School Photos

R. Morgan

The school photo day will be held on Wednesday 26th February, while Thursday 27th February is for preps and any catch-up photos. Personalized photo envelopes were handed out to Primary students today. Envelopes for secondary students will be handed out tomorrow. Families wanting a family photo need to collect a Family Envelope from the Main Office or Green Building office.

There are 2 payment options:

Online using the access key located on the envelope
Cash payment that requires exact money as no change can be given.

If a student loses their envelope, they will need to collect a spare envelope from the main office and an access key will be provided.

If you have any queries regarding the school photos please contact Rob Morgan at school 50252501.

Uniform

R. Morgan

It is important for families to ensure their child is in FULL school uniform each day. A uniform dress code reinforces pride in each students’ appearance and instills recognition of themselves as an important part of the Merbein P-10 school community. This helps develop pride in representing their school. If your child needs to come to school out of uniform, please provide a note explaining why and when your child will be in full uniform.

Every day counts-School Attendance

R. Morgan

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education.

Students learn new things at school every day – missing school puts them behind.

Why it’s important

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day.

Students develop good habits by going to school every day – habits that are necessary to succeed after school, whether in the workplace or in further study.

Missing school can have a big impact on students academically and socially. It can affect their test results and, just as importantly, it can affect their relationships with other students, and lead to social isolation.

There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes.

Each missed day is associated with progressively lower achievement in numeracy, writing and reading, falling behind in subject topics and assessment tasks.

Getting in early

It’s never too late to improve attendance. Even in the middle years, when school can seem the most challenging for students and when attendance rates can be at their lowest, going to school more often can make a big difference. Every day counts- even in the early years of primary school.

Schools are there to help – if you’re having attendance issues with your child, speak to your school about ways to address those issues.

In Victoria school is compulsory for children and young people aged 6 – 17 years

Student Absences

The main reasons for absence are:

Sickness – There are always times when students need to miss school, such as when they’re ill. It’s vital that they’re only away on the days they are genuinely sick, and setting good sleep patterns, eating well and exercising regularly can make a big difference.

Family holidays - It's vital that holidays are planned during school holidays where possible, and not during the term. If you are planning to go on holiday during term time, make sure that you talk to your school in advance, and work with them to develop an absence learning plan.

“Day off” – Think twice before letting your teenager have a “day off” as they could fall behind their classmates – every day counts.

Truancy – This is when students choose not to go to school without their parent’s permission or skip out of school during the day. There can be many reasons for truancy; the best way to address this is for schools and parents to work together.

While all absences can effect academic performance, DET’s statistics show that unexcused absences are a much stronger indicator of lower reading and maths achievement.

School refusal - School refusing children experience significant emotional distress not only when going to school but also at the thought of going to school; they may be absent from school for weeks or even months at a time. School refusal differs from truancy as children generally stay home with the knowledge of the parents and despite their best efforts to encourage their child to go to school.

Being away from school for 1 day a fortnight equals missing 1.5 years over 13 years of school.

If your child is away

If for any reason your child must miss school, there are things you can do with the school to ensure they don’t fall behind:

Inform the school via your child’s Form/Home teacher or Learning Centre Leader
Find out what work your child needs to do to keep up.

Remember, every day counts. If your child must miss school, speak with your home room teacher or Learning Centre Leader as early as possible.

Openly communicating with the school about all absences is a good way to prevent attendance issues being escalated to a School Attendance Officer. A School Attendance Officer is a Department of Education and Training Regional Director who has authority to follow up attendance issues. Chronic or ongoing attendance issues that are escalated can lead to an Infringement Notice being issued to parent/s.

If you’re having attendance issues with your child, please let the Learning Centre leader or Mr Morgan know so we can work together to get your child to school every day.

Top attendance tips for parents

Merbein P-10 College wants to work in partnership with parents – act early if you have any concerns by contacting the school and asking for advice and support
Remember that every day counts
There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes and their social connectedness
Talk positively about school and the importance of attending every day
Avoid making routine medical and dental appointments during the school day or planning family holidays during the term
Seek help from the school if you are concerned about your child’s attendance and wellbeing. We want to work in partnership with parents to support student attendance and wellbeing.

Coronavirus Outbreak Update

The Victorian Department of Education and Training has issued updated advice for families of school-aged children regarding the novel coronavirus outbreak. If you or your children have traveled to China over the holidays, please follow the link below from the Victorian Department of Health & Human Services. DHHS.VIC.GOV.AU

www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

BYOD Portal

The school provides access to netbooks and desktop computers for all students. Students in Years 4-10 also have the option of bringing their own digital device for use at school. Our technicians will set up the device so it can be used both at school and at home. BYOD offers significant advantages for students. They can be customised for each individual student and will operate at fast speeds. They can also be used at home for personal use. Many families may already have a device at home that can be readily set up for use. If you decide to get a new device for your child, they can be purchased from any of the normal suppliers. The school has also set up a parent portal with JB Hi-Fi, which gives families easy access to purchase a device that is preferred for school use. The link for the portal is www.jbeducation.com.au/byod Please contact the office for the school code. This is optional for families to use and devices may be purchased from any company.

Water Bottles and Hats

Term 1 in Sunraysia is always hot! Primary students must wear a broad-brimmed hat when out in the yard and during outdoor sport and PE classes. Secondary students are strongly encouraged to do the same. Please make sure hats are clearly labelled with students' names. We recommend that all students take a water bottle to class every day. This keeps them hydrated, helps them focus and reduces interruptions to learning. Many of our bubble taps are refrigerated, so bottles can be refilled with icy cold water during the day!

Family Payments 2020

The Primary Family Payment Schedule for 2020 has been inserted above. Payment can either be made at the school’s main office or you can arrange for the payment to be made in instalments. Payment can also be made electronically, details are on the form.

The Parent Payments Policy and copies of all Family Payments schedules are also available on the school website.

The Secondary Family Payment Schedule for 2020 was sent home with students at the end of last year. Please ask at the main office for more information.

Conveyance Allowance Program

The Conveyance Allowance Program offers families in rural and regional Victoria help with the cost of transporting their children to their nearest appropriate school or campus. Students must be attending the nearest school appropriate to their year level and reside at least 4.8km from the school by the shortest practicable route to be eligible.

Eligible students can receive a conveyance allowance based on:

the least expensive public transport fares and/or
a distance based allowance when travel is by private car or private bus.

Parents applying for the allowance must complete an application form and return it to school. We will then process applications using the Student Conveyance Allowance System (SCAS).

2020 Year 7 CSEF Uniform Pack

Students who have commenced Year 7 in 2020 and are recipients of the CSEF payment, automatically qualify to receive a Uniform Pack through State Schools’ Relief.

An order form can be collected from the main office. To find out more about CSEF or to apply for assistance go to www.education.vic.gov.au/csef

Uniform Shop

School uniforms can be purchased from the school’s main office between the hours of 8.45am and 4pm during the school week. If these hours are inconvenient for you, please ring the school to make an alternate arrangement.

School Bank Account

BSB - 063 714

Bank Acc Number – 10060535

Account Name - Merbein P-10 College Official Account

Weekly Newsletter Emailed

The school distributes a weekly school newsletter every Thursday to families via email. With our new inewsletter you can now receive the weekly newsletter on your mobile phone if you have the school COMPASS App installed on your phone. Please give us feedback on our new Newsletter system and let us know what you think. If you have not received the newsletter by email, please notify the school to either of the following email addresses: Giddings.beth.l@edumail.vic.gov.au or

merbein.p10@edumail.vic.gov.au, with the subject Newsletter Email, so this can be rectified.

Students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 who would like to take home a printed copy of the newsletter each week, can collect one from the main office every Thursday at 3.15pm.

Breakfast Club

The Merbein & District Community Bank is financially supporting the Breakfast Program. Foodbank Victoria also supports the breakfast program with donations of food. The following organisations provide volunteers to assist with the program; the Board & Staff of the Merbein & District Community Bank, Merbein Development Association, Merbein Lions Club, and Merbein Uniting Church. Merbein P-10 College parents are welcome and encouraged to volunteer. The Breakfast Program is held in the school cafeteria. All students are welcome to come along between 8.00am and 8.45am each morning if they would like a FREE tasty breakfast to kick-start their days learning.

If you have time to volunteer for this community service from 8-8.45am on school days, please contact the school, we would love to hear from you. Please note that volunteers will need a Working with Children’s Check.

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)

To be eligible for this funding, a parent or legal guardian of a student attending the school must

be the holder of a Veterans Affairs Gold Card or be an eligible Centrelink Health Care Card (HCC) or Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) holder, OR

be a temporary foster parent and submit an application to the school before the end of February 2020.

If your child was enrolled at this school last year and you were a successful applicant for the funding last year, you will not need to apply for the funding again this year.

Ask at the school office for an application form, or to enquire about more information.

Student Absences

If your child is away from school, please notify the school before 10am. The preferred method to notify of absences is via the compass portal or by phone or sending an email to the following email address: Collihole.heather.h@edumail.vic.gov.au

An automated text message will be sent to your phone if your child is not at school and the school has not been notified.

Merbein P-10 College Newsletter

Issue 2 · 06 Feb 2020

In this issue