Dear Parents, Teachers, Students and Friends of the French School,

The holidays are over and more than 600 students have recommenced school on 13th August. For this new school year, we have the pleasure of welcoming not only numerous new students and teachers, but also a new principal, Mr Mahdi Tamene. On behalf of the parents, I would like to welcome him.

The International French School of Sydney is a lively place where teachers, students, directors and parents come together. There is also another important but less visible actor in school life:
The Board of Directors The Board is made up of a team of ten volunteer parents who were elected during the recent Annual General Meeting in October 2009 to carry out the functions of the Board.

This involves:

   - Taking responsibility for the school accounts,
   - Approving the decisions made by the Principal, Teachers and the Administration staff,
   - Setting up structures necessary for the life of the school.

The members for 2009/10 are: Marion Toucheboeuf (Treasurer), Kate Guilfoyle (Vice-President), Gwénaël Leculier, (Secretary), Camille Delavande Destor, Kelly Noble, Frédéric Anne, Janine Pearce, Adeline Porcheron and François Romanet (President).

The school is faced with several challenges: constant investment in building works to improve classrooms, playgrounds, the canteen, etc.; managing the expenses so as to keep up with the continual changes to the school population which is always fluctuating as well as the ups and downs of subsidies from French and Australian organisations. We also need to keep the school fees at an affordable level to allow all students access to education at the French School. These elements are constantly taken into account and all decisions are always made with our children’s interests at heart. As well as the “classical” role I have with the Board of Directors, I also want to meet with the parents as well as the teaching and administrative staff so as to identify directions for progression in the short, medium and long term.


The Board of Directors has taken up the challenge, via the creation of sub-committees (made up of parents, students, teachers and people from outside the school), to deal with major operational topics such as: a continual reflection on safety inside and around the school perimeter, a step-by-step renovation of the information technology systems, a professional approach to seek out financial partners, a streamlining of internal processes, a complete review of subcontractors, an implementation of regular internal communication tools and of marketing tools adapted to recruiting new students for the coming years, and continual discussions with the teachers.There are already more than fifty parents who participate in thinking over these topics on a daily basis. These sub-committees (made up of volunteer parents) are very active and hope to see their projects become reality over the next few school terms, respecting the current budgetary restrictions. You will find all the details of these projects on the school’s website so that you can join in and thereby contribute to our children’s future.
The school is growing (from 350 to 610 in 4 years) and its structures must adapt to this growth.
The teaching and administrative staff must continue to grow and develop (recruitment, training, and involvement) according to the specific needs of the students. I sincerely believe that we can all be proud of our school. However, this pride should not prevent us from keeping up our continual efforts to improve the International French School of Sydney.

I would like to strongly encourage all parents to join in one or more of the many projects developed by the Board of Directors (Annual General Meeting, sub-committees, Fete committee, etc…)

Kind regards,

François Romanet
President