Dear Sunny Heights Parents and Carers,

We are looking forward to another great year of teaching and learning and would like to advise you of our voluntary financial contributions for 2022.

Schools provide students with free instruction to fulfil the standard Victorian curriculum and we want to assure you that all contributions are voluntary. Nevertheless, the ongoing support of our families ensures that our school can offer the best possible education and support for our students. We want to thank you for all your support, whether that’s through fundraising or volunteering your time. This has made a huge difference to our school and the programs we can offer.

The parent payments have been an essential source of funding to create equity in our school. In the past our parent payments have funded our Harmony Day events, incursions and excursions, and materials for the Visual Art, Performing Art and Spanish Program so that all students can access these. The funding has also enabled our work in recent years in sustainability, improving our school grounds including building the area under the ash tree at the front of the school, and regularly purchasing new books for the library. These improvements would not have been possible without the voluntary contributions of our parent community to enable us to create the school we want for our children.

This year we have split the parental payment - you can purchase the stationery book pack for your child directly from Winc at the link below, which will be delivered directly to your home:

https://www.wincschools.com.au/VIC/Sunshine-West/Sunshine-Heights-Primary-School

Curriculum Contributions - items and activities that students use, or participate in, to access the Curriculum	Amount
Please see attached Book Pack stationery items to be ordered through our third party supplier, Winc. This is ordered through them and will be delivered to your home ready for the beginning of 2022.	$ varies by year level
Specialist Programs - Spanish program materials, Visual Arts materials, Performing Arts and PE Equipment	$15
Mathletics, SeeSaw, Epic, Sunshine Online, Story Box Library, Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) curriculum subscriptions	$10
Other Contributions - for non-curriculum items and activities	Amount
Harmony Day, Twilight School, Festive Concert and Whole School Events	$10
Library Books and Resources, Book Week	$10
Student Wellbeing Programs and subscriptions	$10
First Aid equipment	$10
School grounds maintenance and improvements	$15
Pay it forwards – funds book packs, camps, excursion and incursions for student from disadvantaged backgrounds	$10
Total Amount	$90 + stationery costs (around $180)

Educational items for students to own

Attached is a list of items that the school recommends you purchase from Winc for your child to individually own and use.

Extra-Curricular Items and Activities

We offer a range of items and activities that enhance or broaden the schooling experience of students and are above and beyond what the school provides in order to deliver the Curriculum. These are provided on a user-pays basis. These may take place at different times and if you choose to not participate there would be no additional costs.

Financial Support for Families

Sunshine Heights PS understands that some families may experience financial difficulty and offers a range of support options, including:

the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund
our ‘Pay it Forwards’ Fund

For a confidential discussion about accessing these services, or if you would like to discuss alternative payment arrangements, contact:

David Cocks or Francine Sculli

Ph: 03 8311 7100 | Email: sunshine.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Payment methods

Xuno for curriculum contributions and other contributions - this will be set up as an event that parents can pay via the app.

Winc for the stationery (book pack) - this can be paid through the website link above

Extra curricular activities and items will be paid through xuno as individual events

Refunds

Where events are cancelled refunds, will be issued to parents in line with school and departmental polices. Where this is at parent choice Sunshine Heights will assess the reasons for the refund, the implication of giving a refund and whether the period of notice was reasonable. These refunds are made on a case-by-case basis and will be provided where the school deems it is reasonable and fair to do so, taking into consideration whether a cost has been incurred, the Department’s Parent Payment Policy and Guidance, Financial Help for Families Policy and any other relevant information.

Event	Dates

END OF SCHOOL YEAR (School finishes at 1:30pm, No School Uniform)	Friday 17th December

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2022 For Years 1 to 6	Tuesday 1st February
First Day for Preps (testing begins 2nd Feb)	Thursday 3rd February
Mental Health Festival	Monday 21st to Friday 25th March
Harmony Day!	Friday 25th March

Important Dates and Events

Whole School Events