Information for Families

Canteen lunch orders

The easiest way to use the canteen is to pre-order lunch via My School Connect. You can find details on how to register and make lunch orders on Compass under School Documentation in the Canteen folder. Cash or card payments can also be taken from the canteen queue, but families are reminded that phone payments are not permitted.

Sustainable School Shop

Preston High School provides a subscription to the Sustainable School Shop where families can buy and sell second-hand uniform, books and school supplies. A user guide is available in Compass School Documentation in the Booklists folder.

First Aid

All students feeling unwell or needing assistance must report to First Aid at Reception, not call their family members. We will call you. If your child calls or texts you, instruct them to go to First Aid. We will then call you.

Why we ask you to do this

• If your child is seriously ill, we will call an ambulance first and then call you.
• If your child is a normal degree of unwell, we will administer first aid and call you.
• 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 call you, then either you will waste a trip to school or, worse, their condition may worsen while waiting for you to arrive.

Our trained staff assess students at First Aid and determine what is needed. Parents cannot do this over the phone. 

Thunderstorm asthma – be prepared for pollen season

Grass pollen season typically runs from October to December each year. It increases the risk of asthma, hayfever and thunderstorm asthma. During the season, there are some things you can do to prepare and protect yourself and your family:

• If your child has ever had asthma, talk to your doctor about what you can do to help protect them from the risk of thunderstorm asthma, including updating your asthma action plan. Taking an asthma preventer properly and regularly is key to preventing asthma, including thunderstorm asthma.

   

• If your child has hay fever, see your pharmacist or doctor for a hay fever treatment plan and check if you should have an asthma reliever puffer. These are available from a pharmacy without a prescription.

   

• If your child has hay fever and experiences wheezing and coughing, it is important to make sure they don’t also have asthma. Speak to your doctor.

For more information, speak to your doctor. You can also visit the Better Health Channel website.

Supervision arrangements before and after school

Families should note the following in relation to supervision of school grounds:

Before school: School grounds are supervised from 8:50am during which time staff are active around the school grounds as students are on their way to class. A staff member is stationed at the main Reception entry during this time.

After school: School grounds are supervised until 3:15pm during which time staff are active around the school grounds as students are on their way out of school. A staff member is stationed at the main Reception entry during this time. 

Students on school grounds outside these times will not be supervised (unless they are attending a supervised extracurricular activity). For a copy of our school’s Yard Duty and Supervision Policy please see Compass. 

Annual 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 school's Digital Learning policy and  guidance 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, please contact the school.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ privacy policy: information for parents. This information is also available in eleven community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Chinese
• Dari
• Gujarati
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese

Insurance reminder from the Department of Education

Department of Education insurance policies do not cover:

• personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students
• private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors

Students are responsible for their personal belongings.