From the Assistant Principal
Dear Families,
LATE ARRIVAL AND ABSENCE REMINDERS
Just a reminder that a student is deemed 'late' for school once the bell goes at 8.47am. This is when Compass registers the start of the school day. Teachers mark the class roll as soon as possible after this time.
Students who arrive at school after this time MUST enter through the office, even if the Turning Circle gate is still open. Parents will need to sign your child in with the reason that they are late.
A notification automatically goes out through Compass at 11.00am if a student has not been marked as present on the roll. Most classroom teachers will update rolls if students arrive late, but when a relief teacher is in the room, a paper copy of the roll is sent to the office by 9.00am and late arriving students are not re-marked on the class roll. This is why you may receive a notification like this.
If your child is absent from school, the best way to indicate their absence is to wait for the SMS message and follow the link to record the reason for the absence. Students who have been marked as not present and no explanation has been received within 7 days, are then marked as an 'unjustified absence' on the Compass roll. The best way to avoid this is to add the reason as soon as possible following the absence. We send regular reminder notes to students who have recently been absent where no reason has been added to Compass prior to marking the absence as unjustified.
COMING EVENTS
We have a busy couple of weeks ahead as the year draws to a close. We look forward to seeing you at some of these events.
FRIDAY 5th DECEMBER - Amadeus Concert @ 9.00am
MONDAY 15TH DECEMBER - Christmas Concert @ 6.00pm
MONDAY 15TH DECEMBER - K-5 Awards and announcement of 2026 student leaders at 9.00am
TUESDAY 16TH DECEMBER - Whole School Thanksgiving Mass @10.30am
Get ready for the new social media minimum age
The Australian Government is taking world-leading action to reduce online harms experienced by young Australians by introducing a minimum age to access social media.
From 10 December 2025, a new law will require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from having a social media account, and deactivate or freeze existing accounts held by people under 16.
Delaying access to social media accounts until the age of 16 will protect young Australians at a critical stage of their development, giving them 3 more years to build real world connections and online resilience.
This change will reduce access for young people to some of the harmful aspects of social media, such as algorithms that recommend content, infinite scrolling, and other features designed to keep users continuously engaged. The law is intended to capture social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, X, Facebook and YouTube.
But it won’t stop young people from staying in touch with friends online, playing games, learning new things and being entertained. In fact, they will still be able to access messaging apps, online gaming, professional networking and development services, and services that are primarily for the purposes of education and health support.
This delay to social media will give young Australians more time to develop real world connections and digital literacy skills before they join global platforms.
Have a great week,
Jim Heelis
Assistant Principal