Dear Parents/Guardians,

School Attendance

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school, on time, each and every day. Missing school can have a major impact on a student’s future – a student missing one day a fortnight will miss four full weeks by the end of the year. By Year 10 they’ll have missed more than a year of school. There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student arrives late or misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes.

Coming to school every day is vital, but if for any reason your daughter must miss school, there are things that can be done to ensure they don’t fall behind:

Speak with your daughter’s subject teacher and find out what work she needs to do to keep up (work can also be found on Compass in many cases);
Contact your daughter’s Mentor Group Teacher; or
Contact your daughter’s Wellbeing Leader or the College Counsellor.

If necessary, together we can develop an absence learning plan. Parents play a vital role in the development of this plan and in ensuring that their daughter adheres to it. Remember, every day counts. If your daughter must miss school, speak with us as early as possible. Please note that there are laws in place which mean that parents can be fined for not sending children to school without an acceptable reason.

For some tips on ‘How to get your child to school’, if at times they are showing any reluctance, please access this article on Compass under School Documentation → School Attendance → How do I Get My Teenager to School. Further information and resources can also be found on Academy SchoolTV on the College website under the ‘School Survival Series.

Year 7 Camp

The Year 7 cohort along with 9 staff headed off to Newhaven (Philip Island) on Monday 19th February for their 3-day camp. The weather was perfect, and the students all had an extremely enjoyable time, participating in activities designed to assist with their transition from primary school to secondary school, allowing them to meet other girls and commence to make important friendship connections. The activities were also designed to challenge the students, take them out of their comfort zones a little and build some resilience as well as their problem-solving skills. The activities included hiking, bush walks, water and beach activities, surfing, a visit to the Koala Conservation Reserve, the Philip Island penguins and activities at the Chocolate factory.

I would like to acknowledge and thank all staff that attended, and in particular, Year 7 Wellbeing Leader, Dr. Bryce Dermody for her meticulous organisation and planning to ensure the camp went off without a hitch.

Anaphylaxis

Given that we have quite a few students here at the College who have anaphylaxis, we urge parents/guardians to take great care with what food products you provide your daughters. Please be aware that certain foods, particularly nuts, can cause severe and potentially harmful reactions to others. As far as possible we seek to reduce the risk of anaphylactic reactions occurring and any support you can provide in this regard is most appreciated.

Importantly, I remind parents/guardians that students who have been diagnosed with anaphylaxis must have an Epipen with them at all times and a spare Epipen should be handed in to Student Reception. Please be aware that if any student with anaphylaxis does not have an Epipen with them and a spare one in at Student Reception, they will not be permitted to attend any planned excursion of which they might be a part.

In the interests of your daughter’s safety we ask that this is addressed as soon as possible. This also includes ensuring that all Action Plans are up-to-date. Please contact Ms. Jessica Synaphet if you need to discuss this further.

Child Safety

Child safety continues to be a key focus for the College in 2024 and I would like to refer parents/guardians to the Child Safety Policy on the College website.

Within the ‘Guiding Principles’ of the policy it states that, “Catholic schools have a moral, legal and mission-driven responsibility to create nurturing school environments where children and young people are respected, their voices are heard and they are safe and feel safe (CECV Commitment to Child Safety).

Within the framework of this policy is an adherence to the Victorian Child Safe Standards as follows:

CHILD SAFE STANDARDS

Standard 1	Schools must establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children, young people and students are respected and valued.
Standard 2	Schools must ensure that child safety and wellbeing is embedded in school leadership, governance and culture.
Standard 3	Schools must ensure that children, young people and students are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
Standard 4	Schools must ensure that families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
Standard 5	Schools must ensure that equity is upheld, and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.
Standard 6	Schools must ensure that people working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
Standard 7	Schools must ensure that processes for complaints and concerns are child focused
Standard 8	Schools must ensure that staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
Standard 9	Schools must ensure that physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children, young people and students to be harmed.
Standard 10	Schools must ensure that implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.
Standard 11	Schools must have policies and procedures that document how schools are safe for children, young people and students.

While we believe that the College, in its practices and protocols, meets all of the above Standards, an overall essential component of Child Safety is a student’s capacity to respond to incidents which may threaten their own safety. To that end, I would also like to inform you that, in the coming weeks, I will be finishing off presentations to all year levels, focusing on recognising unsafe situations and avenues available for responding and reporting these situations as well as reporting abuse.

I would also ask parents/guardians to encourage their daughters to report any incidents when travelling to and from the College, where a member of the public makes them feel unsafe. Reporting such incidents is important in ensuring that the relevant authorities are informed and appropriate action is taken to ensure the safety of not only our students, but also other members of the public.

House Swimming Carnival

The House Swimming Carnival is scheduled to take place Tuesday 5 March. Parents and guardians are asked to note that there are some differences from previous years. The venue is Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre, 180 Victoria Rd, Northcote. Year 10 – 12 Students are asked to make their own way to the venue and will be dismissed from the venue as well. They are asked to be there at 9:00am and will be dismissed at approximately 2:30 – 2:45pm. They have also been provided with a ‘travel plan’ which will assist them with this. Year 7 – 9 students will be bussed as per normal. Parents and guardians have already provided permission for their daughter to attend this event via the year level General Permission letter on Operoo disseminated at the beginning of the year.

All members of the community are reminded that the House Swimming Carnival is a compulsory school day and all students are expected to attend. Days such as this, amongst many other things, provide that important sense of belonging to students and also play an integral role in the positive wellbeing of all members of the Academy community. If a student is absent next Tuesday, they are asked to provide a medical certificate for this absence. We are looking forward to another successful day.

International Women’s Day Breakfast

Members of the Parents’ Association are in the process of organising an International Women’s Day Breakfast. This is event is a wonderful opportunity for mothers (or significant others) and daughters to come together in a relaxed environment to have a cup of tea or coffee with a muffin or croissant, and just spend an hour or so relaxing and mingling with other parents. The breakfast is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 6 March from 7:00am – 8:30am at the College. All families have received an invitation with a Trybooking Link. Bookings will close on Sunday 3 March.

Year 7 & 8 Parent Meet and Greet

Another event that the Parent’s Association is in the process of organising is Year 7 & 8 Parent Meet and Greet. It is scheduled to be held on Friday 15th March from approximately 7:00pm at St. Andrew’s Hotel in Fitzroy. All Year 7 & 8 families are cordially invited and an invitation with a Trybooking Link has also been sent out. Places are limited so interested parents are encouraged to secure their booking quickly. Ms. Camilla Dighton and Ms. Adele LaBrooy, members of the Parent’s Association will be organising and overseeing this function. Their contact details can be found on the Trybooking Link if parents have any questions.

As always, please never hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions or concerns.

Mr Sam Di Camillo

Deputy Principal, Wellbeing & Operations

Community

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SIMONDS COLLEGE