General Information 

Dear parents and students,

A very warm welcome to the start of the 2022 school year.  I hope you have all had a relaxing summer and you are looking forward to coming back to school.

In this newsletter you will find some important general information, as well as particular information regarding Covid-19 arrangements in the additional page to this edition.  

Please be assured that we are doing everything within our power to make school as safe as possible for students and staff.   However, we need your support and cooperation to make everyone feel safe and secure.   There is no doubt there will be some challenges teaching and learning as we learn to "live with Covid 19".   Remember, this is new to all of us as well, and managing the safety of our students and staff brings a hefty workload on top of our "business as usual".   At the heart of all we do is the health and wellbeing of our students and staff, and it is our key priority so please be patient if we are not as responsive or proactive as usual in other areas! 

This newsletter will be accessible via www.sthelena.vic.edu.au for the remainder of the school year, should you need to refer to the information contained here again.

Communication

Each week you will receive a Compass notification that the edition of "From the Principal" has been published.  I generally keep these newsletters fairly short, and they are for the purposes of keeping parents and students informed.   Please read them, as they often contain important need-to-know material.   Past newsletters are available on our website www.sthelena.vic.edu.au

Our College has a 48 (working) hour response policy.  You should expect a response from teachers/education support staff within two working days of your email or voicemail.   Sometimes a staff member may be away ill or on a camp, or has simply missed your email, and does not reply.  In that case, please notify me via AskLeadership@sthelena.vic.edu.au and I will personally follow up for you and ensure you get a response.  Of course, if your matter needs attention straight away,  please telephone our office on 9438 8500 and let them know that your matter is urgent and they will ensure that your call is directed to someone who can respond appropriately.  

If you are unhappy with us for any reason, please do reach out.  We are always happy to receive constructive feedback and to work with you to resolve any issues.   We are human, and will not always get things right!    I just ask that your communications with our staff are respectful.   You can find our complaints process at www.sthelena.vic.edu.au under "Information" - "A-Z Policies".

You will find teacher email addresses via your child's Compass page.   Simply click on "email teachers" and there will be a list of your child's teachers and their email addresses.  The email will send directly from Compass.  If you wish to contact someone who does not teach your child, their email is their timetable initial, followed by @sthelena.vic.edu.au  

If you are unaware of the timetable initials, send your query via AskLeadership@sthelena.vic.edu.au and it will be directed for you.

AskLeadership@sthelena.vic.edu.au is a quick, direct line to my inbox.   Please use this if you wish to communicate with the leadership team.   The mailbox is checked daily, and your query will be directed to the appropriate person.   

IThelp@sthelena.vic.edu.au is the place to log any IT issues or queries.   This is a direct line to our IT team.  Students can also call into the IT help desk in the library.  

We do ask that students and parents recognise that school staff, like all other professions, have set work hours.   While most work well above the hours they are paid for,  please do not expect responses out of hours, on weekends, or on school holidays.   For urgent matters related to student wellbeing or safety, AskLeadership@sthelena.vic.edu.au is checked regularly and you will get a response if the matter clearly can't wait until the next business day.  

Building Works

Despite the best efforts of our builders, Covid labour shortages mean that our buildings are not ready for the beginning of the year.   The Department of Education has funded us to convert our new gymnasium into 8 temporary classrooms for the first few weeks of the year.   

Students, these will appear on your Compass schedule if you are timetabled in one.

Toilets

Most of the toilets in the College have now been refurbished.   While students should make an effort to use the facilities during breaks, there will inevitably be times they need to access the bathrooms during class time.   Teachers will only allow one student at a time out of the classroom, and will record the toilet break on Compass.  Students can access the toilet allocated to their mini school via their Compass card - swipe the unit on the outside of the toilet block.  Year 7 students will not have ID cards for the first few weeks and should go to the mini school who will give them a temporary card to access the toilet.

Any other student who has mislaid their card needs to go to the front office to access the first aid toilet.   New compass cards can be ordered via the student's Compass page.

Change of subjects

Senior school students wishing to change their subject will be given the opportunity after the first week or so of school.   Senior School will notify you of the process for requesting a subject change, which will depend largely on the impact on your other subjects, and whether there is room in the class you wish to move into.   Change of subject will not be considered on the basis of preferred teacher.  

Buses

Bus passes will be issued in the first couple of weeks of the year.   You will receive notification via Compass.  

Calendar

You will find important dates on your child's schedule on their Compass page.  

A general calendar will be published on the college website with key whole school dates.

Uniform

St Helena is a uniform school.  That means all students are expected to abide by the uniform policy, which has recently been reviewed.   Our uniform is flexible, comfortable and gender neutral.  Students may mix and match any items from the uniform policy.  The key things to remember are:

1.   Active wear MUST be worn for sport/PE, including appropriate runners.
2. Runners can only be worn with active wear, not with items from the academic range. 
3. Only the items listed in the uniform policy can be worn.
4. Any student who is  unable to wear correct uniform needs to bring a note to their mini school BEFORE SCHOOL to obtain a uniform pass.  Given the flexibility and range in our new uniform policy, this should be a rare event.  

Please see the Uniform Policy on our website www.sthelena.vic.edu.au "Information" "A-Z Policies" for further information.  

Morning Drop Off

Traffic is chaos outside of the college in the mornings.   I recommend that you drop  your child a couple of streets away and allow them to walk the last bit to school.   If you do use the drop off zone, be prepared for a bit of a traffic jam.

Parents and staff must not use the front driveway after 8.00 am.  This is where buses drop students, where bike riders access the college and where pedestrians come through the front gates.   It is not safe to have cars using the driveway as well.    Only parents needing to access the disabled parking spaces may use the driveway. 

Bikes

Students are encouraged to ride their bikes to school.   We currently do not have a lockable bike shed, although we are planning to construct one at the end of our building program.   Bike riders are asked to bring their bikes into the fully enclosed staff courtyard, accessed via the lower staffroom door near to the wellbeing centre.   Just bring your bike in and through the staff room.  I promise no one will bite you!  Your bike will be safe.  

Medical Conditions

If your child has a medical condition that is ongoing, it is important that we are aware of it.  Our First Aid manager will assist you in completing  a medical management plan that helps us meet your child's medical needs at school.

In particular, the Department of Education requires students to have a medical management plan if they are anaphylactic, epileptic or asthmatic.   Please contact Claire Waites via cws@sthelena.vic.edu.au  or on 9438 8500.

It is not possible to cover everything in this brief newsletter.   

Please let us know if you have questions  - I try to answer popular queries in my weekly newsletters.  

I look forward to seeing all our students back on Tuesday next week.   Frankie and Ash are very much looking forward to seeing you all too!   Over the holidays we celebrated Frankie's 1st birthday with a McDonalds Happy Meal, a ball pit, and a river swim.   Make sure you give her a Happy Birthday pat when you see her next week!  

Best wishes

KT