News from the Deputy Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
This week has been a fabulous start to Term 2 and we have been blessed with wonderful weather too!
It was so great to see all the children back, smiling and happy to be back at school.
In the last newsletter, I included the Orange Door information for anyone who may need support, whether for their own family or someone they know. It is handy to have a safe place to keep it.
Please see the information below again for those who may have missed it in the last newsletter.
The Orange Door - Do you, or someone you know need support?
Our school cares about the safety and well-being of our students and their families. Sometimes things at home or in a relationship are not OK, or families can be worried about the well-being of their children or young people. The Orange Door can help you to get the support you need, quickly and easily. It’s free, and you don’t need a referral.
The Orange Door can help families. They provide support for concerns with parenting, relationships, and family violence.
The Orange Door is a free intake and assessment service for:
• families requiring support for their child or young person’s wellbeing or development
• families needing parenting support
• young, isolated, or unsupported families
• individuals and families experiencing family violence
• adults using family violence
• young people using violence in the home.
If you contact The Orange Door, they can help by:
• working with you to identify the help and support you need
• supporting you with the wellbeing and development of your child or young person
• helping you make a safety plan if someone is making you feel unsafe
• connecting you to services that can help like counselling, accommodation, mental health and drug and alcohol services, parenting support groups, services for children, financial help, or legal assistance
• supporting you to access funding for basic living expenses and some other costs
• supporting you to change abusive or controlling behaviour.
Each Orange Door location across Victoria has their own phone number and email. Students and their families can also visit their local Orange Door in person for support, Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm for support. No appointment is needed. To find your local service, see: The Orange Door – Support near you.
How schools connect with The Orange Door Our school might talk to a student and/or their family about The Orange Door. We might encourage them to contact their local Orange Door to get advice and help if needed. Ideally, a student and/or their family will get in touch with The Orange Door to seek advice and support. Sometimes, schools might make a referral to The Orange Door without the student or their family’s knowledge or consent.
Schools will do this if:
• informing a student and/or family increases the risk to their safety or wellbeing
• not linking a student to support increases the risk of their safety and wellbeing.
You can learn more about:
• The Orange Door and how they can help you and your family here.
Child Safe Standards
Each school is mandated to follow and implement the Child Safe Standards. This year, we have been following the 11 standards in 11 months for MACS Child Safety implementation.
Our school has some Child Safety policies on our website. I have included them below so that you can read them.
As a staff, we have been working through the standards, what they mean for our school, and how we address them and their obligations in our school.
Child and Parent Code of Conduct and Student ICT Agreements
These documents were due at school last term. If you still have these documents at home, can you please return them to the office by the end of next week? We are required to obtain the signatures of all Parents and Carers on the Code of Conduct.
PSG documents
A reminder for families who have any PSG documents at home. Can you please return them to school as soon as possible so that they do not go missing?
With thanks, and have a wonderful week ahead,
Katie