From the Head of Campus

Thank you to the families who attended the Information Nights held last week. It was wonderful to hear our Coordinators give an overview of what the year ahead looks like at each year level; a great opportunity to reconnect with our returning families and to welcome new faces into the Preshil community.

Student absences on Compass

The school day starts with Home Group at 8.50am and it has been good to see most students arrive on time. Ideally, all students should arrive at school by 8.40am to give themselves enough time to be organised for Home Group with what they will need from their lockers for Periods 1 & 2.

Mornings are an important time for Home Group teachers to welcome students, make connections, give an overview of the day and mark attendance. If your child is going to be absent please enter it in advance or on the day on Compass. To do this:

• log into your Compass account
• go to your child’s home page and click on the Add Attendance Note (Approved Absence/Late)  link underneath your child’s name; this will take you to the Attendance  screen, with a  pop-up window to enter details of the note or approval.

If you require any assistance with Compass, including login details, please contact me.

Classroom parent representatives for the Secondary School

As mentioned at the Information Nights, Preshil parents play a valuable role in our School. Each class has up to three parents who volunteer at the start of the year to act as classroom parent representatives; some of the tasks include the organisation of class social events, working bees and assisting at Open Mornings.

Our first event this year is the Secondary School Open Morning on Wednesday 13 March, followed by the Family Welcome Picnic on Friday 15 March. Parent representatives can also act as a communication channel between teachers and parents as necessary, contacting parents if help is required for various events and excursions, etc.

I would like to extend a warm invitation to any parent who may be interested in taking on this role in 2019 to email me at jen.buchanan@preshil.vic.edu.au

Please note that our first meeting for parent representatives (facilitated by me) will take place on Wednesday 27 February at 9.15am in the Library.

Each to their own

One of my strongest memories of my first year at high school was heading off on my first school camp. I vividly remember the butterflies in my stomach that accompanied me on the two-hour bus ride to Fairbridge camp in Pinjarra. I’m sure many of you will have your own stories of camps – the nerves, the excitement, the expectations.

This week our students and staff are away on a camp in Canberra, the Grampians or at the University of Melbourne. As they undertake this experience, it is important to reflect that we are each on our own journey… and that for each of us our journey is unique, allowing us to explore and experience different things at our own pace. I look forward to sharing with you some of our camp stories and photos in the next edition of the iNewsletter.

Jen Buchanan

Acting Head of Campus (Secondary School)

jen.buchanan@preshil.vic.edu.au