Welcome to our first TSAA Bulletin for the year and a very big welcome to those new School Business Managers who have recently joined DECYP.  Here we are in the second half of Term 1 – I hope you have had a productive and settled start to the school year and are feeling enthusiastic, fresh, and positive for the year ahead. Thank you all for your dedication and leadership. As leaders in our schools we are key stakeholders in ensuring our teams, colleagues, families and school community feel safe and optimistic; modelling positive mindset, recognising and acknowledging the commitment and good work of our colleagues and always challenging ourselves and inspiring those around us. It is inspirational to see how schools are working together, supporting their teams, and taking up new opportunities. 

In January our Executive met in Devonport to view the Paranaple Convention Centre followed by our executive meeting at East Devonport Primary School. We are very impressed with what the Paranaple Precinct and Convention Centre can offer us. The Convention Centre is located on the top floor with commanding views over the Mersey River. Spacious and flexible, operable walls are used to create one auditorium for large events or smaller rooms along with a range of meeting rooms and break-out spaces. The experienced staff can offer on-site catering, audio-visual equipment and large viewing screens for our presentations and keynote speakers.  

We are very excited to announce that our conference this year will be held on the Northwest Coast. We have now booked the Paranaple Convention Centre for our 2023 TSAA Annual Conference on Thursday 24 and Friday 25 August 2023. This will be the first time our conference has been held outside of Hobart or Launceston, giving our colleagues on the Northwest Coast an opportunity to attend this event much closer to home.  

Accommodation will be offered close by at the new Novotel Devonport and / or the Gateway Hotel, both just a few metres walking distance from the Convention Centre with a range of parking options including the adjacent multi-storey carpark. 

Please save these dates in your calendar; 

TSAA 2023 Conference 

24 & 25 August 2023 

Paranaple Convention Centre 

Devonport 

The Novotel Devonport are offering discounted rates for accommodation bookings for those attending conference, we would advise to book early -   

Accommodation bookings can now be made via; 

https://www.idem.events/r/tsaa-2023-conference-tasmanian-school-administrators-association

Gateway Hotel Inn are also offering special rates for accommodation. 

To make a booking, delegates will need to call the Gateway Hotel Inn and request the TSAA rate to be applied to their booking, contact on 03 6424 4922

Discussions are under way with our keynote presenters along with planning for optional Masterclass Sessions with DECYP Business Units. If you have a particular area of interest that you would like us to offer as a Masterclass Session please email me with your ideas and requests; cynthia.pearce@decyp.tas.gov.au  

We are hopeful this year that  travel for Professional Learning will be approved by DECYP and we are able to support SBM’s to attend national conferences held by our affiliated associations in other states. Proposed dates; 

• Vic May 10 – 12 
• NSW June 7 – 9 
• SA July 9 – 11 
• WA TBC 

As we settle into a new year, we continue our ongoing meetings with our DECYP Corporate Business Units with regular TEAMS Meetings with HR / Payroll and Finance and Budgeting, HR Policy and Staff Wellbeing, Deputy Secretary, Kane Salter along with participation in other stakeholder and project groups;   

• SAAF 
• GETi 
• Business Operations Advisors and Learning Services Cohort 

• KPMG – Educational Adjustments Funding Model Review 
• EPR 

Thank you to our TSAA Executive, SBM’s, Corporate Colleagues and pilot schools that are involved in these working groups. I am sure you will all agree there has been some great work going on behind the scenes in several Corporate Areas along with the fabulous induction information, FAQ’s and tools we are now able to access via our DECYP intranet.  

To those that are new to the SBM role or have recently commenced in a school, please reach out to TSAA Executive members, colleagues and to SBM’s in neighbouring schools. Schools are busy places, our roles and tasks are diverse, the support that fellow colleagues can offer can really make a difference in your transition into the role. A shared conversation, a buddy to support you, listen and offer guidance – please don’t hesitate to make contact, email or phone!  

Busy times call for a reminder to think about our own health and wellbeing and  more than ever the importance of good physical and mental health. Research indicates many benefits to our entire life; it helps you plan, makes you more mindful, enhances creativity, decision making and flexibility. If you are feeling anxious and need some additional support remember 24/7 support is available to all staff through our Employee Assistance Program. Newport & Wildman can be contacted on 1800 650 204 or email admin@newportwildman.com   

Visit our intranet pages for some great resources and information for yourself and your teams; Welcome To Staff Wellbeing (sharepoint.com) 

Kind regards  

Cynthia Pearce  

Chairperson  

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The Business Operation Professional Learning Plan for 2023 is now available on the School Business Operations intranet site.    Business Operations Professional Learning Plan for 2023.  The content of the plan is designed to provide school leaders with practical information and to encourage the effective administration of the school business operations.  All SBMs will be invited to these sessions and we encourage SBMs to forward the invitation to administration team members and principal where relevant. 

For those unable to attend, session recordings (approx. 45 mins) can be accessed via the SBO-Portal/Professional-Learning-Online-Modules.

For queries please contact ls.businessops@decyp.tas.gov.au

Did you know there are three options available when sending emails to SBM’s. Please remember to search and choose the most appropriate email address, this will help to minimise the number of irrelevant emails; 

Schools (Northern Region) – School Business Managers 

Schools (Southern Region) – School Business Managers 

School Business Managers – all  

As SBM’s we have a fabulous network of colleagues to call upon; share knowledge, contacts and information rather than continually “reinventing the wheel” and spending time hunting down a contact or resource that others have recent details on and are happy to share. Please be mindful of NOT “replying all” when responding to these emails, this can cause a huge amount of unwanted emails clogging up our inboxes unnecessarily. 

The TSAA website has a bank of support staff interview questions which may be useful for selection processes in your school. Whilst some of these may need re-wording to suit your school environment and specific needs, they can be a good starting point. We will look at updating these in the coming months; https://www.tsaa.asn.au/reports-minutes-other