News from the General Office

Student Attendance, Absences and Early Departures

Students are required to be at school from 8.40am – 3.00pm each weekday.  We understand that on occasions students may be required to leave early.  If this is the case, parents are asked to ensure the note, giving permission to leave early, is on Compass first thing in the morning and the student is aware of the early departure time and subsequent arrangements. When the time comes for the student to leave the teacher can see there is permission in compass and can release the student from class.  The student must come to the office to sign out on the student Compass Kiosk and then go to meet their parent as arranged.  If this process is followed the parent does not need to come into the Office at all.

If there is no note in Compass prior to the required departure time the teacher will not release the student from class.  The only way then for the student to be collected is for the parent to come into the office, still putting the note onto compass themselves, and an office staff member physically going to collect the student from class.  This is not the preferred process. Adding early departure note on Compass is done the same way as an attendance note and simply adjusting the time of the absence. Parents are asked to avoid early departures of students as much as possible.

What if my child feels sick during the day?

If a student is not well in class, they need to advise the teacher.  The teacher will release the student to go to Sick Bay.  We have trained professional staff in Sick Bay who will care for your student and determine if a parent needs to be contacted and/or the student needs to be collected from school. 

AT NO POINT ARE STUDENTS TO CONTACT THEIR PARENTS THEMSELVES SEEKING COLLECTION FROM SCHOOL. 

If a student is to be collected from Sick Bay then the parent will be required to come to the Sick Bay.  Sick Bay staff will sign the student out on Compass, parent do not need to.

SSB for Excursions/Camps/Activities

If you have elected to use SSB funds for school events by allocating to “School Activities” in the SSB Portal, you will be unable to see the credit on your Compass account.  The credit is visible to our accounts department on the Education Department platform.

When you receive a Compass notification for an event that needs payment and you believe you have SSB funds available for activities, please contact Sue Chamberlain at susan.chamberlain@education.vic.gov.au detailing how you would like the funds allocated. At that time, we can allocate the funds and change the event cost in Compass.