PH: 8560 6079

Email: dohertys.creek.p9.co@education.vic.gov.au

.co@education.vic.gov.au

2026 TERM DATES

Term 1 - 29th January to 2nd April

Term 2 - 20th April to 26th June

Term 3- 13th July to 18th September

Term 4 - 5th October to 18th December

2026 Curruculum Days

Term 1

1st Curriculum Day- Tuesday 27th Jan

2nd Curriculum Day- Wednesday 28th Jan

Term 2

3rd Curriculum Day- Monday 21st April (1st day Term 2)

Term 3

4th Curriculum day - Friday 14th August

Term 4

5th Curriculum day - Monday 2nd November (Professional Practice Day)

2026 End of Term Finish Times

Term 1 - 2nd April (1pm finish)

Term 2 - 26th June (1pm finish)

Term 3 - 18th September (1pm finish)

Term 4 -18th December (12.30pm finish)

Birthday Celebration at DCC

Birthdays are important and exciting milestones for children each year.

As a school we acknowledge birthdays in various ways in the classroom.

Parents should check with the teacher for approval of any celebration they would like to plan.

To support the celebrations of Birthdays at Dohertys Creek P-9 College, the following is recommended:

When purchasing food stuffs please be mindful of the fact that some of our children are allergic to nuts, eggs and fish, however there are some whose triggers are yet unknown.

Home-prepared foods are not permitted. If treats are brought to school for activities such as birthday treats, class parties, special rewards etc., they must be commercially prepared items preferably individually wrapped in individual paper, a box, with ingredients listed, e.g. a bag of Freddo Frogs individually packaged; lolly pops individually packaged etc.

Parents of Children with known allergies are encouraged to provide a treat box to the class room in order for the child with allergies to participate by receiving a safe treat from their own box, as per the Dohertys Creek P-9 College Strategies to Avoid Allergens plan.

It is certainly not required or expected that you send treats to school. However, if you choose to do so, we would greatly appreciate you following these guidelines.

If not adhered to then the items will not be distributed and may be returned home for consumption.

Thanks for your understanding and help in looking after our students.

Just a friendly reminder that the School Council has established parent discussion forums where parents can seek help from fellow parents and reach out directly to current School Council members to address concerns. Your child's teacher, Lead teacher or Principal team are always happy to talk with you and we encourage you to raise concerns with them in the first instance, however if you feel uncomfortable raising any issues directly with the school, the School Council is more than happy to raise them on your behalf. We eagerly anticipate your participation in our parent discussion forums.

Telegram link: https://t.me/+_FytB6CZoDNiMmI1

Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/595226818708636

Child Safety at Dohertys Creek P-9 College

Our child safety framework (Child Safety – Dohertys Creek P-9 College) explains how we support and maintain child safety and wellbeing at Dohertys Creek P-9 College. It includes our:

Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
Child Safety Reporting and Responding Obligations Procedures, and
Child Safety Code of Conduct, which outlines acceptable and unacceptable behaviours for all staff and volunteers at our school.

Our students and families are important partners in providing a child safe environment. These regular newsletter reminders are one of the ways we ensure our school community is aware of:

our commitment to child safety, and
how to provide feedback or raise child safety concerns.

If you have any concerns about child safety at any time, please contact South Western Regional Office of the Department of Education and Training on 1300 338 691. Any child safety complaints or concerns are treated seriously. For more information about our school’s complaints process, see our Complaints Policy (Policies – Dohertys Creek P-9 College).

We also welcome your ideas on ways we can improve our approach to child safety and wellbeing. If you have any suggestions or comments please contact a member of our Administration team on 85606079 who will put you in contact with a member of our Principal Team.

Stop and Drop Zone

We kindly ask all families to please respect the Stop and Drop zones as outlined in the map provided.

These zones are designed to keep traffic flowing smoothly during busy drop-off and pick-up times. When drivers remain in their vehicles, move forward promptly, and avoid parking in these areas, it helps reduce congestion and prevents unnecessary delays for other families.

Most importantly, following the Stop and Drop guidelines ensures the safe passage of our students. Clear traffic flow reduces the risk of children crossing between stationary cars and allows staff on duty to supervise effectively.

We also ask families to reinforce important road safety messages with their children, including:

Always using designated crossings when crossing the road
Walking bikes and scooters safely through busy areas
Wearing helmets when riding to and from school
Being alert and aware of cars when near the road or carpark

By working together and modelling safe behaviours, we can ensure our school remains a safe environment for all members of our community.

COMPASS COMMUNICATIONS & NOTIFICATIONS

Please note it is imperative you use compass as all school communications are sent through this platform. It's a good idea to get into the habit of checking your notifications in compass each morning. This will ensure you do not miss anything. For assistance with navigating the Compass app, refer to our dedicated Compass page later in this newsletter.

Discover how to get the most from your Compass Parent Portal

This FAQ will answer any questions you might have about how Compass works and guide you to getting the most from your Parent Portal.

https://www.compass.education/support/parent-faq

Uniform - Buy, Swap, Sell

Dohertys Creek College BSS uniform page

https://www.facebook.com/groups/247480763606501/?ref=share

Lost Property:

We always aim to return what we can but often when items are unnamed, they are added and remain to the ever increasing lost property pile.

We hope to reunite as many items as possible with their rightful owners. If you think your child may have misplaced anything at the school, please take a moment to look through the wooden create located in the library entrance.

Please LABEL your children's belongings!

We have an enormous amount of lost property that was not labelled. Please make sure that all of your child’s uniform is labelled with their FULL NAME, as well as their lunch boxes, drink bottles etc, so that we can ensure that the lost hats, jackets, jumpers are returned to their rightful owners.

If you have already labelled these items, it is also a good idea to check that they are still legible, as a lot of them have faded or smudged in the wash, making it difficult to identify them.

Out of Hours Supervision

Staff supervision is provided from 8:25am–8:40am each morning and from 3:00pm–3:15pm each afternoon. Outside of these times, staff are engaged in meetings and preparation for teaching and learning.

We are unable to provide supervision outside these hours. Please note that the library is not available as a waiting area, as it is used for meetings and confidential discussions.

For families requiring care outside of school hours, our Out of School Hours Care program is available.

Accident Insurance

REMINDER – the Department (which includes our school) does not have accident insurance. Items of personal property that are lost, stolen or damaged at school is not the responsibility of Dohertys Creek P-9 College or the Department. Staff and students are reminded not to bring items of value to school. Our Personal Property policy can be viewed on our website (Policies – Dohertys Creek P-9 College)

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 Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy (click here), 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/Google Workspace for Education] 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/Google Workspace for Education], 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
Chinese
Dari
Gujarati
Mandarin
Somali
Sudanese
Turkish
Urdu
Vietnamese

Yard duty and supervision policy Parents and Students