Attendance & Engagement
Attendance Matters – Finishing 2025 Strong and Looking Ahead to 2026
As we come to the end of the 2025 school year, we would like to thank our families for the ongoing partnership and support you have shown in prioritising student attendance.
Regular school attendance plays a vital role in supporting learning, wellbeing, routines, and a strong sense of belonging for our students, and we have seen the positive impact of this across our school community this year.
As we look ahead to 2026, we would like to share some key reminders and information to support a smooth start to the new school year.
🎉 Attendance Celebrations – 2025
We are incredibly proud of our students and would like to acknowledge those who demonstrated exceptional attendance throughout 2025.
🎖️ 100% Attendance (2025)
Prep
Karnika - Prep A
Lucas - Prep A
Leo - Prep C
Hee Ju - Prep I
Arya - Prep J
Alistair - Prep K
Year One
Luna - 1B
Brian - 1G
Addy - 1H
Tajinder - 1J
Prisham - 1K
Year Two
Mila - 2A
Mivaan - 2B
Jenny - 2B
Amelie - 2D
Ella - 2D
Serina - 2F
Riley - 2F
Tahlia - 2F
Year Three
Saira - 3A
Sam - 3B
Victoria - 3C
Simon - 3C
Kaiz - 3E
Morris - 3G
Gursharan - 3G
Hoje - 3H
Emily - 3I
Year Four
Annabelle - 4A
Ollie - 4C
Abir - 4C
Neo - 4G
Arjun - 4I
Year Five
Claire - 5B
Hana - 5B
Jayden - 5C
Haoyu - 5C
Armin - 5H
Year Six
Sean - 6B
Ray - 6D
Ariel - 6G
Twisha - 6I
Pavit - 6I
Year Seven
Christopher - 7A
Naurah - 7B
Maya - 7B
Advik - 7B
Anaya - 7C
Noel - 7C
Lora - 7D
Noah - 7D
Sanvi - 7D
Ashwin - 7F
Year Eight
Mecolace - 8A
Xinyan - 8B
Tyerin - 8C
Sydelle - 8D
Arsam - 8F
Year Nine
Bailei - 9B
Navraj - 9C
👏 95% or More Attendance (2025)
This year a total of 690 students achieved 95% attendance or above!
- Primary: 563 students
- Secondary: 127 students
These achievements reflect strong commitment from students and families alike, and we congratulate everyone who made attendance a priority this year.
To be considered a Tier 1 Attendance aligned student is to have less than 10 days absent over the corse of a year, how did you do this year?
✈️ Family Holidays – Planning Ahead for 2026
We understand that family holidays and special events are important; however, we encourage families to carefully consider the impact of holidays taken during school terms. Time away from school can affect learning continuity, routines, and social connections, particularly when absences occur during key learning periods.
When planning holidays for 2026, where possible, we ask families to:
- Align travel with scheduled school term holidays
- Consider the learning and wellbeing impact of extended absences
- Communicate early with the school if a holiday during term time is unavoidable
📝 Family Holiday Notification Process
If your child will be absent due to a family holiday during the school term, families are required to notify the school at least two weeks in advance.
Notification would be most prefferable either through our main recpetion or via email:
📧 saltwater.p9.co@education.vic.gov.au
Your notification should include:
- Your childs name, class and year level
- Dates of absence
- Reason and destination during absence
This process helps the school maintain accurate attendance records and supports classroom teachers in planning for your child’s return to school. Any learning provided during this time is intended as a supplement and not an expectation for families to deliver formal instruction.
⏰ Arrival Times – Consistent into 2026
To support a calm and settled start to the day, arrival expectations will remain consistent in 2026:
- Classroom doors open: 8:20am
- Students are expected to be in classrooms and ready to learn by: 8:30am
- Students arriving from 8:31am onwards will be marked as late
Arriving on time supports students to engage fully in their first learning session and helps establish positive daily routines.
📅 Return to School – 2026
We look forward to welcoming Year 1-9 students back for the start of the 2026 school year on:
🗓️ Friday, 30 January 2026
Our staff will be ready to support students as they settle into new routines, classrooms, and learning for the year ahead. If your child requires additional support with the transition back to school, please do not hesitate to reach out.
✏️ Recording Absences
In line with our new family holiday policy, holiday-related absences will now be recorded as either:
Family Holiday (Approved) – when the school is notified and the process is followed
Family Holiday (Unapproved) – when no notification is received
This helps ensure transparency and consistency across our school community.
We appreciate your support in following this new process, which helps us keep student learning on track, even when they’re away from the classroom.
If you have any questions about the policy or the process, please contact the school office.
For further information on the policy please see the policy itself:
🌟 Farewell 2025
Thank you once again for your continued partnership throughout 2025. Together, we have supported our students to build strong routines, positive relationships, and a love of learning. We look forward to continuing this work in 2026 and wish all families a safe, restful, and enjoyable holiday break.
We can’t wait to see everyone back in the new year!
Thank you,
Brent Syme
Assistant Principal