From our Assistant Principal

Child Safety – Working Together to Keep Every Child Safe

At our school, the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of every child are at the centre of everything we do. We are committed to meeting the Victorian Child Safe Standards and continually reviewing our practices to ensure that every student feels safe, respected and supported.

Creating a child-safe environment is a shared responsibility. We value the important role that families play in helping us strengthen our policies, procedures and everyday practices. We regularly review our child safety documentation to ensure it reflects current child safe standards, best practice and the needs of our school community. In our last newsletter, Christine shared the updated Child Safety policies and procedures which were shared with and endorsed by school council in the June meeting. 

These included our: 

• Child Safety Policy
• Child Safety Code of Conduct
• Student Wellbeing and Engagement Policy
• Bullying Prevention Policy
• Child Abuse - Identifying and Response Policy and Procedure

We warmly invite parents and carers to read our Child Safety and Wellbeing policies and provide feedback. Your thoughts, suggestions and questions help us to continually improve the way we support and protect our students.

If you would like to view our Child Safety documentation, please visit the school's website, look on Compass under School Documentation or contact the office for a copies of the documents. 

 We welcome your input and appreciate your partnership in maintaining a safe, inclusive and supportive learning environment for every child. Thank you for your ongoing support as we work together to ensure our school remains a place where every student can learn, grow and thrive with confidence.

Every Day Counts – The Importance of School Attendance

Regular attendance is one of the greatest contributors to student success. Every school day provides valuable opportunities for learning, developing friendships and building positive routines. Arriving at school on time helps students begin the day calmly and ready to learn alongside their classmates.

We encourage all students to be at school at 9:00 am each day. The first session of the morning often includes important literacy and numeracy instruction, daily routines and information that sets students up for a successful day of learning. Arriving late can mean students miss essential teaching, feel unsettled and find it more difficult to engage with classroom learning.

Parents and carers are also reminded that attendance is recorded in two sessions each day. Students who arrive after 10:00 am are recorded as absent for the morning session, and students who leave before 2:00 pm are recorded as absent for the afternoon session. 

Absence data is collected each day and cumulative absences are reported to the Department of  Education. While we understand that appointments and unforeseen circumstances occasionally arise, we encourage families to schedule appointments outside school hours whenever possible to minimise disruption to learning.  

Thank you for your continued support in ensuring your child attends school every day, arrives on time and is ready to make the most of every learning opportunity. Working together, we can help every student achieve their personal best.

Safe Arrival and Departure

The safety of our students is a shared responsibility, and we ask all families to help us maintain safe practices during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up.

When arriving at school, parents, carers and students who are walking are reminded to enter the school grounds via the central pedestrian pathway. Please do not walk down the vehicle driveways, as these areas are used by school buses and parent traffic.  Using the designated pedestrian pathway helps to keep everyone safe and reduces the risk of accidents during our busiest times of the day.

We request that all parents use the top car park drop off and pick up zone in the morning and afternoon. These areas are supervised by a staff member at the crossing and bus entry gateway. The lower car park and driveway is for the bus entry and exit and staff parking. This area is not supervised by staff before and after school and is not the safest option for student drop off. 

We also ask families to supervise children closely in the car park and around the school entrance and to follow all signage and staff directions. Taking a few extra moments to use the safest route makes a significant difference in protecting all members of our school community.

Thank you for your continued support in ensuring students arrive safely, are ready to begin learning by 9:00 am, and are collected safely at the end of the day. By working together, we can provide a safe, orderly and welcoming environment for everyone.