Updates & Reminders

Year 10 - 12 Community Important Dates

Year 7 - 9 Community Important Dates

Year 3 - 6 Community Important Dates

Swimming

Year 5/6 students will be participating in an Intensive Swimming program. This program runs for 5-consecutive days and is free to the families. 

Dates are as follows: Monday 11th November - Friday 15th November 2024.

Department of Education Update

Social Media Safety

Parents and carers play an important role in supporting their children to be safe online and on social media. You can help your children safely navigate their digital world and educate them to avoid harmful online experiences. You can explore websites, games, apps and social media together and set some rules and boundaries.

Your support and guidance can give your children the knowledge to make sound decisions online and confidence to ask for help when they need it. It is also important to stay informed about online safety.

The Department of Education recognises this important issue and has developed fact sheets about supports to help keep students safe online and what to do if they are involved in an online incident.

The fact sheets contain links to evidence-based information on supporting positive and safe online experiences, signs a child or young person might need support, what to do if something unsafe happens online, and where to reach out to for more support. To access the fact sheets, refer to the Safe Socials webpage. The fact sheets are available in 19 community languages.

• https://www.vic.gov.au/safe-socials-parents-and-carers-primary  
• https://www.vic.gov.au/safe-socials-parents-and-carers-secondary 

The government is also launching public consultation on age limits for social media.

You and your children can share your experiences to inform proposed changes via an online survey, before 5 pm on Friday 1 November 2024. For more information on the survey and to take part, refer to Proposed changes to social media age limits on the Engage Victoria website.

If you have any queries about this information, you can contact the department by email: bullystoppers@education.vic.gov.au 

Protecting against mosquito-borne diseases

Warm and wet weather can result in greater numbers of mosquitoes and increased risk of illnesses from mosquito bites. While the overall risk is low, some mosquitoes carry diseases that make people sick.

The best protection against mosquito-borne illness is to avoid mosquito bites.

Families can protect against mosquito bites by:

• covering up as much as possible with long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing
• applying insect repellent that contains picaridin or DEET on exposed skin when leaving home
• limiting outdoor activity if lots of mosquitoes are active. Families with any health concerns should see their doctor or phone NURSE-ON-CALL: 1300 606 024 (available 24 hours). 

Free Japanese Encephalitis Vaccines

Japanese encephalitis virus is spread to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes and can cause a rare but potentially serious infection of the brain. Free Japanese encephalitis vaccines are available to protect Victorians at higher risk of the virus.

The Victorian Department of Health encourages eligible people who live or work in high-risk local government areas to get vaccinated.

For more information, including what is considered a high-risk area and eligibility for a free vaccine, refer to the Department of Health’s Japanese encephalitis webpage. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/japanese-encephalitis 

Find out more

For more information on protecting against mosquito-borne diseases, families can refer to the following Better Health Channel pages: 

• Mosquitoes can carry diseases - https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/mosquitoes-can-carry-diseases 
• Protect yourself from mosquito-borne disease, including a handy checklist to help reduce mosquito breeding sites at home and resources translated into other languages. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/campaigns/protect-yourself-mosquito-borne-disease