From the Office

Office Opening Hours

The School Office is staffed between the hours of 8am-4pm Monday to Friday. 

For all enquiries please contact us on 9878 1483

Outside of school hours, please feel free to email blackburn.ps@education.vic.gov.au

School Student Broadband Initiative.

Led by the National Broadband Network (NBN), the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) is a Federal Government initiative offering free home internet to 30,000 eligible households with school-aged students.

The initiative seeks to boost educational opportunities and narrow the digital divide.

About the initiative

The SSBI enables eligible households access to free internet on the NBN network until 31 December 2025, starting from the time the service is activated with the internet provider. Other household members can use the internet service provided by the initiative.

Households have until 31 December 2024 to apply. 

After the free period, households cannot be placed on a paid service without consent. The government is currently exploring options for what happens to services beyond 2025.

Eligibility

To be eligible for SSBI, families must:

• have a child living at home who is enrolled in an Australian school (up to year 12 including Prep)
• not have an active NBN network internet service at home (excludes mobile internet services)
• live in a premises that can access the NBN network via a standard connection (NBN will confirm this)
• not have had an active NBN connection during the previous 14 days.

Some families who have been identified by the Victorian Department of Education as not already being connected to NBN will receive a letter home regarding this offer. 

For further information and details regarding the application process please see information posted on Compass or visit: Victorian Government School Student Broadband Initiative

Late Arrivals & Partial Day Absences

We would like parents to not process 'Late Arrivals' or Partial Absences oon Compass.

• The student's unexplained absence will be amended once your child has been signed in at the office via the Compass Kiosk.
• Please only add Student Absences via Compass if they will be absent for the entire school day.
• If your child arrives after 9.00am please bring them to the office to sign them in on the Compass Kiosk. Alternatively, if you cannot come into the office please call us and send your child in to get a late pass - we need to have contact with a parent in order to update their attendance on Compass.
• If your child arrives after 9.30am, you will still receive a text message which can be ignored. This 'unexplained' absence will also be amended once you have arrived to school and signed your child in. 

Compass 

We have found that the Compass App can have limited access to some of the options (such Insights, Course Confimations, Parent Consents & Payments) and that you can see more by viewing Compass via a browser. 

You can search for Compass on your internet browser on your phone or computer.

Alternatively, you can open in a browser from the Compass App by clicking on the 'More' option (3 lines) at the bottom of the page; followed by clicking on the 'Open in Browser' button - as indicated on the pictures below.

The attached pdf will give you some more tips on how to use the Compass App

And you can find a comprehensive parent guide to Compass here: https://www.compass.education/guide

Compass Calendar

Remember Compass Calendar is available as well as the Key Dates page here on the newsletter for upcoming events.

BPS is a Nut Free School

A gentle reminder to our school families that we have a number of students throughout our school who have severe allergies (a.k.a anaphylaxis) which is a very serious and potentially life threatening condition. There are several different foods and other products which these students are anaphylactic to, with nuts being the most predominant. So, in the interest of keeping all our students safe and healthy within our school environment, we respectfully ask all families not to send any foods in students’ lunch boxes that contain nuts or nut products. We thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Lunch Orders

Balanced Living Catering are now providing lunch orders for our students on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please download the Flexischools App via the QR Link on the photo below. Orders must be placed by 9pm the night before.

PERSONAL GOODS BROUGHT TO SCHOOL AT OWNER’S RISK 

Student accident insurance/Ambulance cover arrangements and private property brought to school.

Recently the Department of Education communicated to schools a need to remind communities of the following information regarding student accident and ambulance cover and also about personal goods insurance.

The Department of Education does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and it has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property.

This applies to students, staff and members of the public.

This can include mobile phones, electronic games, iPads, laptops, toys, musical instruments, sporting equipment and bicycles parked on school grounds.

Students and staff are discouraged from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school.

The Department of Education does not provide personal accident insurance for students.

Parents and guardians are generally responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs.

Student accident insurance policies are available through private insurance companies to cover medical expenses not met by Medicare.

Schools and DoE are not able to advise parents on whether to purchase such an insurance policy or which policy to purchase as individual families have differing needs.