From our Principal

2023 @ Croydon SDS

It's been a wonderful start to the school year at CSDS, students are arriving at school with big smiles on their faces very excited to see their friends and staff.  Students have transitioned back smoothly and our new Foundation students are going exceptionally well in their first few days of school; already showing some good learning ready behaviours. 

School Review

This is our year of review.  It is an exciting time for Croydon SDS and an opportunity for the community to work together.  We will identify the highlights for Croydon SDS over the past few years whilst looking at the enablers and barriers which will help us set our direction for the next four years. 

We have planned a number of staff, student and parent forums for community voice opportunities.   We highly encourage and would value all parents and carers to take part of one of the parent forums, these are on Wednesday 8 March, 2-3pm (at school) and Thursday 9 March, 7:30-8:30pm (online).   Online meeting details will be provided in the next newsletter. 

School Council

NOTICE OF ELECTION AND CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

An election is to be conducted for parent members of the school council of Croydon SDS.

Nomination forms may be obtained from the school and must be lodged by 4.00 pm on Wednesday 22/02/2023.  The ballot will close at 4.00 pm on Wednesday  8/03/2023. 

If you would like to know further information about our school council, please come and see me. 

2023 Parent Payments

All families will soon receive an email outlining the 2023 Parent Payments.

We would like to thank all parents who have contributed towards the school already this year. 

If you have yet to contribute this year, we strongly encourage you to do so. 

Schools provide students with free instruction to fulfil the standard Victorian curriculum and we want to assure you that all contributions are voluntary. Nevertheless, the ongoing support of our families ensures that our school can offer the best possible education and support for our students. We want to thank you for all your support, whether that is through fundraising or volunteering your time. This has made a huge difference to our school and the programs we can offer.

Curriculum Contributions and other contributions are voluntary.  Your contributions assist us to enhance and broaden the educational experience for our students. The parent/carer contributions made by our community over many years has allowed us to enjoy the environment and resources that we have today.  This financial support ensures that we can continue to provide the excellent range of facilities and resources for your children. Your support in 2022 allowed us to:

• provide high quality programs and specific subject materials and equipment for English, Mathematics, Science, Art, Music, Inquiry, Language and PE
• maintain and develop the school grounds
• facilitate Literacy and Mathematics online digital subscriptions
• arrange for individual student supplies and class bulk supplies
• offer effective first aid for all students.
   

Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF)

Annual privacy reminder for our school community

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to read our school’s collection notice, found on our website.

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use the internet at CSDS and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child accessing online platforms, please contact the school.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Dari
• Gujarati
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese

Supports:

Start of Year

Back to school is an exciting time for students and families. It can be a big step – particularly for those starting at school. 

For advice in multiple languages on how parents can help their child have a positive start to school, refer to Tips for starting school.

Help with school costs

If you are having difficulty with school costs. Programs like Affordable School Uniforms and the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund can help with the cost of school uniforms and other essential school items as well as school activities for eligible students.

For more information for parents, refer to Help with school costs and fees.

Health and wellbeing

The department’s mental and wellbeing health toolkit offers guidance to help support your child’s mental health and wellbeing at home, and advice on working with your school and seeking help if they have concerns.

What to expect at school

At Croydon CSDS, we know a close partnership between school and home has positive student learning outcome.  We look forward to working with all parents through daily communication books, SSG meetings and various other ways, including community events throughout the year.  Please see  Building a positive relationship with your child's school for suggestions on how you can be involved at school.