Canteen 2023 -No canteen in 2023

There is no canteen at the moment. This means students need to bring their own snacks and lunch. We will be consulting with the community shortly to investigate options for the future.

Single-use plastics ban

From Wednesday 1 February 2023, Victorian businesses and organisations' (including schools) will not be able to sell, supply or provide a number of single-use plastic items.

Items that will be banned from 1 February 2023

The ban applies to the following single-use plastic items made from conventional, degradable or compostable plastics:

drinking straws
cutlery including knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks, sporks, splades and food picks
plates
drink stirrers and sticks
cotton bud sticks.

The ban also applies to:

food service items and drink containers made from expanded polystyrene.

For more information on items that will be banned, refer to this fact sheet.

Exceptions to the ban

People who need single-use plastic drinking straws due to disability or for a medical need will still be able to purchase and use these items.

Schools can continue to purchase single-use plastic straws from their suppliers so that these are available when needed.

There is no requirement for individuals to provide verification of disability or medical need when requesting straws.

For more information on single-use plastic straws and other exceptions to the ban, refer to our new Single-Use Plastics Ban policy.

Implementing the ban

Schools can continue to use up existing stock before the ban starts on 1 February 2023. Banned items cannot be provided after this date, even if they were purchased before the ban.

From 1 February 2023, all businesses and organisations' (including schools) will need to comply with the regulations and ensure they do not purchase, supply or provide any banned single-use plastics.

Schools with canteens and out of school hours care programs operated by third parties should ensure their operators are aware of the ban.

Schools should make plans to replace single-use items with reusables. Where it is not possible to use reusable items, schools can choose single-use items made from alternative materials – such as uncoated paper, wood or bamboo.

When procuring new supplies, note that:

single-use plastics have now been replaced with suitable alternatives wherever they exist in the COS catalogue
COS is working with its suppliers and the Victorian Government to identify and replace all remaining single-use plastic products in the catalogue.

If schools expect to have significant excess stock, for example, unopened boxes of banned items after 1 February 2023, please email: sup.policy@delwp.vic.gov.au

School community communications

Please note that the offences relating to the ban do not apply to private or domestic activities at home, for example, individual families’ decisions about lunch packaging brought to school. The intention of the ban is to remove the specified items from the supply chain before they reach the consumer.

Draft newsletter text is available in the resources section of our Single-Use Plastics Ban policy, for schools that would like to share information about the ban with their school communities. There are also posters that can be used around the school, such as in the canteen, if schools want to use them.

Policy, guidance and resources

Our Policy and Advisory Library includes all related policy information, guidance and resources under the relevant menu tabs:

Single-Use Plastics Ban.

Find out more

For more information, refer to:

Single-use plastics ban – fact sheet
Sustainability Victoria – single-use plastics ban.

For further enquiries, email our Environmental Sustainability team: sustainability@education.vic.gov.au

Food sharing and student birthdays

Please note that children should not share food at school. We have a number of students with allergies and severe reactions to certain foods. Last week, we had an incident where a student innocently accepted a chocolate from his friend, only to find that it had nuts in it which he was allergic to. Fortunately, it was a mild allergic reaction, the student was sent home and he was ok. However, it shows that we need to be vigilant and not share food.

Please remember to check what students are bringing to school and ensure that there are no nuts. Also, parents need to reinforce that students should not accept food from friends nor share their food.

We are currently discussing if in future we may be able to acknowledge birthdays in a safe way, so I am interested to hear from parents if they have ideas on how this might work. One suggestion is that if students and parents want to provide something for their class that it be wrapped with information about ingredients clearly labelled. These could be given out at the end of the day and then parents at home could check if the item was ok for their child to consume. Please email any ideas to the school email or come and see us at the office.

School Buildings

A reminder that the school buildings are off limits before and after school to students and their families, including students who attend before and after school care. If students need to return to their classroom or if you need to speak to a staff member, please go to the office first, walking around the outside of the school. Only staff should be in the school buildings during before and after school hours unless a meeting has been arranged. Please ensure you sign in at the office first. The school office closes at 4:30pm, so anything after that time will need to be dealt with the following school day. You can always call and leave a message, email the school or contact the teacher via Seesaw. Students should not be entering a staff members office at anytime.

Student Safety Online

Many of our students are very active online. Some of this time is spent safely playing games and chatting to friends. However increasingly we have found that there have been some negative consequences of their interactions online and at times this carries over into the school environment. As soon as we are aware we talk to students and parents and work to resolving any issues. Last term, police from a special unit came to speak to our Year 5 and 6 students about online safety. They explained what kind of risks can be present online. Students were very surprised to hear about these risks and did not realise that your digital footprint is forever and that even when you delete something it can still be found.

As these incidents occur at home it is really the responsibility of the parents to monitor their children’s actions online and to guide them and keep them safe. To assist you, we have attached some of the information shared with students for you. As much as we can help deal with some of the incidents, often it is difficult for us to deal with things which have happened outside of school hours. It may be important for you to direct your concerns to the police.

Academy Uniforms

Below is the link to our new uniform supplier Academy Uniforms, along with a uniform price list. Our school uniform can now be purchased from Academy Uniform in Derrimut.

Tissues

It would be appreciated if each child could bring a box of tissues for their classroom each term. We thank you for your kind donation.

School Hats

All students will be required to wear a school hat when outdoors between the 1st of September until the 29th of April (1st week of Term 2 2022). During May-August we still encourage the students to wear their hats when outdoors but it is not compulsory.

School hats are available from Academy Uniforms. Please ensure your child's name is clearly written on their.

DPW Communication & Learning Apps

Please click on the link below to access our Communication & Learning apps which are available for families to download and use. Staff at DPW will use these apps to communicate with our families.

The Principal, Assistant Principals and Administration staff use the Compass app as their way of communicating with families, sending out important information daily/weekly . Parents/Guardians can access their child/rens school reports on Compass.

If you are having any issues with your Compass app or log in details, please contact the school office on 9363 3519.

Breakfast Club

Breakfast club runs everyday except Wednesdays. Students need to wait at the front gate at 8:30am and a staff member will come and collect them. Reminder breakfast club is only for students who can not have breakfast at home and students must eat breakfast while attending. If you require supervision of your child/ren in the morning or after school, please contact Camp Australia.

School Captains