Parent Support

Family-Teacher conversations are coming

Family, Teacher Conversations are coming up in Week Two of Term Two. Here’s everything families need to know to prepare and make the most of them.

What are they?

Family, Teacher Conversations (FTC) are Preston High School's version of Parent/Teacher Conferences. They are an opportunity for adults at home to book in with their young person's classroom teacher to discuss personal and academic progress. Our community appreciates the opportunity to have a formal one-on-one check in with classroom teachers. We prefer that students attend these conversations.

How can I prepare?

Engaging with your child’s progress via the Compass portal and through conversations with them is a great way to get a sense as to what you might want to ask during the Family, Teacher Conversations.

View our comprehensive video guides on our website which cover how to do this:

Are students at school on that day? No, it is a non-teaching day.

How do I book conferences Families can book eight-minute conversations with the teachers of their child. Bookings are made through the Compass Parental Portal. Please follow the link on your Compass Newsfeed or select "conferences" from the drop-down menu early next term.

How do families meet with the teachers? All conferences will be online via Teams. Each teacher has an individual link that is displayed in the Compass booking system. Your child's classroom teacher should also email you a link to the meetings. Please be patient if you are in the online waiting room while the teacher is finishing the previous meeting.

How many conferences do I book? You can book as many as you like with all available Course teachers.

How do I cancel a conference? Please email the Course Teacher that you have booked with.

When do bookings open and close? The booking system opens at 3pm Tuesday, 22 April (Week One), and closes at 4pm, Tuesday, 29 April (Week Two).

Annual privacy reminder

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 is housed on Compass and 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 The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn.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; Chinese; Dari; Gujarati; Mandarin; Somali; Sudanese; Turkish; Urdu; and, Vietnamese.

About accidents, damage, ambulance cover and insurance

Parents are reminded that the Department of Education and Preston High School do not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents and guardians of students who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance / transport and any other transport costs.

All private property (including electronic devices) brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department of Education and Preston High School do not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage. That is, "owner onus" applies. This also includes motor vehicles and bikes belonging to students and parents. Student accident insurance/ambulance cover policies are available from some commercial insurers, and can be obtained by parents/guardians for individual students.

First Aid guidelines for parents

All students feeling unwell or needing assistance MUST report to First Aid at Reception. We will assess your child and contact you.

If your child calls or texts you, instruct them to go to First Aid. Here's why:

If your child is seriously ill we will call an ambulance and then contact you. If they call you instead and are waiting for you to arrive, this may not happen and there may be unforeseen consequences.
If your child is a normal degree of unwell, we will administer first aid and call you. If they call you and are waiting for you to arrive, this can delay getting the help they need.
If they are well enough to return to class after some simple first aid, then we will administer first aid and send them back to class. If they have called you to come to school, then it is a wasted trip and you may be annoyed at them for wasting your time.

Our trained staff assess students at first aid and determine what, if any, first aid is needed. Parents cannot do this over the phone. Thanks in advance for your support.

Contact with staff outside of work hours

Parents/carers and students are reminded that staff are not available to respond to e-mails outside of regular work hours. Please see our Communicating with School Staff Protocol under School Documentation in Compass.

Should you require immediate after-hours assistance with a matter of concern, please contact these external services:

Telephone or Webchat Support for Young People:

1800 55 1800 / https://kidshelpline.com.au/

Parents/Carers Support - Parentline:

13 22 89 / https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/serviceprofiles/parentline-service

School Council report

At the February meeting of Council, discussion included landscaping and grounds improvement works and the successful completion of the four-yearly school review and VRQA minimum standards compliance. Council members were provided with child-safe standards training and had a presentation on finances by our Council Treasurer, Darren Findlow.

Excursion consent and payment deadlines

A reminder for families that consent or payment for an excursion MUST BE MADE before the Compass event due date. Consent or payment will not be accepted once the deadline has passed. This is a firm boundary, so we encourage families to regularly check Compass.

At least one reminder is sent for each excursion published on Compass. Additionally, our administration team follows school processes when responding to late requests and has worked hard to support families within the guidelines set for school events. We understand that missing deadlines can be frustrating, but we ask that all interactions remain courteous and respectful.

Please contact the office if you are experiencing any difficulties accessing or using Compass.

CSEF payment for eligible families

The closing date for CSEF (Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund) is 04 July 2025.

Your family is eligible to apply for CSEF if you hold any Centrelink concession card, including a healthcare or pension card. You must return the CSEF application form and Centrelink Card copy to the school's Reception before this date. We don’t want you to miss the 2025 CSEF payment!

You can get a copy of the form in the CSEF Forms folder on Compass via this link - School Documentation | Compass - or ask at the office.

School Student Broadband Initiative extended

The School Student Broadband Initiative (a Federal Government initiative) offers eligible families with school-aged students free NBN broadband internet at home. The initiative was due to end on 31 December 2025 but has been extended.

The initiative is capped at 30,000 services connected. Once this number is reached, no further applications to participate in the initiative will be accepted.

Households already connected through the initiative, or with a voucher to do so

Families and carers currently connected to the NBN network through the initiative will have their connection automatically extended with their participating internet provider until Friday 30 June 2028.

Eligible families and carers who already have a voucher to take part should activate their free service with a participating internet provider as soon as possible. This voucher will become invalid once the cap is reached.

For all other households

Families and carers who haven’t been assessed and that may be eligible for the initiative, can contact the NBN’s National Referral Centre for an assessment. If you are eligible, you'll be sent a voucher to access free home internet until Friday 30 June 2028. However, this voucher must be activated before the 30,000 cap is reached.

Find out more

For more information, refer to: