eagle Club and the Polish Community
Newspaper (Kronika Polonii)
8. IT Support and Coordination
a. Helps with the use of school hardware and software
b. Is consulted prior to purchase of hardware and software
9. Parents Sub-­‐Committee Coordinator
a. Oversees special occasion activities, for example Mothers Day, Children Day and Teachers Day
b. Ensures that parents perform tasks assigned to them as specified in the appendix of the latest relevant parents’ meeting minutes
c. Coordinates the school tuck shop and its supplies i.e. food and drink purchases
3. Coordinator of the Committee (School Principal) is responsible for:
a. Managing and administration of the Polish Language School at Philip
b. Organising yearly student registrations and the management of student records. Student records are confidential and files are to be kept in a manner decided by the  last relevant parents’ meeting. The manner of storage is to be specified in the relevant parents’ meeting minutes for reference.
c. Looking  after School registration with the Department of Education every 5 years. The current  registration was granted in 2009, it will need to be reapplied for again in 2014.
d. Supporting  Accreditation of Advanced and Continuing Polish programs for Years 11-­‐12

• Advanced -­‐ approved in 2009 -­‐ due for renewal in  2014
• Continuing-­‐ approved in 2010 -­‐ due for renewal in  2014

e. The coordination of  the teaching program, which includes:

• Synchronisation of the program from preschool to Year 12 to ensure the success of our students
• Acquisition of relevant teaching materials to achieve our objectives (books, online materials, films)
• Purchase of necessary equipment for the School (this may include projector, laptop)
• Looking beyond matriculation.

f. Financial policy of the school which includes

• Cooperation with the Treasurer and the Managing Committee
• Pricing policy (fees for children’s and adults’ courses; teacher remuneration)
• Application for grants and acquittals
• Expenditure planning associated with items listed in p. 3e above

g. Managing the teaching staff, which includes:

• Regular meetings with teachers, at minimum once per semester
• Teachers’ appointment and management, which should include a circulation of teachers’ CV prior to making new appointments
• Teaching program discussions, direction and documentation
• Monitoring  of lesson delivery and teachers’ records
• Decisions regarding students’ discipline, including students’ code of conduct and its serious breaches referred by teachers

h. Cooperation with parents, which includes

• Regular meetings (the first day of each term is a required minimum)
• Ad hoc meetings and other regular communication via e-­‐mail

i. Overseeing cooperation with the relevant Polish and Australian organisations, including participation in their meetings and events. These organisations include:

• Australian organisations: Department of Education, ACT Government, BSSS, ACT CLSA
• Polish organisations: The Embassy of Poland in Canberra; Polish Organisations’ Council (Rada Polskich Organizacji w ACT); the Polish Church in Narrabundah; the Polish White Eagle Club (Klub Orla Bialego); Polish Ex-­‐Servicemen’s Association  (Stowarzyszenie Polskich Kombatantów )and Polish community newspaper (Kronika Polonii).
• Overseeing the School’s artistic activities (Akademie)
• Marketing activities (promotional flyer distribution, local press advertising, articles for the Kronika Polonii, and School photo sessions)
• Maintaining the contact with the host school Neither the Principal nor teachers are responsible for students who leave the school premises without permission during school hours, which are from 5:45 to 8:50 pm.

j. The School Principal is also responsible for the appointment of managing committee members, when the need arises, subject to subsequent confirmation by the general meeting.
4. Teachers are responsible for:

• implementing school programs
• the care of children and adolescents during lessons
• referring students’ discipline issues to the Principal, when required
• notifying the Principal at least two days in advance of an expected absence from school and arranging a replacement
• notifying the Principal two months in advance of the intention to resign from teaching

5. Students are responsible for:

• regular and punctual arrival to attend class every Friday
• careful listening to the teachers and taking an active part in lessons
• doing their homework
• not leaving the school building without the knowledge of their teachers
• looking after school equipment and materials

6. Parents are responsible for:

• understanding that the operation of the school is largely dependent on voluntary work and thus contributions from parents are essential
• taking part in parent rosters, school events, etc.

Article IV  Finances

The Polish Language School is a community organisation.  The information about the School’s financial affairs must be available to participants of General Meetings. Due to the fluctuation of government funds, a contingency fund must be maintained. All members of the Managing Committee are required to understand and adhere to financial principles of The Polish Language School, which comprise rational expenditure and planning for contingencies.  No member of the Managing Committee, including its coordinator, is authorised to undertake any Expenditure, apart from day-­‐to-­‐day costs of running the school (defined in p. 3e), without prior planning and obtaining an approval from over 50% of the Managing Committee membership. The exact format of this approval is to be regulated by the latest relevant minutes of the parents’ meeting available from the school website. 1. Property of the school includes money in the school’s bank account, petty cash, and also equipment such as the photocopier, computers, projector, books and other teaching materials. 2. The funds of The Polish Language School at Phillip are raised by:

• tuition fees
• government grants
• donations from organisations and private persons
• All funds collected have to be deposited into the official bank account.

3. Expenditure

• teaching aids and materials
• reimbursement of costs for teachers and Coordinator of the School Committee/Principal
• payment for hiring the school facilities

Article V Final directives  

1. The statute comes into force when it is passed at the General Meeting. 2. This document comes into force, on 1 June 2012 provided it has been approved as per p. 1.

• all previous decisions, both oral or written, which are in disagreement with this document are revoked
• all previous statutes of the Polish Language School at Phillip are revoked

3. Any member of the Managing Committee, including its coordinator, can be suspended for failure to perform his or her duties as specified by the school statute. Such suspension will occur through a decision undertaken by 75% of the Managing Committee members, subject to final approval of the general meeting. 4. Dissolution of the Polish Language School at Phillip may be achieved by a vote supported by 75% of members present at an extraordinary General Meeting called for this purpose. The decision must also indicate to whom the assets of The Polish Language School at Phillip will be distributed. The first consideration, when disposing of the school’s assets, should be the educational and cultural needs of the Polish community in Australia, respecting the intentions of the original founders of the school, whose ideas we uphold.

June 2012