Dear families,

Another fortnight has flown by as winter has descended upon us! Our students at the Alpine School are embracing living in a winter wonderland this week after substantial snow falls changed their terrain from one suitable for mountain bike riding to having to learn to ski cross country to venture outdoors. We have been providing updates on our Facebook page to our community by sharing the Alpine School page. Our adventurers thoroughly enjoyed catching up with their families last weekend whilst marking the halfway point of their adventure. They are in the process of developing a community project and will meet with the leadership team to discuss their proposal in the coming weeks. Mr. Sperling has submitted an application for a group of students from our 2023, Year 9 cohort to experience the Alpine environment in term 1 next year.

INAUGURAL SNOW CAMP

Senior students will have the opportunity to attend the inaugural snow camp from August 17th to 19th. The campers will travel to Mt Buller by bus, and stay in Mansfield, experiencing two days of skiing before returning home. Details, bookings and costings are currently being finalised by Mr. Guthridge and will be distributed via compass to families today. Planning of the camp has been underway for the past two years however covid and lockdowns restricted our ability to offer the experience earlier. I am sure this will become another much anticipated event on the college calendar for years to come.

YEAR 3 URBAN CAMP

Year 3 students will be heading into central Melbourne for their annual city experience and overnight camp early in term 3. Mrs Zaslona is overseeing the planning of the event which will run from the 4th to the 5th of August. Students will be travelling via train and tram visiting the Melbourne Zoo, Bounce in Essendon Fields, the Queen Victoria Market, and the Sea Life Aquarium. NOTE: All participants will require a waterproof raincoat for this camping experience which are currently in stock in Target and Big W ($15 - $20). Weatherproof shoes are also recommended as our students have experienced flooding at the zoo on previous excursions, again these are currently in stock.

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE DAY – PUPIL FREE

A reminder: A Professional Practice Day for all staff is being held on TUESDAY 14TH JUNE, immediately following the Queens Birthday weekend. This is a PUPIL FREE DAY and no classes will be running. Our out of school hours care provider is offering a program for students in the primary school. Bookings need to be made via the EXTEND website.

ANNUAL REPORT

The annual report to the school community will be presented to the college council and school community Tuesday 7th June at 5:30pm prior to the commencement of the college council meeting. All interested parents / guardians are welcome. The meeting will be held in the staffroom.

PREP ENROLMENTS

Prep enrolments are now open for 2023, I encourage families who have siblings currently enrolled at the college to see Racheal in administration to finalise their enrolment prior to the end of term. Steps To Prep dates are being finalised and will be released shortly and we need all future students.

CAPITAL WORKS UPDATE

Capital Works stage 2 is now well underway within the administration building with walls being removed, beams added, and a range of demolition works having been completed. We are hoping to move back mid-August if the works remain on schedule.

NEW CANTEEN BALUSTRADE

We are installing a new balustrade at the canteen. This will reduce congestion at the canteen counter during key periods and provide clear entry and exit points for our students.

ATTENDANCE – EVERY DAY COUNTS – OUR GOAL IS 95% attendance and we need your support.

Families we need your support to ensure your child is attending school every single day. School absenteeism and truancy can impact significantly on students' learning and wellbeing. Our students have experienced two years of disrupted education and during this period some developed irregular sleep habits which has impacted school attendance. Many of these students are now in the habit of missing days of school on a regular basis. It is time to work together in partnership to ensure your child knows the importance of attending school every day.

Where does your child’s attendance sit? This information is available on compass.

From next week, staff will send alerts to families as their children’s attendance reaches certain thresholds. These notifications will serve as an additional safeguard to help families see the cumulative impact of the various reasons for absence over time. Where attendance falls to a critical level, regardless of reason, meetings may be required to plan for improvement and catch up on any learning deficit that may have resulted. We are committed to seeing our students succeed.

Our current attendance levels are outlined below:

Absent days	Prep to 6	Year 7	Year 8	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11	Year 12
0.5 – 10 days	69%	70%	66%	43%	53%	73%	64%
10 – 19 days	22%	25%	21%	31%	27%	7%	30%
20 – 29 days	6%	5%	8%	16%	14%	5%	3%
30+ days	4%	0%	5%	10%	16%	10%	3%

Research shows that, higher student attendance is associated, on average, with higher student achievement. Additionally, attending school every day helps children to build social and emotional skills such as communication, teamwork and resilience.

Under the law, you must make sure your child is enrolled and attends school on all school days unless there is a reasonable excuse. Schools must monitor attendance of students and follow up with parents and caregivers any unexplained absences.

If your child does not want to go to school, or is missing school without you knowing, contact your school immediately for assistance and support.

Schools will:

monitor student attendance
notify you if your child has an unexplained absence as soon as practicable on the day of your child's absence and continue to follow-up with you as practicable
use effective teaching strategies to engage your child in learning
help you with strategies to encourage your child to go to school
provide support for families.

Did you know?

Missing one day of school each week adds up to 2 months missed over a year.
Regular school attendance increases access to learning, helps maintain friendships, and results in better long-term life outcomes

OUR GOAL IS 95% attendance and we need you to help!

Why it’s important!

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day. If students miss school regularly, they miss out on learning the fundamental skills that will set them up for success in the later years of school. There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes. Each missed day is associated with progressively lower achievement in numeracy, writing and reading.

Getting in early

Attendance patterns are established early – a child regularly missing days in kindergarten or in the early years of school will often continue to miss classes in the later years, and receive lower test scores than their classmates. It’s vital that students go to school every day – even in the early years of primary school.

What we can do?

The main reasons for absence are: Sickness – There are always times when students need to miss school, such as when they’re ill. It’s vital that they’re only away on the days they are genuinely sick, and setting good sleep patterns, eating well and exercising regularly can make a big difference. It's vital that holidays are planned during school holidays where possible, and not during the term if it can be avoided. “Day off” – Think twice before letting your child have a “day off” as they could fall behind their classmates – every day counts.

Truancy – This is when students choose not to go to school without their parent’s permission. There can be many reasons for truancy. The best way to address this is for schools and parents to work together.

If for any reason your child must miss school, there are things you can do with your school to ensure they don’t fall behind:

• Speak with your classroom teacher and find out what work your child needs to do to keep up.

• Develop an absence learning plan with your teacher and ensure your child completes the plan.

Remember, every day counts. If your child must miss school, speak with your classroom teacher as early as possible. Openly communicating with your child's school about all absences is a good way to prevent attendance issues being escalated to a School Attendance Officer. A School Attendance Officer is a Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Regional Director who has authority to follow up attendance issues. Attendance issues that are escalated can lead to an Infringement Notice. If you’re having attendance issues with your child, please let your classroom teacher know so we can work together to get your child to school every day.

For more information and resources to help address attendance issues, visit:

www.education.vic.gov.au/school/parents

Julie Krause

Principal

Altona College Newsletter

Innovation - Integrity - RespectAltona College is a child safe school

Issue 8 · 03 Jun 2022

In this issue

Innovation - Integrity - Respect
Altona College is a child safe school