College News
Autism Acceptance Month
April was Autism Acceptance Month (AAM) and a great opportunity to celebrate our students with autism, learn more about how we can support and include them, and help foster understanding and acceptance of autism among all students. AAM is an offshoot of the United Nations sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day World Autism Awareness Day - EN | United Nations on Tuesday 2 April 2024. The day began a month of global events to celebrate people with autism.
Our school is committed to understanding, including and celebrating our students with autism and values the contribution they and their families make to our school.
To celebrate AAM, we would like to share some resources that support students with autism and their families.
The Department of Education has worked with organisations for people with autism and lead researchers in autism to develop new resources for schools to help us better understand, support and celebrate the strengths of students with autism. I hope you find them useful and insightful.
AllPlay Learn Inclusive School Communities Families | AllPlay Learn: Monash University’s AllPlay Learn team has developed evidence-based guidance and resources on how to create inclusive school communities where everyone feels welcome and supported. It includes videos on engaging with other parents, using inclusive language Language | AllPlay Learn and student resources Students | AllPlay Learn you can share with your child or children.
Amaze has produced videos and tip sheets Inclusive education: building parent-to-parent connections within the school community - Amaze for parents on how to include families of children with autism.
The Art of Learning video. ART OF LEARNING_LONG VERSION on Vimeo
More support for students with autism The department has established the Diverse Learners Hub to help meet the needs of diverse learners, including students with autism. It is key initiative of Disability Inclusion and flagship of the Autism Education Strategy.
The hub provides evidence-based advice, information and resources on best-practice inclusive teaching for students with autism.
Smoking and vaping ban
All parents, carers and students are reminded of the legislation that within Victoria, a person must not smoke cigarettes, including e-cigarettes/vapes (regardless of whether they contain nicotine) within school premises and within 4 metres of any pedestrian access to school premises. Smoking in these places is a fineable offence. The smoking and vaping ban applies to:
- anyone present on school premises during and outside of school hours including students, teachers, contractors, parents or carers or the wider community, such as sporting groups
- all activities that take place on school premises including pre-schools, kindergartens, outside school hours care, cultural, sporting or recreational activities and school fetes. Parents, carers, schools, and community all play an important role in protecting children and young people from, and educating them about, the harmful effects of smoking and vaping.
Research from the Royal Children’s Hospital shows many parents and carers are not aware of the harmful effects or how their views about smoking and vaping can impact the likelihood of a young person taking up smoking or vaping.
The Department of Education has developed resources to help you learn more about the health risks of smoking and vaping. The resources include advice about how to talk to children and young people about vaping, and where to get support. To access the resources, go to https://www.vic.gov.au/smoking-and-vaping-advice-parents
You can also view this video on smoking and vaping from experts at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne for health advice and tips for starting a conversation with young people.
Music News
Our musos did an amazing job on the weekend at the 'Show Me Some Art' Festival held at the Moe Botanical Gardens. It was a great turnout, beautiful weather and our students performed to a very high standard making for a really enjoyable afternoon of live music. A Huge thank you to the staff that attended and supported our kids. Please congratulate our musos on a tremendous job when you see them next week.
Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF)
The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides funds for eligible students to attend school camps, excursions, sports and outdoor education programs. These payments are made directly to the school and are tied to your student.
Payment amounts for 2024 are:
- $150 per year for eligible primary school students
- $250 per year for eligible secondary school students.
2024 applications close on 21 June 2024. Forms can be submitted at your school's office.
Are you eligible to apply for the Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund? Those who are eligible to apply for CSEF are:
- families holding a valid means-tested concession card.
- a student over 16 years who is considered a mature minor and holds a valid concession card (such as a Youth Allowance Health Care Card or Disability Support Pension Card).
Full information can be found at https://www.vic.gov.au/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund
Annual privacy reminder for our school community
Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.
Our Privacy Policy describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn. We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Microsoft 365 safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Microsoft 365, please contact the school.
For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:
* Amharic
* Arabic
* Dari
* Gujarati
* Mandarin
* Somali
* Sudanese
* Turkish
* Urdu
* Vietnamese
Mobile Phones in Schools
A reminder that the Department of Education has in place a mobile phone ban that requires students who bring mobile phones to school to have them switched off and securely put away during school hours.
The department is requiring all schools to ensure this ban is in place and enforced from the start of the 2024 school year.
The ban applies equally to all government schools right across the state.
This helps ensure that school is a learning environment free from unnecessary distractions and disruptions.
By ensuring mobile phones are kept away at recess and lunch times, students can interact with each other face-to-face, without the distractions and social pressures that mobile phones can cause.
We ask for the support of all our families, staff and students in continuing to support the implementation of this policy in our school.
Further information
Exceptions: For a small number of students with particular health needs, an exception to the policy may be granted. Please contact your Campus Principal if you would like to discuss this.
Emergencies: In the event of an emergency or if you need to immediately contact your child, I ask that families contact the school office who will pass on a message as required.
School mobile phone policy: A copy of our school’s local mobile phone policy, which implements the government’s mobile policy in line with our local context, is available here.
Parent support: The Mobile phones in schools webpage provides links to resources for families to help them balance their children’s time using mobile phones.
If you have further questions, please contact the administration office.