Dear Families,

Welcome to all year 12 students and families in 2020!

The State Government announced recently that mobile phones will be banned in Victorian schools for students from the start of 2020. Schools have been directed to plan for the ban and at Catholic Regional College Sydenham we have been considering how we might respond to this decision. Catholic Regional College Sydenham will follow suit and students will not be permitted to have on their person or to access a mobile phone while they are in attendance at the College from the start of 2020. Provision is being made for security lock boxes to be installed in every classroom so that mobile phones can be secured each morning. This has necessitated a change to the College timetable which will also see a second Home Group occur at 3.25pm each day so that students can collect their phones before they depart. For those students who undertake a VET course on site that does not finish until 5.20pm or in the case of Hospitality later, the VET class break time will coincide with the end of day Home Group to allow students to collect their mobile phones and then place them in a lock box within their VET classroom when they go back in for class.

Students are not permitted to access their phones, have them on their body or to use a mobile phone during school hours or on site at the College during their timetabled day. When a student has completed the last timetabled class for the day and have collected their phone during the allocated time at the end of the day, then they may leave the site and use their phone. When staff see students with a mobile phone on their person from the start of 2020, staff have been instructed to confiscate the phone whereby they will place the item in a purpose designed pouch that features a fill in form so that staff can list who the owner of the phone is and when / how / why it was collected. Once placed in the pouch with the front proforma completed the staff member will be required to lodge the item with the front office as soon as is practicable so that the office staff can record receipt of the item and lock it away in a secure lock box.

When a phone is confiscated on a first occurrence then it will be taken until the end of that week. On the second occasion it will be the end of the term and a third or any further occasions would see the phone placed in a secure location for the remainder of the year. A parent will be required when the phone is to be picked up.

I urge all families to discuss with their children if mobile phones are really required by students when they attend school. We understand that some students will require a phone for a variety fo reasons including safety and transportation arrangements which is why provision is being made to accommodate these needs. If not really required though we would urge students not to bring the phone to school.

The following is the most up to date draft structure for the 2020 College timetable. Feedback on the proposed timetable model can be submitted to feedback@crcsydenham.net

Year 12 ATAR Results and Study Scores

VCE results will be available to students on Thursday 12 December 2019. The College will be open for students to come in and speak to a member of the Pathways (Careers) Team that morning for a short period of time. Staff will then be available to support students in making changes to VTAC preferences at the following times:

7:00am, Thursday 12 December 2019.

The College will contact the Dux and top achieving students that morning to both congratulate the students and to confirm that students are happy for the College to include their name in any school promotional items. Announcements will be made via our Social Media platforms on the day after 11am where permission has been granted to do so.

Pecks Road - Changes to Parking Restrictions

The Brimbank Council has advised the College that the restrictions to parking on Pecks Road will soon change. The area will include no parking and no stopping signs. The Council has provided a detailed explanation with regards the new areas. Families are urged to familiarise themselves with the rules listed below for the various restrictions. These restrictions will soon be applied to Pecks Road and will impact students who drive to school and families who drop off students to Emmaus and Catholic Regional College Sydenham.

Parent Information

Important Dates

VCAA- Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority

Free Budgeting Support for Parents

Pecks Road , drop off and pick up area - parking restrictions