2024 TERM DATES

	Start date	Finish date
Term 1	31 January	28 March
Term 2	15 April	28 June
Term 3	15 July	20 September
Term 4	7 October	20 December

SCHOOL SAVING BONUS

Dear parents and carers,

You may have seen the recent announcement of the School Saving Bonus, as part of the Victorian Budget 2024/25. We are sharing more information about how families will be able to access and use this support.

This one-off support will include $400 for each eligible student to help families cover the costs of school uniforms and activities in 2025.

It will be available to parents and carers of every child enrolled in a Victorian government school in 2025.

Cash will not be paid directly to individuals or families. Instead, families will receive the bonus as credits on their school accounts that will help meet the costs of your children’s activities and uniforms.

Existing supports

The School Saving Bonus support will be in addition to existing and continuing means-tested supports for camps, sports, excursions and uniforms.

The application-based Affordable School Uniform program, through State Schools’ Relief, will continue to be available to families experiencing financial hardship or other forms of vulnerability and short-term crisis. This program allows schools to make multiple applications for support on parents' behalf throughout the year if needed.

There will be more information and guidance about the School Saving Bonus in Term 3, 2024, ahead of its implementation in 2025.

STUDENT MESSAGES

If you have any last-minute messages for your child please call before 2:25 to ensure your messages can be passed on. The end of the school day is often very busy and we are not always able to answer the phone. Thank you for your cooperation!

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Student use of mobile phones at school policy

From Term 1, 2020 there is a new mobile phone policy for all government schools. The policy means phones brought to school must be switched off and stored securely during the school day. (Delivered to the office at Echuca East)

The aim of this policy is to provide:

a safe environment to learn without inappropriate mobile phone use (including cyberbullying) or distractions
greater opportunities for social interaction and physical activity during recess and lunchtimes.

The use of technology is important, but the risks and benefits from its use need to be managed, refer to our summary of research articles.

2024 iPad Program

Our iPad program has been revamped this year after changes to DET policy meant we were no longer able to “on sell” to our families and therefore offer payment plan options. All students from grades 1 to 6 will be assigned a school iPad that will stay with the student for three years, at which time the device will be replaced. They are only for school use and will stay at school permanently.

Child safety and wellbeing at Echuca East Primary School: Information for families and the school community.

The Victorian Government has announced new Child Safe Standards to further strengthen child safety across organisations, including schools. The new standards recognise the critical importance of families and the broader school community in maintaining and promoting child safety and wellbeing.

Echuca East Primary School has reviewed and updated our child safety policies and procedures to ensure they meet the requirements of the new standards. These are available to view on our school’s website, on Sentral parent app, and at the school’s front office on request.

We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures and practices.

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, please contact Echuca East Primary School at echuca.east.ps@education.vic.gov.au or by phone on 03 5482 2588.

Annual privacy reminder for our school community

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088879415793&mibextid=LQQJ4d

SCHOOL HOURS

ARRIVAL

Doors open at 8:30 am and students go directly to their classrooms.

All students will have hands sanitised as they arrive.

Keep up the great work of getting to school on time. Parents, remember this is your responsibility!

DISMISSAL

All students will be dismissed at 3.15pm, please remember that the back of the oval is currently a construction site so please park in another place and make use of crossings situated in Sutton and Eyre Street.

When parking in residential streets please be mindful of residential driveways we have had a few residents contact us to advise that their driveway/vision have been cut off making it dangerous for them to leave and enter their property.

CONTACT US

21-31 Eyre St, Echuca VIC 3564

Ph (03) 5482 2588

Email echuca.east.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Website https://echucaeastps.vic.edu.au/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EchucaEastPrimarySchool

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Echuca East would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the people whose land we learn and journey on.

We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

CHILD SAFE

Echuca East Primary School is committed to Child safety. The safety and well-being of our students is a primary concern.

We want children to be safe, happy and empowered. We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers. We have zero tolerance of child abuse, and all

allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures. To ensure the safety and best interests of all students, we take into account the needs of those with an Aboriginal or Torres strait Islander heritage and those from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds.

UNIFORMS

Please be reminded that uniform is compulsory at school. If you need support to get your child back into uniform, please contact the office and we will assist you. On the odd occasion your child is out of uniform, please provide a note.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN LEVEL 4