COVID 19 Reminder (current guidelines Department of Education)

There is at present an increase in community transmission of COVID-19 in Victoria due to a new variant.

3 key steps to take to contribute to reducing transmission.

As a school, we are advised to remind our communities to ensure COVID-19 vaccinations are up to date
We ensure good ventilation through the use of the supplied air purifiers and opening doors and windows
All staff and students are to stay home if they have any symptoms, and to get tested and isolate for at least 5 days and until they no longer have symptoms.

Staff work times

Office hours 8.30am-4.30pm

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 8.40am-4.40pm

Thursday and Friday 8.40am-3.40pm

All teachers are committed to staff meetings on Monday and Wednesday 3.40-4.40pm

Students are supervised from 8.40am before school and until 3.40pm after school.

Staff arrive at school between 8am and 8.30am, please refrain from arriving at school before 8.30am (walking, riding, drop off).

Please also avoid parking in the driveways of nearby houses, even for a quick student drop off or pick up, as this results in residents being unable to leave their property.

Road Safety

Please ensure your child is using care when walking/travelling to and from school;

Check for oncoming traffic, and wait for the crossing supervisor to blow their whistle, before crossing the road
If travelling on a bike, use the left bicycle lane on the road to avoid any potential collision or confusion for other road users

Sunsmart

A reminder to apply suncream each morning before school, and children must wear their hats when outside from mid August until the end of April.

Mobile Phones

As per Department of Education (DET) policy, students are not permitted mobile phones at school (unless there is a medical reason). All WEPS students must hand their phones in to the office each morning and collect them each night. These are stored in a secure drawer during the school day.

Parent/student communication/messages

Please refrain from communicating on private devices (ie watch or iPad) during the school day. If communication is required, please communicate information through the school office (NB teachers do not check Seesaw/Compass during the school day, due to their teaching commitments, messages may be missed). Please phone though messages between 9 and 2.30pm to ensure your child receives the message. If your child is unwell or needs to speak with you, they can inform their classroom teacher and they will arrange for this to occur.

Privacy reminder for our school community

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice (see school website).

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy – see school website, describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages (contact the office if translation required):

Amharic
Arabic
Dari
Gujarati
Mandarin
Somali
Sudanese
Turkish
Urdu
Vietnamese

Student travel on Country Buses - Reminder

Only students that are registered for travel on their designated country bus are able to use this service.

Bus travellers must only travel to and from their approved bus stop.

The Country bus service is not to be used by any students to attend sports training/work or social purposes.

Parent/Carers are to make their own arrangements in this regard.

Reminder to bus travellers that it is a condition of travel that seatbelts must be worn at all times (where fitted).

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

THE LINK

KINDNESS, RESPECT, INCLUSION, PERSEVERANCE

Issue 20 · 26 Jun 2025

In this issue