Terms 4 and 1 are SunSmart terms.

Just a reminder to families and students, Term 4 ( and Term 1 next year) are SunSmart term. That means all students in the schoolyard must wear a broad-brimmed hat during recess, lunch, and when working or playing outside.

We encourage all families to label the hats - we do not share hats for hygiene reasons.

Students who do not have a hat will need to play under the covered areas.

https://www.rhuniforms.com.au/subproduct/school_wear/kalinda_ps/hats

Attendance matters.

In accordance with the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic), schooling is compulsory for children and young people aged from 6 to 17 years unless an exemption has been granted.

Parents/carers must enroll a child of compulsory school age at a registered school and ensure the child attends school at all times when the school is open for instruction.

Students are expected to attend the school in which they are enrolled, during normal school hours every day of each term, unless:

there is an approved exemption from school attendance or attendance and enrolment for the student, or
the student is registered for homeschooling and has only a partial enrolment in a school for particular activities.

Schools must advise parents/carers of unexplained absences, on the same day, as soon as practicable, including for post-compulsory aged students.

We use Compass attendance to record this at Kalinda Primary School.

In the coming weeks, we will be sending home letters in an effort to allow families the opportunity to explain or alter their unexplained absences.

Please take the time to look at and alter online, or sign and return the reports.

DET Scholarships

Scholarships support students and families to assist with the cost of education and engagement in further study at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.

Scholarships are available for students:

studying in Victoria and who are citizens or permanent residents of Australia
enrolled in Years 4-11
enrolled in Year 12 who plan on undertaking tertiary studies.

Scholarships are awarded to students who can demonstrate:

excellent academic achievement
participation in school and local community activities
financial need as determined by the parent or carer receiving a Centrelink income support payment, or the student themselves receiving the Youth Allowance.

For more information including how to apply please go to this link: https://www.vic.gov.au/student-scholarships

Change of parent or student details

Student Resource Funding is determined by parent codes taken from the self-nominated category on student enrolment forms. This means that funds from the Government are taken from the Parent Occupations. We take this opportunity to remind families to advise the school of any changes to employment. As always, any information is confidential.

In the case of an emergency, we will attempt to contact parents, and if there is no response, then we move to the emergency contacts.

It is important that the office has the most current and correct contact details for any parent, to help ensure this will happen.

Please take this time to check your details on Compass, and if you find them incorrect, email the office at kalinda.ps@education.vic.gov.au and we can amend these for you.

Financial Assistance.

Below is information for any family, or a individual who may need financial assistance.

Victorian Government assistance programs

CSEF applications are submitted by schools. The program provides capped payments for eligible students to attend camps, sports, and excursions. You require a current health care card to apply. Please contact the office, with your card for an application form
State School Relief applications are submitted by schools. The program covers costs such as new school uniforms, shoes, books, and more for disadvantaged students. Please contact the office for assistance.
Student scholarships are available from DET. The Department of Education and Training manages over 25 student scholarship programs, that are awarded for a range of reasons including academic achievement, participation in the school and local community, or financial need.

Commonwealth family assistance

The Australian Government provides a range of payments and services to help families look after their children’s health, education, and other family issues.

Centrelink’s Parent Payment Finder takes families through what payments and service they can be eligible for. Some of these payments and services include:
Child Care Subsidy which provides help for eligible families with the cost of outside school hours care, vacation care and registered care.
Family Tax Benefits, A or B, or Parenting Payments.
Youth Allowance, Newstart Allowance or ABSTUDY which provide help for young people between 15 and 24 years of age. These payments provide financial support while young people are looking for work, studying, training or undertaking an Australian Apprenticeship.
Health Care Card which provides help with the cost of prescription medicine under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Commonwealth-funded medical services, and access to state, territory, and local government concessions.

Community Assistance

A Start in Life is an Australian charity that provides a range of assistance, including financial assistance, to disadvantaged students from kindergarten through to tertiary studies.
Good Shepherd Australia provides affordable financial programs, including the No Interest Loans (NILs) scheme , for people on low or limited incomes that may assist families to afford educational costs and other expenses.
Saver Plus is an initiative of Brotherhood of St Laurence and ANZ that assists families on lower incomes. The program matches family savings up to $500 for education-related costs.
St Vincent de Paul offers a range of assistance including food or food vouchers, clothing, furniture, budget support, back-to-school costs, information and advocacy.
The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program provides financial support, guidance, and mentoring for disadvantaged students. The Smith Family works with a select number of schools and may require a referral from the school principal.
Travellers Aid Australia’s Pathways to Education program provides student travel passes to eligible secondary school students experiencing financial difficulties, enabling them to travel to school or other forms of training and education.

Websites with Victorian community services information

The Ardoch School Costs Guide lists support options that provide financial assistance to families and reduce school costs.
Crisis Referral Information System (CRIS) Online Directory provides information for people seeking welfare assistance, advice and general referral and support. The online directory contains comprehensive information on services and organisations such as those providing support in respect to accommodation, domestic violence, drug and alcohol treatment, health, material aid and mental health.
Community Information and Support Victoria (CISVic) is a peak body representing local community information and support services that assist people experiencing personal and financial difficulties.
Infoxchange Service Seeker is a search site for community support services.

This information is taken from the Department of Education site.

Please be assured all enquires are confidential and will be assisted in a professional manner. Please do not hesitate to contact the office on 9876 3289 or email kalinda.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Fire Rating System in Victoria

The AFDRS is a nationally consistent system.

Previously, Victoria used a 6-tier system for fire danger ratings, from ‘Low-moderate’ to ‘Code Red’.

The AFDRS will use 4 tiers of fire danger, from ‘Moderate’ to ‘Catastrophic’.

The AFDRS will more accurately predict fire danger and produce clearer, simplified messages for communities.

The new Fire Danger Ratings

There are four levels of fire danger in the new system:

Moderate - Plan and prepare
High - Be ready to act
Extreme - Take action now to protect your life and property
Catastrophic - For your survival, leave bushfire risk areas

Fire Danger Ratings will be issued on days when there is a fire risk.

Each fire danger rating will have a clear set of messages including the actions the community can take to reduce their risk.

Ratings are forecast using Bureau of Meteorology data for up to four days in advance, based on weather and other environmental conditions such as vegetation.

The rating is your trigger to take action to stay safe.

Find out more

For more detailed information, check out the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities (AFAC) website and FAQs, or Prepare and Get Ready - VicEmergency

CFA fire ready

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