Important Information for Parents
Parent Payments
Accounts were sent home last week and parents are asked to attend to these as a matter of priority. Parent payments cover the cost of essential items for students. Students have been allocated their book packs and are using essential items in class every day. The school has paid for the purchase of these items and depends on parents to make their payments. If you agreed to a payment plan at the beginning of the year rather than paying upfront in February, your commitment to the payment plan would be very much appreciated. As always please do contact the office if you are experiencing any financial difficulties as we are able to offer assistance.
Student Absence from School
Please ensure that you notify the office or complete the absence / attendance details on COMPASS when your child is not at school. Notices advising parents of their child's non attendance at school were sent home last week. Parents have a legal obligation to notify the school of the reason why their child did not attend. You are able to complete the paper form and return to the school office or log on to COMPASS to provide your child's absence details. All families are asked to have their attendance information up to date by the end of August.
Student Illness
It is the time of year when the weather is cold and wet, heaters are on, people are sick and we have perfect conditions for us to share illness.
Families are reminded that students should not attend school if they are unwell. Students who are coughing and sneezing and full of phlegm are asked to stay home until well. In particular students who have been unwell with gastroenteritis are not to return to school until there has not been a loose bowel movement for 24hours. Please see the link to the school exclusion table.
Please be mindful of other students, staff and families and be aware that sending your unwell child to school often results in a cycle of many students and staff becoming ill. It is also highlighted to families that the Vanderland family is particularly susceptible to illnesses being brought home with life threatneing consequences for Elliot.
It is also timely to remind your children about good hygiene practices such as hand washing and covering mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing.
Attendance at school is important however if students are unwell they are unlikely to be able to concentrate and learn and highly likely to share their illness with other students and staff which then affects the attendance of many. Please do contact the office and let us know if your child is unwell.
Before & After
School Activities
There are a number of after school activities on offer this term. These have been arranged to provide further experiences for our children and to assist parents with child care. Parents are to book into these activities on a termly basis or on a casual basis.
- Term bookings are to be confirmed and paid for via COMPASS
- Casual bookings must be made at least the day before to ensure staff can be prepared
- Children who are not booked in will not be able to participate.
Term Three activities include:
Monday: Drumbeat or Cooking
Tuesday: Table Tennis
Wednesday: Science
Thursday: Art
Friday: Drumbeat or Cooking
All activities are $8.00 per session.
Compass bookings will close on Friday 3rd August.
Before School activities can be provided on a needs basis. Please book in at least the day before for this program.
Little Loch Lyrebirds
Play Group
Due to demand from our families we have started a playgroup at school. This is currently being held on a Thursday morning (day may change dependent on family needs) from 9.15am until 10.45am in the Kookaburra Room. There is no cost for this playgroup however all participating families will need to arrange from membership with Playgroup Victoria.
Working With Children Checks
Working With Children Check
On August 1st 2017 amendments were made to the Working with Children Act. The Act now states that even if a person’s contact with children as part of child-related work is supervised by another person, they will still need a Working with Children check.
Loch Primary School’s Working with Children Check policy states that we require any person undertaking volunteer work at our school to have a valid Working with Children check. This includes helping out in the classroom, participating in working bees, attending camps, accompanying classes on excursions, helping at disco’s etc.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
*If you are volunteering at Loch Primary School and already have a Working With Children Check can you please present it to the School Office where they will take a photocopy and your name will be added to the School register.
*If you don’t have a valid Working with Children check you can fill the form in online and lodge it at Australia Post. The link to the website is provided below for your convenience.
http://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/home/applications/apply+for+a+check/apply+in+victoria
Working With Children Checks are free for volunteers.
People who are exempt from holding a working with Children Check are:
- Student volunteers (e.g. work experience students)
- Registered Teachers who have a permission to teach from the Victorian Institute of Teaching
- Police Officers
- Visitors to the School (e.g. grandparents who visit the school for Grandparents Morning Teas, visitors who come to watch Assembly) The decision on which events require a Working with Children Check is made by the authority of the Principal.
Victorian Premiers Reading Challenge
The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and Loch Primary School is excited to be participating.
The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 7 September 2018.
Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.
All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and can choose to have their name included on the online Honour Roll. If you would like your child‘s name to appear on the Honour Roll, please sign the attached form and return it to your school.
To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklists and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: www.education.vic.gov.au/prc
Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge
TERM DATES
2018
Term 1: 29 January (school teachers start) to 29 March (Thursday) *
Term 2: 16 April to 29 June
Term 3: 16 July to 21 September
Term 4: 8 October to 21 December