Administration office closure

The Administration office will be closed from 4pm on Thursday 19 December. For all enquiries, please email koonung.sc@education.vic.gov.au

Student absence communication

To notify the College of a student absence, please log into Compass and record the absence under the Attendance tab. Alternatively, please call the College and press 1 (Middle Years administration) to notify an absence for a student in Years 7-9 or press 2 (Senior School administration) to notify an absence for a student in Years 10-12.

The College has a legal obligation to monitor and record student absences and attendance. Failure to provide approval for an absence may impact VISA conditions, VCE conditions and Centrelink payments.

Early leavers

Early leavers require parent/carer approval or acknowledgement. Approvals for early leavers from school can be completed either online (through the Compass Parent Portal) or by handing in a written letter of approval to your sub school office at the beginning of the day.

Students must sign out at their sub school prior to leaving the school grounds.

Late arrivals

Electronic rolls are kept in all classes. Students who arrive late to school are required to sign-in at their sub school and then immediately go to class.

All late arrivals require parent/carer approval or acknowledgement. Approvals for late arrival to school can be completed either online (through the Compass Parent Portal) or by handing in a written letter of approval to your sub school office. SMS notifications may be sent to parents when a student arrives late to school.

Safety and respect for our neighbours

Please be mindful of the safety of our students and the wider community when collecting your child from school. It is illegal to park within 10 metres of a corner.

Similarly we ask that you be courteous to our neighbours and not park across their driveways while waiting for your child.

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, 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The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn.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

Visitors and WWCC

Koonung Secondary College values the many volunteers that assist in our classrooms, with sports events, camps/excursions, school concerts, other events and programs. To ensure Koonung Secondary College is a child safe environment, visitors will be required to undertake suitability checks, which in most cases include a Working With Children Check (WWCC). Volunteers are to produce their valid card to a member of the administration team for verification in the following circumstances:

• Volunteers who are not parent/family members of any student at the school are required to have a WWCC if they are engaged in child-related work regardless of whether they are being supervised

• Parent/family volunteers who are assisting with any classroom or school activities involving direct contact with children in circumstances where the volunteer’s child is not participating, or does not ordinarily participate in, the activity

• Parent/family volunteers who assist with excursions and activities, including productions, camps and similar events, regardless of whether their own child is participating or not

• Parent/community School Council members sitting on School Council with student School Council members, regardless of whether their own child is a student member or not.

Further information is available in our visitors and volunteers' policies, which can be found in school documentation on Compass.

Student accident insurance arrangements

Families are reminded that neither Koonung Secondary College nor the Department of Education provide personal accident insurance for students. Parents and carers are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs. Student accident insurance policies are available from some commercial insurers. These cover a range of medical expenses not covered by Medicare or private health insurance.

It is recommended that families seek assistance in this matter with their insurance broker or find a suitable personal accident insurer.

Occupational Health & Safety at Koonung

The Department of Education has a comprehensive Occupational Health and Safety Management System which has been in place at Koonung for some years. This helps to provide a safe school environment for staff, students, parents and contractors.

Please take note of the following:

Traffic within the College grounds

Student drop-off and pick-up is not permitted within the College grounds unless the student is injured or disabled. All traffic entering the school grounds must observe the speed limit of 10kmh (ie walking pace).

Road crossing safety concern

Road users have expressed concerns that our students are not crossing at the dedicated school crossing on the corner of Belmore Road and Elgar Road and instead, crossing from an angle further along Belmore Road. The safety of both our students and the general public is of utmost importance. Please take the time to remind your children about road safety and the importance of using assigned level crossings.

In addition students are not waiting for the crossing supervisor's whistle or the 'green man'. This is most concerning given the extensive traffic on Elgar Road. Please help us to instil correct road crossing practices in an effort to prevent any safety issues.

Smoking and vaping

It is an offence to smoke or vape anywhere within the College grounds and within 4 metres of all school ground entrances. This applies 24/7 regardless of whether or not students are at school.

Crossing Supervisor positions now available

Stace Kerr

Business Manager

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