Attendance & Engagement
🌿 Growing Together at Saltwater – Gardening Program Update
We are excited to share some wonderful updates from our Primary Gardening Program, which continues to provide students with meaningful, hands-on learning experiences in a supportive and nurturing environment.
Under the leadership of our new Gardening Program Leader, Miss Natasha Palombi, students have been actively involved in harvesting the vegetables they planted earlier this term. There was a real sense of pride and achievement as they pulled fresh produce from the garden beds—evidence of their care, patience, and teamwork.
In addition to harvesting, students have been working together to clean and care for the gardening space, building a sense of ownership and responsibility. They’ve also begun using a specially designed gardening booklet, supporting their learning through reflection, goal-setting, and journaling activities linked to wellbeing and growth.
There’s already a buzz of excitement about what’s to come in the weeks ahead, with new planting, seasonal projects, and even more opportunities for students to connect with each other and with nature.
Congratulations to Miss Palombi on her new role—under her guidance, the program is blossoming into something truly special.
Stay tuned for more updates as our students continue to grow, both in the garden and in themselves. 🌱
Supporting Student Learning During Family Holidays
New Process Now in Place at Saltwater P-9 College
At Saltwater P-9 College, we understand that families occasionally take holidays during the school term due to personal or cultural reasons. While we encourage holidays to be planned during term breaks to avoid disruption to student learning, we have introduced a new process to ensure that, when term-time holidays do occur, student learning remains supported and documented in alignment with Department of Education guidelines.
This new process is part of our recently endorsed Family Holiday Notification Policy, approved by our School Council. It ensures that both families and staff are working together to maintain continuity in learning and accurate attendance records.
What Families Need to Do...
If you are planning a holiday during the school term, please notify the school in writing at least two weeks in advance. Notifications can be sent via:
Email: saltwater.p9@education.vic.gov.au
Xuno: Message the school via the parent portal
Phone: Contact our Attendance Officer, Alison Lee, on (03) 8366 7700
Please include your child’s name, year level, and the dates of the intended absence. If your travel plans change, we ask that you inform us as soon as possible.
How Will the School Support Your Child?
Once a holiday notification is received, your child’s classroom teacher will prepare an Absence Learning Plan. This plan outlines:
The curriculum areas and units that will be covered during the absence
Suggestions for learning activities that can be done at home or while travelling
A meeting will then be arranged with the family to go through the plan in detail, just as we would with other learning or support plans.
Recording Absences
In line with our new policy, holiday-related absences will now be recorded as either:
Family Holiday (Approved) – when the school is notified and the process is followed
Family Holiday (Unapproved) – when no notification is received
This helps ensure transparency and consistency across our school community.
We appreciate your support in following this new process, which helps us keep student learning on track, even when they’re away from the classroom.
If you have any questions about the policy or the process, please contact the school office.
For further information on the policy please see the policy itself:
Thank you,
Brent Syme
Assistant Principal