8.15am Gates Open
8.35am Yard Supervision commences
8.50am School Begins
9.00am All gates except main gate locked
10.55am–11.15am Recess playtime
1.15pm–1.30pm Lunch eating time
1.30pm–2.15pm Lunch playtime
3.00pm Gates unlocked
3.15pm School Ends
3.30pm Yard Supervision concludes
3.45pm Gates Closed

Keep Up to Date

We use Compass as our School Portal — it is the way we communicate with families and how we accept payments & parent permissions. The Administration team are happy to help you get started with the website and app if you require assistance.
The Link is published fortnightly.

Office Hours

Monday - Friday 8:30am-4:00pm

During School Terms.

School tours

https://www.hillsmeade.vic.edu.au/enrol/#School_Tours

Arriving Late - Late Pass Essential

If your child arrives at School after 8:50am please ensure they come to the office for a late pass. Please do not send them straight to their classroom.

Student Collection

If you need to collect your child early for an appointment, please come to the office to sign them out.
Due to our Child Safe Policy, we are unable to have students waiting in the office, so please allow time for us to call them up to the office after you have arrived.
Please collect before or after recess and lunch times (see above for times) as your child may not hear the announcements out in the School yard.

Attendance

Children must be accounted for every school day. If your child is not present in class and we have no explanation, then we will automatically send all family members an SMS and an email at 10am.
If your child is going to be away, please notify the school by entering the absence on Compass. You can do this easily in the Compass app or on the website, please use Compass instead of calling the school on the phone.

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club will run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:15am–8:45am.

All Breakfast Club items are free with no additional cost to families.

Parent/Carer supervision is required prior to 8.35am, as teachers are on duty from

8.35am only.

Food Bank Boxes

Food Bank Victoria provide food for our Breakfast club. In addition to this, they also donate boxes of non perishable food items for families to take home. They are available in the foyer area of the front office for all Hillsmeade families. Please feel free to come and help yourself.

Hillsmeade Facebook page

Have you seen our Facebook page? It’s getting regular updates!

Check it out, give the page a follow and keep an eye out for your children.

Uniform

Please note that it is important to refer to the current uniform expectations that can be found on the school website.
Please ensure all uniform, lunch boxes, drink bottles, etc are clearly named so they can be returned to their owner.

All tops/polos/jumpers must have the school logo and black is NOT an acceptable colour - only navy blue and red with a touch of white.

This applies to all headwear (excluding hair accessories eg scrunchies)

Socks can be any colour.

Shoes are to be runners (any colour) or black leather school shoes.

Beanies Hillsmeade and navy blue beanies only.

Sun hats

All students are required to wear a hat during recess and lunchtime.

Students MUST wear hats until April and after September.

If a student does not have a hat, they will need to sit under the shade sails.

Thank you for helping us promote sun safety at school!

Hillsmeade school hats (with logo) are available for sale in the office. While stocks lasts!

They come in two sizes S/M and L/XL for $19.95 each.

You can also purchase them from PSW or online https://www.psw.com.au

Curriculum and Other Contributions

You can see payment options available in your compass app/website.

The Curriculum Contributions total of $127 is for all classroom resources for 2026.

We are also requesting voluntary contributions for other areas (Buildings & Grounds, Library, School Sports, & First Aid) totalling $98.

The total request for parents for each student is $225.

We are requesting a voluntary contribution of $50 per student to cover the cost of supplying book packs to students. The $50 contribution is part of the $127 Curriculum Contributions listed above - you will see it listed as Stationery Book Pack in your Compass payment options.

The School Savings Bonus cannot be used to cover the cost of book packs and also cannot be used for the voluntary payments.

Canteen

The canteen operates each school day. Canteen orders must be submitted by 9am online using QuickCliq. Please note that this is a website only (there is no QuickCliq app) but the website works on mobiles, iPads, and desktop/laptops.
You will need to register an account to get started, and then enter your child’s details. Please note when entering your child’s profile, use their class (eg: Prep C, 1/D, 4/D, etc) in the Room field.
Counter sales are available at recess and lunch for snack items (not lunch) – cash only.

Canteen orders are online only and close at 9am.

If you are unable to submit your canteen order online by 9am, then you will need to bring lunch for your child to school.

A reminder that the canteen doors close when the music plays before school, at recess and at lunch.

Please ensure your child is well prepared prior to the music playing and not late to class due to purchasing items.

Staff Carpark

Please DO NOT use of the staff carpark as a walking thoroughfare and/or public parking space. Those permitted to use the carpark include staff, Department of Education staff and contractors and families completing a quick drop off or pick up for OSHC.

There have been many near misses and we encourage you to minimise this risk by utilising the external gates and footpaths, especially the oval gates, to enter and exit the school.

We understand that parking is limited around the school boundary of Hillsmeade PS.

Car parking is a City of Casey concern and does not involve school staff being able to make decisions on the parking around the school.

If you have any feedback about the amount of parking around the school or behavior of other parents, please direct it to the City of Casey Parking Team.

Please be advised that we have members of our school community that require the use of the disabled parking spaces that are available. We ask the Hillsmeade community to please be considerate in your use of parking and do not use these disabled parking spaces unless you have the correct parking pass.

Email

It is essential that you have an email address for each parent registered with the school. You will receive an email from Compass to notify you of new updates, and you will receive your Family Financial Statement at this email address. If you are not receiving emails, please check to make sure we have it correctly recorded.

Excursions, Incursions & Camps

You will receive notifications of upcoming events through Compass – payment and permissions should be done electronically through Compass.
Parent consent in Compass is mandatory or your child cannot attend.
All supporting documents (e.g. packing lists, schedules) are available through Compass.

Student Mobile phones

The Department of Education has in place a mobile phone ban that requires students who bring mobiles phones to school to have them switched off and securely put away during school hours.

This is a department requiement and was enforced in 2024.

The ban applies equally to all government schools right across the state.

This helps ensure that school is a learning environment free from unnecessary distractions and disruptions.

By ensuring mobile phones are kept away at recess and lunch times, students can interact with each other face-to-face, without the distractions and social pressures that mobile phones can cause.

Further information-

Exceptions: For a small number of students with particular health needs, an exception to the policy may be granted. Please contact Linda Buckeridge if you would like to discuss this.

Emergencies: In the event of an emergency or if you need to immediately contact your child, we ask that families contact the school office who will pass on a message as required.

A copy of our school’s local mobile phone policy, which implements the government’s mobile policy in line with our local context, is available on the school website.

Parent support: The Mobile phones in schools webpage provides links to resources for families to help them balance their children’s time using mobile phones.

How Hillsmeade will communicate with you in an emergency.

In the event of a whole school emergency at Hillsmeade Primary School, we will contact our school community via Compass.

We encourage all of our families to ensure they are checking Compass regularly, and preferably have downloaded and installed the app (click here for iOS, click here Android).

If you do not have your login details, please contact the office ASAP for your username and password. The Admin team are happy to help you get started using the app. Compass also have extensive guides for parents on how to use the Compass app.

Please ensure you have notification settings switched to ON in order to keep up to date with information regarding your child and the school.

ACE Foundation Free Glasses Program

The ACE Foundation is proud and delighted to inform you that if your child requires glasses, they can receive ONE pair for FREE.

Please see the Hillsmeade Office Staff for forms and more information.

Dogs on school grounds - an adult must have full control on a leash

This is a friendly reminder that all dogs on school grounds must be on a leash and effectively controlled by an adult at all times. We have had many reports of dogs not being appropriately held and supervised, resulting in children feeling unsafe.

Please ensure you cooperate with us, enabling all members of the community to feel comfortable and safe in and around the school. Thank you for your understanding.

Scholastic Book Club

Book Club brochures are sent home twice per term. All scholastic Book Club orders are to be completed online at mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au
Do not send cash to school. The order will be delivered to school. There is also a ‘gift’ option — items will be set aside for collection by parents from the office.

ONGOING REPORTING