Croydon SDS Mini-Olympics

A reminder that next Wednesday, (11th September) 9:30-10:30am is our Mini-Olympics Day. Students are encouraged to wear their house colours to help get into the spirit of the day and cheer on their fellow house mates as they complete various activities.

Special guests from the Department of Education will join in the start of the event to formally present us with our SWPBS Gold Award. Very fitting for the day.

We invite families to join in this special event during the morning session, 9:30-10:30am. This will be followed by a sausage sizzle, which families are also invited to stay for.

Parent/carer sessions

Throughout this year, Bec (School Council President) and Linda (Family Support Coordinator) have facilitated monthly parent/carer morning teas on the first Friday of each month. It's been great to see a number of parents and carers attend these sessions to network and support each other; these sessions have also been a great opportunity to hear from some guest speakers on topics important to parents and carers. If you would like to learn more about these sessions, please contact Bec or Linda.

Jacqui (Family and School Partnerships Team Leader) and Linda have been working alongside Foundation House and with a Community Engagement Team to identify further opportunities for cultural inclusion at Croydon SDS. Jacqui and Linda ran two very well attended Hakha Chin Community sessions this term to hear from families how we can strengthen our partnership and how they would like to be involved at school. There has been a focus on communicating school information. Jacqui and Linda are planning on further sessions to include cultural groups.

We look forward to hearing more from all families on how we can continue to grow our home school partnerships.

School Saving Bonus

In Term 4, 2024, families with a child enrolled in a government school from Prep to Year 12 in 2025 will receive the one-off $400 School Saving Bonus.

The $400 School Saving Bonus provides families with support for education-related costs, such as school activities and/or school uniforms and textbooks.

The School Saving Bonus is not available for full-fee international students, home schooled students, TAFE students and students attending kindergarten in 2025.

Actions for parents and carers

Before 18 October 2024, the Department of Education is asking parents and carers to:

Complete enrolment: If your child, or children are changing government school for Term 1 2025, or starting Prep or Year 7 in 2025. For more information, read about Enrolling in School.
Check your contact information: Ensure your email address and phone number is up to date with us. You can check this information by contacting us directly.

We need to ensure your contact information is up to date as the Department of Education will email you twice:

in October, to verify your email address
in November, with your $400 School Saving Bonus and access to an online system.

Please check your junk mail regularly to make sure you do not miss an important email.

To learn more about the School Saving Bonus, see the attached School Saving Bonus Information sheet for government school parents and carers or visit vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus.

Dates to Remember