Important Information for Parents

Our first newsletter edition of the year is always full of important information and reminders for parents. Please spend a few minutes reading this page to be up to date.

Back To School Payments

A huge thank you to all families who have already contributed to book packs, essential learning items, and voluntary payments. We appreciate the timely manner in which payments were received.

Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF)

The Camps, Sports, and Excursions Fund helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps, and sporting activities.

If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card, or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible.

Payment amounts this year are $125 for eligible primary school students. Payments are made directly to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions, and sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

It is important that funding made available in 2022 supports students to participate in school trips, camps, and sporting activities this year rather than being held for future years. This funding can also be used in conjunction with any funding accrued from previous years. Please note these activities will only take place if they meet COVIDSafe requirements.

If you applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.

If you would like to apply for the first time, please contact the school office on 53 681072 and ask for an application form.

You can also download the form, and find out more about the program and eligibility, on the Department of Education and Training’s Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund web page.

Check with the school office if you are unsure, and please return completed forms to the school office as soon as possible.

Medical Management Plans

For parents who indicated that their child suffers from asthma, anaphylaxis, epilepsy or diabetes, it is a Department requirement that the appropriate plan is signed off by your child’s doctor and returned to school. Please return these forms to the school office at the start of term 1 if applicable. Parents should notify the school immediately if there are any changes to the plan. Students are required to have their own asthma medication and spacer. We are not allowed to disinfect and reuse the spacers.

What is Anaphylaxis?

Anaphylaxis is a severe and sudden allergic reaction when a person is exposed to an allergen. The most common allergens in school-aged children are eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, cow’s milk, fish and shellfish, wheat, soy, certain insect stings, and medication. The key to the prevention of anaphylaxis is avoidance of any know triggers.

We currently have several students at risk of anaphylaxis.

Illness and Emergency Medical Care

If your child is unwell or injured at school, they must be collected from school in a timely manner. If a parent is unable to collect their child due to work commitments, you must arrange an alternative emergency contact to collect them. The school is unable to provide emergency transport for sick children. Parents are therefore advised to consider the need for ambulance cover for their families, as ambulances will be used in cases of serious illness or injury.

Medication

At times children attending school need medication to manage certain illnesses.

Parents are required to complete the appropriate medication permission form (available at the office) noting the dose and time the medicine is to be given. The medication should be clearly marked with the student’s name and parents are requested to discuss the matter with the child’s teacher.

Under no circumstances, are children permitted to have medication at school without the teacher’s knowledge.

Visitors and Parent Helpers

All visitors, parents, and friends are asked to please report to the office before visiting any classroom or school grounds. Before entering the admin building, please scan the QR code and wear a mask as per our school's COVID Safe Plan. While COVID restrictions are in place, we ask all parents to avoid entering classrooms unless absolutely necessary and limit time on school grounds. We also try not to disrupt class time programs and activities and for this reason, we politely request that you wait for your child outside the school buildings at home time.

Visitors and voluntary helpers are requested to sign in and out of the register at the front office, as a security and safety requirement. A current Working with Children card is required for all parent helpers and volunteers. To apply go to: https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/

Late Arrivals and Early Departures

Should your child arrive late or depart early, please report to the office and staff will facilitate your child getting to or from their classroom. Teachers are responsible for marking attendance and will update their roles accordingly.

If you need to collect your child before 3.15 pm, please notify your child's teacher via Xuno or by calling the office. Please note parents are not permitted to go directly to the classroom during school hours. Please report to the office to collect your child. Whenever possible, to avoid disruptions to learning time, please arrange the collection of your child at the end of a session time.

Student Absences

Parents are reminded that an absence notification is required for all student absences by 9:30 am on the day. The most efficient way to advise an absence is via Xuno where you can send an email directly to your child's teacher. All new families have been issued access to Xuno. In the meantime, please either email or phone the school to notify them of an absence.

Parking

The parking outside the school is very hectic at 8:45 a.m. and especially at 3:15 p.m. We understand that car parking is limited and we ask parents to be diligent and patient.

Please do not back out against the traffic, or complete U-turns in our neighboring driveways. Children are to remain inside the school gate until their parent has arrived to collect them.

Staff are on duty 15 minutes before and after school to supervise students. Remember that our OSHC program is available, so please book children in if you are going to be later than 3:30 p.m.

SCHOOL ZONE 40km SPEED LIMITS APPLY

8:00 – 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

Remember the priority to student safety is of paramount importance.

Riding Bikes

Students in junior grades are not encouraged to ride their bikes to school without adult supervision. Please ensure all students and their parents wear the appropriate helmet protection when riding bikes, scooters, and skateboards to school.

For safety reasons, students must not ride on the school grounds. Please dismount to walk bikes to the bike shelter.

Annual Privacy Statement

Our school collects, uses, discloses, and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy. For more information about privacy, please click on the above link.

Enrolment Handbook

Further information for the start of school can be found in our Enrolment Handbook. Please see the 'Other Links' page of the newsletter for access.

Privacy Policy

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website http://www.ballanps.vic.edu.au/policies.html

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in nine community languages:

Amharic
Arabic
Dari
Gujarati
Mandarin
Somali
Sudanese
Turkish
Urdu
Vietnamese.

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