From the Leadership Team

Dear Greenwith Primary School community,

A very warm welcome to the 2024 school year and a special welcome to all new families and children who have joined our school community.

It has been a really positive start to the school year with our children appearing to be happy and eager to be back at school and they seemed to have settled in well to routines and their new learning environments.

For me personally, I have been overwhelmed by the welcome that I have received from the entire school community; staff, students and parents. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many people already and I certainly look forward to getting to know this special school community better in the coming weeks and months. Thanks to all for the welcome I have received.

My early observations are that we have a very close-knit community here at GPS and that families are heavily invested in the learning and wellbeing of their children. This is such a wonderful feature of our school community and something we should celebrate, foster and develop. 

I am eagerly looking forward to the future as we continue to strengthen the firm foundations on which this learning community has been built.

If I have not yet met you, please be encouraged to come over and introduce yourself to me; I aim to meet all parents and caregivers of GPS students as soon as I possibly can. It may sound cliché, but it truly does ‘take a village to raise a child’ and that is exactly what being a part of a primary school community is all about. When families and staff work in close partnership together, this ultimately brings with it great benefit to the children.

Next Tuesday’s Open Evening is also a perfect opportunity to meet and get to know our community which is something I am looking forward to and will provide families with a valuable opportunity to meet and connect with classroom and specialist teachers. This is a perfect opportunity to further strengthen the partnership between school and home and I certainly encourage all families to attend if you are able.

Warm regards,

Darren

Communicating with our Staff

While there are several ways information is communicated to our community, the bulk of our communication including newsletters and excursion forms is sent via email to both parents/carers of each child. The email will appear in your inbox from GREENWITH PS EdSmart Notice with the sender being forms@edsmart.com  

Please check to make sure the emails are not in your junk folder! And keep us updated if your contact details change.

Our Leadership team are in the final stages of choosing a new platform to enable easy communication with families, and hope to make an announcement in the weeks to come. In the meantime, if you have any concerns please contact your child's teacher via email (refer to the welcome letter sent via email in week 1 for the address) or a phone call to the front office. Staff try to respond promptly, however, please allow 2 working days to receive a response. 

Absences & the Audiri app

If your child is going to be absent from school, departing early or arriving late, please notify us in advance by completing the absence form available on the Audiri app (further information available below).

Alternatively, you can call the school on 8289 8100 (press 1 for student absentees). Please include your name, your child's name, class and the reason for the absence/late arrival in your message. If your child is not present after the roll call and we have not been notified, a text message will be sent to the primary parent/guardian. 

When collecting your child early, please ensure that you visit the front office first to collect a sign-out slip. This slip is then taken to your child's teacher to show that your child is authorised to be collected. 

If your child arrives after the bell at 8:50 am they will need to come to the front office and sign in before going to class. 

For further information including instructions for accessing the Audiri app, please view the attachment below:

NAPLAN

NAPLAN 2024 will be held from 13–25 March (weeks 7 and 8 in term 1). 

All schools will also participate in the National Coordinated Practice Test (CPT) on Tuesday 27th February (week 5, term 1).

The NAPLAN privacy collection notice for parents and families is attached below:

Parent & Teacher Connection Meetings

Our Parent & Teacher Connection meetings are in week 6, 4-8 March. More information regarding these meetings will come out soon. 

2024 Materials & Services Charge (school fees)

Greenwith Primary School 2024 Materials and Services fees have been set at $370.00 per student as per the watermark notice approved by the Chief Executive Officer of the Department for Education (refer to Education Act section 106A). 

The SA Government $100 rebate will apply again for 2024 with the credit being applied to each child’s invoice. Eligible School Card applicants are exempt from the rebate. 

The school community was polled late 2023 and the outcome of the poll was unsuccessful, therefore the community did not support to fully legally recover all of the 2024 school fees. This means the 2024 school fees invoice will be broken down into 2 amounts. The standard sum (compulsory to pay and legally recoverable) total of $287.00 and the voluntary contribution of $83.00. The standard sum minus the Government rebate will only leave $187.00 compulsory to pay. All voluntary contributions received are greatly appreciated. 

Fees are required to be paid in full by April 14th 2024 (end of term 1) unless you have applied for School Card and are waiting on an outcome or have completed a Payment Plan (see below). Invoices will be posted home by the end of week 2. Please keep an eye on your letterbox. If you have changed your address please inform us immediately.

School Card scheme (assistance for low-income families)

The School Card scheme is administered by the Department for Education (DfE) and provides financial assistance towards the educational expenses incurred by families at government and non-government schools who meet the eligibility criteria. 

Eligibility for School Card assistance is dependent upon the combined family income for the 2022/2023 financial year being within the School Card income limits. School card applications are lodged online. Information and applications can be found at www.sa.gov.au/education/schoolcard

If you have any questions, please get in touch with the School Card team on 1800 672 758. NOTE: A new application for School Card must be completed and lodged each year.

Payment options

QKR app

Step 1: Download the Qkr! app 

Step 2: Register

Step 3: Search Greenwith Primary School

Step 4: Register your children

Payment by instalments

Parents/caregivers can authorise our school to process ongoing payments to pay for school fees as agreed under a 'Payment Plan'. The payments may be scheduled weekly, fortnightly or monthly and must be paid in full by the end of term 2 2024. The Payment plan form is available on our website or from Front Office. 

Cash or credit card payments 

To pay with cash or credit card, simply collect a payment envelope from the Front Office.