IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Parent / Guardian Contact Information

A reminder that if your contact information has changed recently, please ensure you advise our Administration Team on (03) 5261 6633. This includes a phone number, email address, physical address etc. This information can also be updated using the Compass portal.

Family Accounts

Statements will be emailed to families with outstanding accounts this week. If you would like a hard copy of your account please email our Finance Team at accounts@scsc.vic.edu.au

We understand that families at different times may experience financial hardship, we invite families in this situation to contact the Administration Office to arrange a confidential payment plan as soon as possible.

Device Payments

A reminder that Term 4 payments for devices purchased through the College were due more than three weeks ago (18.10.2019.) If you have an outstanding amount please contact our Finance Team immediately. If you are experiencing financial hardship please don’t hesitate to contact us to arrange a confidential payment plan.

Family Split Billing Arrangements

A reminder that all parents of students at the College are liable for the payment of their child’s essential education item charges.

Any agreement/arrangement between parents of students at the College regarding the liability for payments is separate from the College and the College has no role in facilitating such agreements/arrangements. It is not for the College to become involved in the allocation of financial responsibility between parents.

As a result, the College is no longer able to support split billing arrangements on family accounts. The primary parent will be invoiced and it is the responsibility of both parents to come to an arrangement to settle their child’s account.

If you have any questions regarding this matter please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our Finance Team at accounts@scsc.vic.edu.au

Student Accident Insurance

Parents and guardians are reminded that the Department of Education and Surf Coast Secondary College does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance 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 as well as any other transport costs.

Private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department of Education and Surf Coast Secondary College do not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage.

This can include mobile phones, calculators, toys, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises. As the Department of Education and Surf Coast Secondary College do not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property, students and staff should be discouraged from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school.

Public Bus Travel

We would like to remind all families that MYKI cards are required for all users and must be loaded with credit prior to travel. Yearly and half-yearly MYKI cards are available for purchase if you would like to make the top-up process easier.  McHarry’s services are not contracted by the College and they reserve the right to refuse students for travel and Audit student travel regularly. During an Audit, the Contractor can serve fines to students who do not pay for their travel.

These services are open to the public and it is important that our students are respectful to those around them and appreciative of the bus drivers and the bus companies for providing these services to the College.

Families who have purchased a half-yearly or full-year student MYKI Travel Pass who meet the Student Conveyance Allowance Guidelines may be eligible for reimbursement of the cost of your MYKI pass. All applications for Conveyance must be submitted prior to 20.11.2019.

For any further questions please contact Ashleigh at buses@scsc.vic.edu.au.

Surrounding Roadworks

Please be mindful of the ongoing roadworks that are surrounding the College. The Surf Coast Highway Roundabout is now under construction, please be mindful of the changed traffic conditions. Check out the Regional Roads Information outlining the updates and detours for this route. South Beach Road will be closed until December 2019.

2020 Phone Policy

The Victorian Government takes the safe and responsible use of digital technologies, student safety and wellbeing, and the development of social skills and positive behaviour, very seriously. On this basis, the Hon. James Merlino MP, Minister for Education, announced that a new mobile phone policy would take effect from Term 1 2020.

Whilst the Victorian Government acknowledges that we live in a technology-rich world where mobile phones are an important communication tool, research has found that mobile phones can be disruptive in classrooms and open to misuse at school. The unregulated presence of mobile phones in classrooms can undermine students’ capacity to think, learn, remember, pay attention and regulate emotion.

At recess and lunchtime, opportunities for students to communicate with each other face-to-face or be involved in physical activity are also valued, rather than students being focused on a mobile phone, particularly when they are using it to engage with social media.

This new policy acknowledges that technology is increasingly affecting how students learn and communicate. Therefore, when a student has been given explicit permission to access and use such devices to enhance learning by the classroom teacher, mobile phones will be permitted for that specific purpose. For a small number of students with particular health and wellbeing needs, an exception to the policy may also be granted.

This policy will remove a major distraction from our classrooms so that teachers can teach, and students can learn in a more focused, positive and supported environment.

• From Term 1 2020, students who choose to bring mobile phones to school must have them switched off and securely stored during school hours.
• Exceptions to the policy may be applied if certain conditions are met. Exceptions can be granted by the principal, or by a teacher. Exceptions must be documented.
• Where students bring a mobile phone to school, the school must provide secure storage.
• Schools are required to develop a local Students Using Mobile Phones policy, which must include how this Ministerial policy will be implemented.
• Schools will manage non-compliance with their local mobile phone policy in accordance with their existing student engagement polices.

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