Goodbye from Emma

On a personal note, as today is my last day, I would like to say thank you to all of the students, parents, grandparents and staff that I have met over my last 6 years at Macedon Primary. It has been so lovely getting to know you and to help your child transition into Primary School life. I will miss seeing you all, but I am sure we will cross paths again one day, Emma.

Accessing the School Saving Bonus

Parents and carers of students enrolled at a government school for 2025, by 31 January 2025, will access their School Saving Bonus via an email sent from the Department of Education.

The Department of Education and the Victorian Government will never ask you to provide your banking or financial details for the School Saving Bonus.

A School Saving Bonus email will be sent per child, so parents and carers with multiple children will get an email for each child in their family. The emails may arrive at different times.

The email contains a unique code for the $400 bonus and access to the School Saving Bonus online system.

To learn more about the School Saving Bonus online system, download the step-by-step user guide (DOCX, 945KB) or watch this video. User guide translations are also available in 14 languages.

Please check junk or spam folders for this email. For enquiries, please use the School Saving Bonus enquiry form.

Camps, Sports, Excursion Fund (CSEF)

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps ensure that no student will miss out on the opportunity to join their classmates for important, educational and fun activities. School camps provide children with inspiring experiences in the great outdoors, excursions encourage a deeper understanding of how the world works and sports teach teamwork, discipline and leadership. All are part of a healthy curriculum. CSEF will be provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities. If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child. The annual CSEF amount per student is $154 for primary school students. Contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form. If you received CSEF last year, please note that you must complete a new CSEF Form for 2025 and return to the office by the end of February.

Please find below an information flyer:

Conveyance Allowance

Parents have primary responsibility for transporting their children to and from school. The Department of Education (DET) provides financial assistance in the form of a conveyance allowance to help families in rural and regional Victoria with the cost of transporting their children to their closest appropriate school. The conveyance allowance is a contribution towards transport costs and is not intended to cover the full cost of transporting children to and from school. The allowance is an acknowledgement of the often-limited government-provided transport infrastructure available outside metropolitan Melbourne. A conveyance allowance is provided to a student on the basis of individual eligibility.

To receive a conveyance allowance individual students must meet all of the following criteria:

1. Attend a school/campus located outside the Melbourne Urban Growth Boundary.

2. Attend the closest appropriate school/campus. For students attending government schools, this will be the closest school appropriate to the age and gender of the student (e.g. primary, secondary, single sex).

3. Reside 4.8km or more from the school (shortest practicable route calculated by school at time of application from the student’s home to the school attended).

4. Be of school age (between five and 18-years-old at the time of application), and a resident of Victoria.

5. Be enrolled and travelling to school three or more days per week.

Students’ circumstances can change during their school years (e.g. moving residence or changing schools). Change of circumstances affects eligibility and a new application must be submitted with each change of circumstance. If you are unsure if you are eligible for Conveyance Allowance please contact the office.

If you received Conveyance Allowance last year, please note that you must complete a new Conveyance Allowance Application Form for 2024 and return to the office ASAP.

Conveyance Allowance applications must be lodged in early March, therefore the Conveyance Allowance Application Forms must be received at the office no later than Friday 29th of February 2025.

(No late applications can be accepted).

Julie & Salina

STEM