From the Office

Office Opening Hours

The School Office is staffed between the hours of 8am - 4pm Monday to Friday. 

For all enquiries please contact us on 9878 1483

Outside of school hours, please feel free to email blackburn.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Late Arrivals & Partial Day Absences

We would like parents to not process 'Late Arrivals' or Partial Absences on Compass prior to coming to school.

• The student's unexplained absence will be amended once your child has been signed in at the office via the Compass Kiosk.
• Please only add Student Absences via Compass if they will be absent for the entire school day.
• If your child arrives after 9.00am please bring them to the office to sign them in on the Compass Kiosk. Alternatively, if you cannot come into the office please call us and send your child in to get a late pass - we need to have contact with a parent in order to update their attendance on Compass.
• If your child arrives after 9.30am, you will still receive a text message which can be ignored. This 'unexplained' absence will also be amended once you have arrived to school and signed your child in. 

Compass 

We have found that the Compass App has limited access to some of the options (such Insights, Course Confimations, Parent Consents & Payments) and that you can see more by viewing Compass via a browser. 

You can search for Compass on your internet browser on your phone or computer.

Alternatively, you can open in a browser from the Compass App by clicking on the 'More' option (3 lines) at the bottom of the page; followed by clicking on the 'Open in Browser' button - as indicated on the pictures below.

The attached pdf will give you some more tips on how to use the Compass App

And you can find a comprehensive parent guide to Compass here: https://www.compass.education/guide

Compass Calendar

Remember Compass Calendar is available as well as the Key Dates page here on the newsletter for upcoming events.

BPS is a Nut Free School

A gentle reminder to our school families that we have a number of students throughout our school who have severe allergies (a.k.a anaphylaxis) which is a very serious and potentially life threatening condition. 

There are several different foods and other products which these students are anaphylactic to, with nuts being the most predominant. 

So, in the interest of keeping all of our students safe and healthy within our school environment, we respectfully ask all families not to send any foods in students’ lunch boxes that contain nuts or nut products. 

We thank you for your cooperation and understanding. 

If there is a student in your class with anaphylaxis to other foods (e.g. egg, sesame, dairy products), your classroom teacher may email you as something to be aware & mindful of when packing lunchboxes.

Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF)

Applications for 2026 are currently open and need to be submitted to the school ASAP and no later than the 19th June 2026. 

The CSEF is an annual payment that is made directly to the school to be used towards camps, sports and/or excursion expenses for the benefit of the eligible student. The annual CSEF amount per student is $400 for all eligible school students.

To be eligible for the fund you must meet both of the following two criteria:

• be a parent or carer of a student attending a registered Victorian school
• be a parent or carer who is the beneficiary of a financially means-tested concession card that is valid on either the first day of Term 1 or the first day of Term 2 2026

Special consideration categories also exist for asylum seekers, temporary protection visa holders and Humanitarian or Safe Haven visa holders who are not permanent residents and do not have access to Centrelink or have a means-tested Health Care Card.; or for students in out of home care arrangements, including statutory kinship care, foster care and permanent care.

If you are unsure if your concession card is eligible, please submit an application to school and we can submit into the CSEF system for validation.

Cards must be sighted, and a photocopy taken by the school to confirm the expiry date and eligibility.

If you previously had a CSEF application with us last year, we have automatically re-applied for you, and you do not need to fill out a new form. You will be notified if the card validation fails.

 If you think you are eligible for CSEF please complete the form and return it to the office together with your concession card. Hard copy forms are available from the office if needed.

Lunch Orders

Balanced Living Catering provide lunch orders for our students on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please download the Flexischools App via the QR Link on the photo below. Orders must be placed by 9pm the night before. Lunch orders will commence in Week 2 of Term 1

Kiss and Drop

Our Kiss and Drop zone is a great initiative that helps keep traffic moving and makes morning drop-offs more efficient. To ensure this process runs smoothly and safely for everyone, we ask families to follow these key rules:

• Designated Area: The zone is marked by the red car parks. Please pull into the red zone to drop off your children, then safely merge right to re-enter the traffic.
• No Parking Times: The Kiss and Drop area is a strictly no-parking zone from 8:45 am to 9:00 am, and again from 3:30 pm to 3:45 pm.
• Left-Side Exit Only: Children must only enter and exit the car from the left-hand side (passenger side). Exiting from the right means stepping directly into moving traffic. If your child requires assistance getting out of the car, we ask that you park and walk them in.
• Bags Inside the Car: All school bags and instruments should be kept inside the car with your child, not in the boot. If you need to access the boot for larger items, please park in a designated spot for that day.
• Independence: This zone is designed for children who can confidently and independently get in and out of the car. Our teachers are there to supervise the area and ensure overall safety.
• Additional Parking: If, for any of the reasons outlined above, you need to park and walk your children into school, additional parking is available at One Church on Surrey Road.

Please refer to the diagram below for a visual guide to our Kiss and Drop areas. Thank you for your ongoing cooperation in keeping our students safe.

STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE & AMBULANCE COVER ARRANGEMENTS

The Department of Education does not provide personal accident insurance for students.

Parents and guardians are generally responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs.

Student accident insurance policies are available through private insurance companies to cover medical expenses not met by Medicare.

Schools and the Department of Education are not able to advise parents on whether to purchase such an insurance policy or which policy to purchase as individual families have differing needs.

PERSONAL GOODS BROUGHT TO SCHOOL AT OWNER’S RISK

The Department of Education does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and it has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property.

This applies to students, staff and members of the public.

This can include mobile phones, electronic games, iPads, laptops, toys, musical instruments, sporting equipment and bicycles parked on school grounds.

Students and staff are discouraged from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school.

LOST PROPERTY

A reminder to please ensure that all items of clothing and lunch boxes are clearly named. We are seeing quite a lot of items being sent to the lost property area. Lost Property is located just inside the senior building 'The Barn'.

Please encourage your children to keep checking the lost property area if an item is missing.

Any items remaining at the end of term will be donated to second hand uniform sales, charity or discarded.