Schools for Schools | Principals for Principals | Staff for Staff | Students for Students | Communities for Communities

The NSWPPA Initiative: Schools for Schools emails were sent yesterday to Principals / coordinating Executive or designated teachers from the admin@nswppa.org.au account. Please check your ’junk’ or 'other' inbox if you didn’t receive it.

The ravaging destruction our communities have experienced has been hard to comprehend. Last week again, the flood waters returned. Evacuations and another clean-up for many again.

Our hearts go out to everyone impacted. It is with the greatest respect I acknowledge the courage, resilience, clarity, purpose and selflessness of our colleagues during this time. It has been inspiring and incredibly heart-warming to see colleagues reaching out to one another and standing alongside them with such strength.
This initiative has been strongly supported by schools across the state. Some 345 schools are supporting 97 flood impacted schools | staff | students and communities. THANK YOU to those of you who have been hosting amazing fundraisers and initiatives with your school community. It truly is a tribute to the culture of your schools and the acknowledgement you have afforded the education community.

I have liaised strongly with Deputy Secretaries, DEL’s, ED’s and PSL’s in the areas impacted. I have spoken to and heard from many of our colleagues who have personally and professionally been impacted – schools lost, homes lost, families relocated, loss of businesses, loss of staff’s treasured resources, schools with significant damage, isolation, relocating as well as the trauma the flood has caused for entire communities.

Health and Safety provided the NSWPPA with a list of schools impacted and the ED’s talked me through the scope of impact. We have supported schools in Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 according to the advice. Impacted communities are ready for us to reach out to them.

The Department will manage the replacement of assets. For some, this will take time as rebuilds will need to happen. The Department will replace the requirements to set up a school.

Our initiative is about people – Principals, Staff, Students and Communities.

Every community will have different needs. It is the Principal of the school that will determine the need of their communities. As I have said before, the best support we can offer is to transfer our fundraising contributions to the school we have been allocated. Principals will provision the funds according to the need presenting to their community. These colleagues are incredibly grateful for and humbled by your support.

I’ve discussed many ways the funds could be used, not limited to but could include:

•  School canteen |morning tea| lunch for students relocated
•  School uniform| shoes for students
•  Excursion payments during 2022|23
•  Morning teas |BBQ for communities |staff |families
•  Coles | Woolworths vouchers for groceries for community |staff
•  Allocate funds to teachers who have lost all personal resources
•  Employ additional staff to set up systems and structures as schools are reopened
•  Wellbeing initiatives for staff and students

THIS is a bright spot to celebrate the gift of offering and yielding – reaching out and connecting, accepting help when it is offered. It is also about lessons in life – how to show respect, kindness and care towards students, staff and communities across NSW.

A HUGE thank you to the NSWPPA Business Manager Lisa Beare for her INCREDIBLE work matching schools and fielding requests and enquiries. Invaluable work for the Association.