School Saving Bonus (SSB)

As shared with you previously, parents and carers of every child enrolled in a Victorian government school in 2025 will receive the one-off School Saving Bonus $400 support.

From Tuesday 26 November 2024, you will receive an email from the Department of Education with your unique $400 School Saving Bonus code.  Please make sure to check your spam/junk email folder. The email has been sent to Adult A listed on your enrolment form.

If you have multiple children enrolled in Victorian government schools for 2025, you will receive one School Saving Bonus code email per child.  These emails might arrive on different days.

The SSB can only be used towards the cost of uniforms, textbooks (not stationery), excursions and activities.

This is a link to a short ‘How to’ video on using the SSB Parent Portal (the link to the actual porta is in the email sent to you) School Saving Bonus parent/carer 'How to' video on vimeo

This is a link to the step-by-step guide to help you nominate how you want to use the funds School Saving Bonus system guide for parents and carers

For Woodend Primary School families, the 2 most likely uses for this money will be:

1- To purchase uniform from our School Uniform Shop, choose:

2 - To pay for school camps, excursions & activities, choose:

If you do not go into the portal to allocate your $400, you will not be able to purchase uniforms using this money or, flag the funds for use for camps and school activities. Parent action is required.

If you have not received your School Saving Bonus code via email by Friday 29 November, please contact the Department of Education by emailing

school.saving.bonus@education.vic.gov.au.

** The school is not able to assist with missing emails or codes.

PARENT PAYMENT INFORMATION 2025

Woodend Primary School is looking forward to another great year of teaching and learning and would like to advise you of Woodend Primary School’s voluntary financial contributions for 2025.

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. When there is a shortfall in contributions from parents, any funds earmarked for school improvement projects are diverted to address this.

Your financial support in 2024 has allowed us to purchase the following items, which are of direct benefit to students at our Woodend and Carlsruhe campus -: carpet in 12 classrooms, Carlsruhe shade sail, Maths & Literacy Learning Resources, external painting, Gazebo, Carlsruhe storage, Family Maths Night, Memorial Garden development and equipment and resources to support adjustments for individual students.

We appreciate the ongoing financial support from our school community as it allows us to continue to allocate funds to these important improvements, which are all aimed at delivering the best possible learning outcome and environment for our students.

For further information on the Department’s Parent Payments Policy please see a one-page overview attached.

Yours sincerely

Diana Ellis – PRINCIPAL Tim Bates – SCHOOL COUNCIL PRESIDENT

Curriculum Contributions

Items and activities that students use, or participate in, to access the Curriculum

	F	1	2	3	4	5	6
Booklist Requisites	75	60	50	55	60	45	45

Booklist Requisites - ALL requisites for students in ALL year levels, will be bought in bulk for 2024.There will be no requirement to lodge an individual booklist.

All items will be purchased in bulk at the best possible price and be made available for students at the beginning of the school year.

OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS - for non-curriculum items and activities

Carlsruhe Bus – (Yr 4 only)					110
School Improvement Fund	See below for suggested contribution amounts…

Carlsruhe Bus – (Yr 4 only)

The cost of transport to and from our Carlsruhe Annexe, 4 days a week.

School Improvement Fund

Woodend Primary School continues to welcome your voluntary contributions to support our school. This year’s contributions will once again be channelled to the classroom/education, grounds, buildings & the library, which were the areas identified in the last parent survey.

Payments can be made via Qkr and the recommended amounts this year are based on a family rather than per student. When entering the ‘School Improvement Funds’ menu on Qkr you will be asked to select the number of children. The recommended fees are listed below or select a different amount if that is what you wish to contribute.

$160 for one child

$280 for two children

$370 for three children

Tax deductible contributions If you would like to claim a tax deduction, please direct your contribution to the Building and/or Library Fund, NOT the School Improvement Fund. A separate receipt for tax purposes can only be issued for donations to either the Building or Library Fund.

Extra-Curricular Items and Activities

Woodend Primary School offers 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.

Excursions and Camps – Throughout the year, excursions and camps may be organised for specific year levels. Details will be provided via Compass when an event has been scheduled.

Instrumental Music Program - Various outside tutors provide tuition to students on a wide range of instruments. The program is an extra-curricular activity where participation is optional and tuition fees are set by and paid direct to the music tutor. Please contact the school for further information.

Financial Support for Families

Woodend Primary School understands that some families may experience financial difficulty and offers a range of support options, including:

the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund
a confidential discussion about accessing financial assistance or if you would like to discuss alternative payment arrangements for any activity, contact:
Diana Ellis - Ph: 03 5427 2455 Email: diana.ellis@education.vic.gov.au

Payment methods – please note – No individual accounts will be issued.

Via QKR (free app) – for payment of Booklist, Netbook Program, Carlsruhe Bus, School Improvement Fund and Building & Library Fund Contributions. Also for Canteen & Uniform Shop orders.

Refunds

Parent requests for refunds are subject to the discretion of the school and made on a case-by-case basis. Refunds 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.

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Sue Turner

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