Principal Team Updates

from everyone's desk.

Learning to Learn Program

Over the past week our learning community have been reviewing our school values, establishing class agreements, behaviour expectations and norms, and celebrating what it means to be a member of our school community. This has included incursions from Brainstorm Productions (resilience) and Cardytoons (school values) which will be a reference point for the year.

The Cardytoons incursion involved students creating their own cartoon! These cartoons have inspired the design for our new friendship tree mural. This will replace the tired and worn out one on the eastern wall of the Year 1 learning area (next to our new boat playground).

Special Assembly next Friday

A reminder next Friday, 14 February, at 2:40pm we’d love you to join our Badge Presentation Assembly where our Captains and Junior School Council members will receive their representative badges.

Prior to that assembly, families of our captains will enjoy a special afternoon tea.

Our 2025 Student Leaders:

School Captains	Noah H	Library Captains	Tobey M
	Nick H	Library Captains	Alice Z
	Isabelle S
	Edie T	Eco Captains	Jono B
		Eco Captains	Sophia M

Ovens House Captains	Hamish S	STEM Captains	Owen M
Ovens House Captains	Matilda C	STEM Captains	Xavier P

Campaspe House Captains	Logan L	Intercultural Captains	Arya J
Campaspe House Captains	Sofia	Intercultural Captains	Esther B

Kiewa House Captains	Jed P	Wellbeing Captains	Charlize K
Kiewa House Captains	Lana W	Wellbeing Captains	Alyssa L

Yarra	Xander S	Performing Arts Captains	Sadie G
Yarra	Daisy W	Performing Arts Captains	Brodie Mc

		Visual Arts Captains	Mikayla T
		Visual Arts Captains	Lynnkeita Y

School Council Nominations

Each year Victorian Government schools are required to formally call for nominations for members of the School Council, I will be doing so next week.

Being a member of School Council is a great way to be involved in the school. School Council members’ personal skills and attributes (e.g. finance, facilities, communications/promotion) are of great benefit in contributing to school improvement and driving initiatives.

Croydon Hills Primary School’s School Council consists of eight elected parents, four staff positions, the Department Nominee (the Principal) and the option of 2 Co-opted Positions. Elected members stand for two-year terms with the option of then nominating for further terms. The two co-opted members will be determined by the School Council at AGM on Wednesday 19th March. These positions are typically filled by a representative from the parent community, Croydon Hills Parents Association (CHAPS) or Men of the Hills (MOTHS).

When I call for nominations, I will provide information on the nomination process. In the meantime, if you are interested or would like to know more, please visit DE’s School Council Overview website or contact me, or school Council President Sian Jamison directly.

You may also wish to attend our last School Council of the current cycle, on Wednesday 12 February 7:30pm in the staffroom.

Volunteers: Working With Children Check

Our school values the many volunteers that assist in our classrooms, at sporting events, on camps and excursions, and at other events and programs. To ensure that we are meeting our legal obligations under the Worker Screening Act 2020 and the Child Safe Standards, Croydon Hills Primary School is required to undertake suitability checks. Specifically, volunteers are required to have a Working With Children Check or equivalent.

Volunteers are asked to produce their valid card to the Office for verification on their first visit to the school in the following circumstances:

Volunteers who are not parent/family members of any student at the school are required to have a WWC Check if they are engaged in child-related work regardless of whether they are being supervised.
Parent/family volunteers who assist in school activities, regardless of whether their own child is participating or not
Parent/family volunteers who assist with excursions (including swimming), camps and similar events, regardless of whether their own child is participating or not.
Parent/community School Council members sitting on School Council, Croydon Hills Parents’ Association (CHAPS) and Men Of The Hills (MOTHS).

To ensure you can fully involve yourself in the life of the school I encourage all parents and carers to ensure they have a valid Working With Children Check - they're free for volunteers!

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 guidance we provide on how we use Google Workspace for Education 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 Google Workspace for Education, 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
Dari
Gujarati
Mandarin
Somali
Sudanese
Turkish
Urdu
Vietnamese

Annual Policy Reminder for the School Community

Croydon Hills Primary School and the Department of Education have a suite of policies and procedures that assist in the demonstration of compliance with corporate governance, teaching standards, student welfare and education programs. They cover everything from attendance, student discipline, emergency procedures, and delivery of the curriculum and support enhanced communication and clarity of school operations and procedures.

Our school’s local policies are maintained by School Council and located on the Policy Page of our school website. The Department of Education has an overarching Policy and Advisory Library. Direct Links:

Administration of Medication

Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy Suite:

Child Safety Policy
Child Safety Code of Conduct
Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations Policy and Procedures
Appendix A: Legal obligations relating to reporting child abuse
Appendix B: managing disclosures of child abuse. Important information for staff
Aboriginal Learning, Wellbeing and Safety Action Plan
Child Safety Risk Register (Internal File - not for public viewing)
Child Safety Induction pack - Volunteers

Digital Learning (Internet, Social Media and Digital Devices Policy)