Taylors Lakes News

From the Principal

Term 3

Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter. As we approach the end of Term 3, we have reached the end of another cold winter with the sun now beginning to come out putting the winter chills behind us. We also welcome Daniel Kunstek who will be teaching Humanities for the remainder of the year and Demie Bagnato who will be teaching Voice/Piano for the remaining of the year.

 

Term 3 is always a time of many special events in the school calendar.  This year is no exception.  This newsletter showcases some of these events with many more over the next few weeks.  

 

Dean Xiberras of Year 12 was a finalist for School Based Apprentice of the Year at the Victorian Training Awards 2024 on Friday August 30th 2024.

 

Dean is undertaking VCE VM and is undertaking Electrotechnology through the HeadStart Program. He is very well respected in this field already and his employer speaks very highly of him too. He was supported at the awards evening by his family, teachers and Headstart Coordinators. 

 

His RTO provider NECA were also present and they too speak very highly of Dean. NECA also won the education provider of the year award on the night. 

Congratulations to all of the students and staff currently involved in this year’s production, 'Catch Me If You Can'. This is a fabulous show, showcasing the tremendous talent of our students. Rehearsals were productive and brought a positive vibe amongst everyone before the six performances during this week.

 A special thank you to the staff and students who have put in many hours of work, including after school, holidays and weekends, under the leadership of GJ productions who is directing the show. It is a real team effort, and many staff and students have put in a huge amount of time and effort.

Unit 3/4 Practice Examinations and Revision Lectures

All Year 12 VCE students and Year 11 students studying a Unit 3-4 subject have the opportunity to sit a practice exam in each of their subject areas in the second week of the school holidays. Students are provided with an authentic exam experience. The purpose of the practice exams is to support the revision process, help build student confidence and maximise their performance.

 

The practice exams are an effective way to develop a revision strategy for the final exams which begin at the end of October, and to learn how to communicate knowledge to the examiner in an appropriate way. All students are required to attend school and complete all of their practice exams. Feedback on the exam will be provided to students soon after to support their preparation for the final exam.

The college has also offering revision lectures for students for a number of studies. 

Schools' Privacy Policy

Schools’ Privacy Policy notifies the school community that information about students is shared to fulfil our core function: educating and supporting our students. The Schools’ Privacy Policy also establishes a clarified ‘need to know’ framework. This empowers all school staff to share information about students with other staff who need to know. This is consistent with Victorian privacy law. Parents can read more about this using the below link: 

www.education.vic.gov.au/Pages/Schools-Privacy-Policy-information-for-parents.aspx

Reminder to log your child's absence on COMPASS

A reminder to all parents to please record your child's absence on COMPASS if they are not going to be at school.  If this can please be done by the start of the school day of the absence. This is a simple process.  If you use the App on your phone, just click on the shortcuts button at the bottom and 'report an absence' or from a computer desktop you will see the link on your homepage.  At current, our attendance officer, Marie, is inundated calling parents whose children have not come into school, and parents are aware of the absence.  This takes away from the important work we need to do supporting children and families where attendance is of a greater concern.  Thank-you for your support in addressing this. If you are having any issues logging onto COMPASS please contact our IT desk for support. -  it@tlsc.vic.edu.au

School Start Bonus 2025

The Victorian Government is making life that little bit easier for families by providing a one-off $400 School Saving Bonus. This support will help cover the cost of school uniforms, textbooks, and school activities like camps, excursions and sports. The School Saving Bonus is in addition to existing and continuing means-tested supports for Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) and the Affordable School Uniforms Program. The School Saving Bonus will be provided to schools and families in Term 4, 2024. 

 

Who receives the School Saving Bonus: The School Saving Bonus is available for parents and carers of all Victorian government school students from Prep to Year 12 in 2025, except for full-fee international students, home schooled students, TAFE students and students attending kindergarten in 2025.  

 

Actions for parents and carers:  Parents and carers of children who meet the School Saving Bonus eligibility above are required to do the following by Friday 18 October 2024:

  • Complete enrolment 
  • Check your contact information 

Parents are asked to ensure their contact information is up to date with the school. 

 

Accessing the $400 School Saving Bonus:  Parents do not need to apply for the School Saving Bonus. The Department of Education will email parents in November 2024 with the  $400 School Saving Bonus. They will be able to access it via an online system. Parents can can decide how to best use the School Saving Bonus for their family's needs. They can choose how to allocate the $400 in the online system. The bonus can be used towards 2025 school costs, which may include: 

  • camps, trips, excursions and incursions 
  • swimming and sporting programs 
  • outdoor education programs 
  • graduations
  • school uniforms
  • textbooks. 

The bonus can be used at the school’s approved textbook or uniform suppliers either in-store or online, or through State Schools’ Relief. The list of suppliers may include a school uniform or bookshop. Any amount that parents choose to allocate to textbooks and uniforms will be valid until 30 June 2025. It will then transfer to the child’s school account for future activities. Funds will roll over for use in future years if it is not all spent in 2025.

 

Families with more than one eligible child: Families who have more than one child at the same school can combine their School Saving Bonus payments to use on one child, or for a specific activity. So, for example, a family with 3 children who are all government school students would receive support to the value of $1,200 and choose how they spend those funds. The School Saving Bonus cannot be combined across different schools. 

And finally,

Thank you to all of you, as parents, who ensure that your children follow the uniform requirements and arrive on time for school each day.  We expect students to be in class, ready to learn on the second bell.  

 

Danny Dedes