From the Office

News From the Principal

Thank you

We really do appreciate the support we receive from our parents. We understand that not everyone can help with certain tasks or at particular times, but everyone contributes in their own way and for that we are truely grateful.

Last week we had a couple of families (promptly) respond to our call for the spreading of some sand and mulch in our yard and I want to thank the Hill/Chalkley and the Blake Families for undertaking the task. You will all be pleased to know that your efforts have reawakened our student's enthusiasm for the playground and sandpit areas.

Sleep Over

So they finally wore us down and we we will be offering a whole-school sleepover. We will have a whole-school excursion during the day, before heading back to set up "camp" in the classrooms and have some dinner, an evening of fun and hopefully a little sleep. Details regarding this are on uEducateus. Please read the details carefully regarding arrangements and what to bring. Our students are very excited - Mr Collins and Miss Duffy, maybe slightly less so!!!!!

Parent Payments for 2025

School Council recently updated our Parent Payment Policy and reviewed the Family Contribution amount for the 2025 school year. After some discussion Council did decide to slightly raise the amount for the 2025 school year by $20 (that is five dollars per term), due to increased costs in purchasing online programs, stationary, art materials and classroom requisites. The total is $170 per student, per year and this includes a $20 MARC Levy. The amount is still significantly lower than many other schools as we intend to strike a balance between offering our students the best educational programs and opportunities and the cost of living that is placed on families. All families will have received a letter outlining the details. Please contact Lisa or Bree if you have any questions or concerns about this; any conversations will be strictly confidential.

A reminder that the Parent Payments Policy, as well as all of our other policies, can be found on our school website.

Book Fair

A big thank you to our families and community for your support with this event. Our students were able to choose a selection of books for our school library as a direct result of your support.

Graduation and End of Year Celebration

Have you let us know if you are attending yet? Please ensure that you get your reply forms in as soon as you can so that Lisa and Bree can ensure we have sufficient space, seating and food. Don't forget to drop off items for a particular Christmas personality to bring on the night- well before Graduation Day so we can have them packed and stored.

Phone Service

We still do not have any mobile service in the buildings as we are awaiting delivery and installation of a booster. Please continue to use the landline during school hours to make contact as any messages or calls to our mobiles are not accessible until we walk outside the buildings.

Please note- the following are Student Free Days for Term 4

Wednesday December 4th- Teachers will take this day to finalise assessments and write student reports.
Don't forget that our final day of term is Friday December 20th. Students will be dismissed at 1:20pm on this day (therefore the bus will run two hours ahead of schedule).

That's all for this week- Lisa Duffy

News from Bree in the office

Parent and carer School Saving Bonus code distribution

The Victorian Government is delivering the School Saving Bonus – a one-off $400 support for government school students from Prep to Year 12 in 2025.

From Tuesday 26 November 2024, you will receive an email from the Department of Education with your unique $400 School Saving Bonus code.

The School Saving Bonus will help families cover the cost of uniforms, textbooks, excursions, activities and more.

If you have multiple children enrolled in Victorian government schools for 2025, you will receive one School Saving Bonus code email per child. These emails might arrive on different days. Please make sure to check your spam/junk email folder.

Parents and carers can use the School Saving Bonus code in store at school-nominated suppliers. Parents and carers can also choose to access the School Saving Bonus online system, where they can allocate part or all the $400 bonus to use at school nominated-online suppliers or for school activities.  To learn more about the School Saving Bonus, visit School Saving Bonus | vic.gov.au (www.vic.gov.au). A step-by-step user guide will be available on the webpage on 26th of November.  

If you have not received your School Saving Bonus code via email by Friday 29 November, please contact the Department of Education by emailing school.saving.bonus@education.vic.gov.au