Communication in 2023

Principal's report continued...

Key Modes of Communication 

Sentral will once again be our key mode of communication.

 

 

All parents should now have the Sentral for Parents app installed on their phone.  If you have not yet done so, please install this immediately.  If you need assistance with this, please contact the office.

 

All of our key communication to parents will come via Sentral.  This will include:

  • Notices regarding excursions, incursions and camps.  Permission and Payment will be required through Sentral
  • Notifications and reminders of upcoming events and other important information
  • Absence notifications and first aid reports
  • Message to your child's teacher can be made directly within the app
  • Continuous Assessment and Reporting will be uploaded and updated regularly
  • Activity participation and attendance summaries
  • Calendar updates
  • Newsletter publications

It is vital that you have the app installed and that you have NOTIFICATIONS SET TO "ON".  If this is not the case, you risk missing important information.

 

We will be phasing out sending notices and office alerts via email to parents and restricting the use of email to significant communications only.  Day-to-day communication with parents will be through the Sentral app only.

 

Other forms of communication 

 

From Us to You

 

As mentioned above, our key form of communication will be via Sentral. However from time to time, teachers will send emails and hard copy notices home depending on the need.  

 

If your child is sick or injured at school, our First Aid team will contact you via telephone to let you know and discuss care and response plans.

 

If there has been a significant incident at school during the day, your child's teacher will call at the end of the day to explain what has occurred and our response.  Sometimes, if an incident occurs later in the day, we may need to make this call on the following day.  If you have any concerns regarding something that happened at school, please feel free to contact us to talk about it.

 

If your child is to receive an acknowledgement at assembly we will contact you the day before and invite you to attend the assembly.

 

We may send a text message via Sentral if we have been unable to contact you by telephone.  You are able to reply to these text messages, however the number is linked to Sentral and you should not use it to initiate text contact with us. 

 

From You to Us

 

You can call the office at anytime on 9725 4320.  We are happy to answer any questions or queries that you have over the phone.

 

You can also email the school via kilsyth.ps@education.vic.gov.au .  This email is accessed by the office staff and principal class.

 

To contact your child's teacher directly, it is easiest to use the messaging feature of the Sentral app.

 

Please contact your child's teacher if there is any important information that we need to ensure we provide the best care for your child. This may be anything from letting us know they have had a tricky morning to sharing a significant life event within your family that may impact your child during the day.

 

If your child is absent, please enter this via Sentral asap.  We send absence follow up notifications home at 10am.  Please let us know an explanation of your child's absence before 9.30am.  If you know in advance, you can enter a future absence at anytime.

 

Text Messaging and Social Media

 

We understand that during CoVID and remote learning, quick and regular contact between teachers and parents was necessary and in some instances, texting using personal phones was required.  Now that we have returned to life as "normal", this is no longer the case.

 

To ensure adequate privacy measures are in place, and to protect families and staff members alike, staff have been instructed not to communicate with parents via personal text messaging.   It is also DET policy that employees do not have any social media links to students.  We extend this expectation to staff and parents.  There is an expectation that all social media use relating to school based interactions and relationships are approved by the principal and student learning based.  Personal messaging is not deemed appropriate.

 

Please do not contact your child's teacher via direct text message.  Please use the methods outline above.  Staff will communicate with you via telephone, email, Sentral notification or Sentral generated SMS.

 

Thank you for your understanding on this matter.