Woodend Primary School Newsletter

From the Office

CAMPS SPORTS & EXCURSIONS FUND

CSEF payment amount

The CSEF is an annual payment to the school to be used towards camps, sports and/or excursion expenses for the benefit of the eligible student.

  • Primary school student rate: $125 per year.
  • Secondary school student rate: $225 per year.

Application form:

- is available from the school office or via Compass / School Documentation.  

NOTE:

  • ALL SECTIONS MUST BE COMPLETED BY PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN
  • AN APPLICATION FORM ONLY NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED ONCE AT EACH SCHOOL ATTENDED FOR EACH CHILD

CSEF eligibility

Below is the criteria used to determine a student’s eligibility for the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF).

Criteria 1 – Eligibility

To be eligible* for the fund, a parent or legal guardian of a student attending a registered Government or non-government Victorian primary or secondary school must:

  1. Be an eligible beneficiary within the meaning of the State Concessions Act 2004, that is, be a holder of Veterans Affairs Gold Card or be an eligible Centrelink Health Care Card (HCC) or Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) holder. For concession card holders CSEF eligibility will be subject to the parent/legal guardian’s concession card being successfully validated with Centrelink on the first day of either term one or term 2, OR
  2. Be a temporary foster parent, and;
  3. Submit an application to the school by the due date.
  • * A special consideration eligibility category also exists. For more information, see: www.education.vic.gov.au/csef
  • Parents who receive a Carer Allowance on behalf of a child, or any other benefit or allowance not income tested by Centrelink, are not eligible for the CSEF unless they also comply with one of (a) or (b) above.

Criteria 2 - Be of school age and attend school in Victoria

  • School is compulsory for all Victorian children aged between six and 17 years of age inclusive.
  • For the purposes of CSEF, students may be eligible for assistance if they attend a Victorian registered primary or secondary school. Typically, these students are aged between five and 18 years inclusive.
  • CSEF is not payable to students attending pre-school, kindergarten, home schooled, or TAFE.
  • Queries relating to CSEF eligibility and payments should be directed to the school.

CONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE

Some students attending this school will be eligible for a Conveyance Allowance in 2019.

Eligibility Criteria:

The allowance will be paid in two instalments and to be eligible a student must:

  1. Be aged between 5 yrs and 18 yrs;
  2. Live more than 4.8 km by the shortest practicable route from the NEAREST school attended AND live more than 4.8 km from the nearest DEECD funded bus service stop;
  3. Be enrolled at the nearest or next nearest government school.

NB - The distances from home to school are automatically calculated as part of the application process and the DEECD Student Conveyance Allowance System distances will override parent advised figures.

Amount and Payment Method:

The annual amount payable is determined by the mode of transport, the distance travelled from home to school and the number of other students travelling in the same car.

Application Forms:

 A separate form is to be completed for each student and these are available as an attachment to this newsletter email or from the school office.

  • Please direct any enquiries re either of these allowances to Sue Turner at the school office.

SCHOOL ACCOUNTS

Many families have already paid for their child’s books and/or levies via QKR.

Once all these payments have been processed, accounts will be issued to families, probably in the next few weeks. Please note the following:

  • If you would like to make payment on your account prior to the issue of all accounts, please download or use the QKR app (see below for further information) or come to the school office. Payment or part-payment in advance for future expenses (eg. camps & excursions) is welcome;
  • Accounts with a NIL balance will not be issued;
  • If you are experiencing financial difficulties, we encourage you to speak with Diana Ellis or Sue Turner to discuss alternative arrangements;
  • Accounts with outstanding compulsory payments are usually issued once per term.

STUDENT PERSONAL DETAILS

By now, all students should have received a green coloured document, which lists the current personal details held by the school for that child. Please ask your child for this form or look in their bag. PLEASE take the time to check the details listed to ensure they are correct and then either:

  1. Sign the form and return the sheet as it is, if all details listed are correct.
  2. Make alterations as necessary and then sign.

PLEASE RETURN COMPLETED FORMS TO YOUR CHILD’S CLASS TEACHER OR BY POST.

** Please DISREGARD the information listed for the distance you live from school. This information is system generated and in some cases is not correct.

 

NB: In times of emergency or illness, much time is saved if we have correct and current contact details for you and the emergency contacts you have nominated.

 

Parents are able to update their mobile phone and email details themselves via Compass, at anytime throughout the year.

 

Student accident insurance/ambulance cover

As per DET guidelines, it is important that we remind parents that we do not provide personal accident insurance cover for students. Parents and guardians of students who do not have  student accident insurance/ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport.

Medical or other expenses will only be covered by the department where it is assessed that the Department was liable for negligent acts or omission of supervision.

Parents are able to take out private Student Cover accident insurance. EBM (Elkington Bishop Molineaux Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd) have a StudentCover policy.

Parents can apply online at www.studentcover.com.au

This company is not specifically endorsed by DET however is offering cover to school families if they so choose.

GENERAL INFORMATION FROM THE OFFICE

COMPASS SCHOOL MANAGER - Compass is the communication system used between the school and home. It allows us to extend our capabilities to communicate and simplify some administration tasks. This product is widely used by schools in the Macedon Ranges area and across Victoria. Compass also allows the school community to communicate and share information in a much more efficient manner than is currently available.

 

What will Compass do for me?

Some of the features accessible through Compass include the ability to:

  • Provide access to newsletters, school documentation and latest news.
  • Download and view your child's progress and semester reports.
  • Synchronise school events to calendars and receive updates and changes to school events.
  • Book Parent-Teacher Conferences.
  • Update family contact details.
  • Monitor your child's attendance and enter approvals for absences. If your child will be late, please don’t enter via Compass. See “Late Arrivals” process below.
  • Be notified of any visits to the school sick bay.

IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO ACCESS COMPASS, PLEASE CONTACT THE OFFICE – we can reset passwords and provide access assistance. It is imperative all parents have Compass access and we suggest you turn on NOTIFICATIONS for this app to alert you to information sent.

 

QKR – this is the preferred payment method at WPS for all services that DO NOT require consent and is a free app for your smartphone or the QKR program can be downloaded on your computer. Basically it allows you to pay for all Canteen, Uniform, Parents and Friends activities & more. No more coin searches!

Getting started is easy……. Go to your app store on your phone and look for the following icon. If you are still having trouble, call the school office for assistance.

 

QKR can be used for the following:

  • Uniform orders
  • Canteen Lunches (no cash orders accepted)
  • School Fees including netbook, bus, voluntary contributions and funds.
  • PFA activities & fundraisers

NB: QKR IS NOT USED FOR EXCURSIONS AND CAMPS where consent AND payment is required.

 

NEWSLETTER BY EMAIL – The school newsletter is distributed electronically every fortnight on a Thursday via an email, which contains a direct link to the newsletter document. Compass login is not required to read the newsletter from this link.

This is the most important form of communication issued from the school and we ask you to contact the school by phone if you either do not have a valid email address or if you don’t receive the email containing the newsletter link.

  • Email address updates can be made via Compass.
  • The newsletter is also available from the school website.

 

MESSAGES FOR STUDENTS RE AFTER SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS - Students needing to be informed of changes to their after school arrangements will be called to the office via the Public Address System at approx 3.25pm. Teachers have been asked to listen to the names called and ensure students required are made aware, especially the younger children. For messages received from parents/guardians after 3.25pm, every effort will be made to locate students and advise them, however this is not always possible. For Prep students for Term 1 only, messages will be phoned through to the class at the next available break or before the home bell.

 

CONTACT WITH TEACHERS – during class time (bell times listed below) teachers are busy teaching. If you need to make contact with a teacher by phone, please do so during other than class time. eg. - before and after school or recess or lunch breaks. Alternatively, your call can be put through to the teacher’s voicemail where you can leave a message.

START OF SCHOOL           9.00 am

RECESS                              10.40 am – 11.10 am

LUNCH EATEN IN CLASS 12.50 pm – 1.00 pm

LUNCH – PLAY                    1.00 pm – 1.50 pm

DISMISSAL                       3.30 pm

 

LOST PROPERTY – Lost property is sorted weekly and named items returned to their owner via the class teacher, therefore the best way to get back lost property is to NAME IT before you wear it! As the volume and diversity of lost property at this school is huge, we are unable to retain unnamed items for any length of time. As a result, any unnamed items including school uniform, will be removed from lost property each term and donated appropriately. Lost property is stored in front of the uniform shop. We encourage you to firstly name your property and if it is lost, check the lost property area promptly.

 

UNIFORM SHOP – the Uniform Shop is open every Tuesday morning from 8.45am to approx 9.15am and Thursday 3 – 4pm, sometimes later if it is busy. Use the QKR app to order and pay for uniforms if opening hours don’t suit you. Orders will be filled at the next uniform opening day and goods will be sent home with your child.

 

SCHOOL BANKING –Please see information about school banking advised separately in this newsletter.

 

MOBILE PHONES –Students are discouraged from bringing mobile phones to school. If you would like your child to have a mobile phone with them for use before and after school, then the following procedure is to apply:

  1. The named phone is to be given to the Class Teacher who will store it during the day. PLEASE TURN IT OFF FIRST!!
  2. Students may collect their phone from the teacher at home time.

IPODS –are NOT permitted to be brought to school except for specific classroom activities and should be left with the class teacher when not required.

 

SEPARATED PARENTS’ CONTACT DETAILS – A form titled “ALTERNATIVE FAMILY DETAILS” is available which is specifically for parents of students who do not reside together. By completing this form, address and phone details for both parents are able to be listed on our database and each parent will receive a separate Compass login ID.

 

If you would like a copy of this form to complete or to make further, strictly confidential enquiries, please contact the school office.