Early pick up and late arrival

Dear Parents/Guardians,

If you need to collect your child/ren early for any reason, please arrange this prior to collection via the school office on 9717 6480 or office@stjmern.catholic.edu.au.

It would be much appreciated if the school is advised in advance rather than having families/guardians present to the office unannounced. We would appreciate students getting picked up before or after lunch (11:00am or 11:30am) or before or after snack (1:40pm or 2:10pm). It is extremely difficult to locate students in the yard during their break times.

It is also very disruptive to learning time and end of school day when students are collected between 2:30pm and 3:00pm. It is imperative that an early pick up in this time frame is made prior to collection.

Please also note, any student who arrives late from 8:55am onwards must be signed in via the Compass kiosk in the office.

Thank you for your cooperation,

Office Admin team

School Fees

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Please note fee statements were emailed early this term to the primary debtor listed on your child/children's account. Should you require the statement to be emailed to a different email address can you please contact the office and advise accordingly.

Please note that swimming charges have been automatically applied. Should your child not participate in swimming in Term 4 this amount will be credited back to your account. Please also keep this in mind when making payments and/or completing a direct debit form as you will need to deduct the amount which has been charged for swimming.

A friendly reminder that this year all fees must be paid in full by Thursday 17th September. For any families who are unable to meet this deadline you will need to contact the office and book in a time to meet with our principal Julie.

Should you wish to pay directly into the school account please use the following details-

Account Name - St. Joseph's Primary School

BSB - 083 347

Account Number - 754 506 286

Reference - Eldest child name & family name

Please also find attached a copy of the following documents-

2026 school fee notice
Direct Debit request form

For those families eligible for a concession and/or are experiencing financial difficulties please refer to the Concessional Fee Policy on our website for more information.

If you have any questions, queries or concerns regarding your school fees please do not hesitate to contact the office.

Thank you for your continued support.

Admin Team

Dogs on School Grounds Policy

Purpose

To explain to our school community, the rules and procedures we have in place in relation to dogs attending our school grounds.

Assistance Dogs

St Joseph’s Primary School understands its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) and will make reasonable adjustments for members of our school community with a disability who require an ‘assistance animal’ to help alleviate the effects of their disability.

Assistance animals are permitted to attend our school with

their handler. Our school principal can lawfully ask a person to produce evidence that an animal:

● is trained specifically to assist a person in alleviating the effects of a disability (eg. seeing

eye dogs)

● meets standards of hygiene and behaviour appropriate for a school environment.

We understand that in some circumstances, students may require an assistance animal to attend school to help them to participate in their educational program. St Joseph’s Primary School will consider a request by a student with a disability to allow an assistance animal to attend school with them on a case-by-case basis. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact the Principal.

Therapy Dogs

Therapy dogs attend St Joseph’s Primary School at the discretion of the Principal. Therapy dogs will be under the direct supervision of their trainer or another competent staff member unless they have time out/a rest in their allocated ‘safe place’. The welfare of Therapy dogs will be a priority, and each dog will have a trainer with Therapy Dog certification. The qualification provides knowledge on how to ensure safe and meaningful interactions through appropriate boundaries

and the ability to identify distress in the animal. Therapy dogs will be held to strict hygiene, and health standards, including mandatory vet checks every six months and professional grooming every second month.

Pet Dogs

St Joseph’s Primary School is not a public place, and our Principal has the authority to permit or decline entry to school grounds and impose conditions of entry. Whilst St Joseph’s Primary School understands that many families in our school community keep dogs as pets, to ensure that our school remains a safe and inclusive place for everyone, pet dogs are not permitted on school grounds under any circumstances. Our school community is diverse and may include people that are allergic or uncomfortable around dogs. We are also conscious of the health hazards that may be posed by dogs. We ask that families please leave their pet dogs at home or safely tether them outside school grounds when attending our school or school events. Pets are only permitted on site with expressed permission from the Principal.

Stray Dogs

Unaccompanied or stray dogs sighted at our school should be reported immediately to the school reception. School staff will contact municipal authorities and/or Victoria police for assistance in managing and removing a stray dog from school grounds, and ensure staff and students remain safe at school.

Safety in the Car Park and Streets around Schools

Important Dates