St Mary MacKillop College Newsletter

START OF YEAR REMINDERS

Child Safety

St Mary MacKillop College is a Child Safe and OHS compliant school. This means that all visitors, volunteers and contractors must sign into the school at the Front Office, wear a visitor sticker whilst on the school grounds, and sign out on leaving.

 

It is important that we keep all of the members of our school safe, and appreciate your support in following this procedure.

 

We discourage parents/guardians from meeting students at the front gate or fence, or any other area around the school to deliver forgotten equipment or lunches.  Please come into the Front Office and we will gladly ensure that the items are delivered safely to your child.

 

Australian Democratic Principles Statement

At St Mary MacKillop College we are thankful that we are able to prosper under the principles and practices of a democratic nation and the policy frameworks of both its Federal and State Governments.

 

We acknowledge that we have the freedom to pursue our religious beliefs and to follow a religious worldwide view that is founded upon those beliefs.

 

We honour and commit to the fundamental freedoms of speech and association for all Australians so long as those freedoms are not used to subvert the rule of law.

 

We accept the right of our elected Government and their officers to prescribe certain conditions pertaining to the programs and teaching practices of schools, provided those conditions do not diminish or remove our right to teach in a manner consistent with our declared religious beliefs around which our College operates.

 

We acknowledge that all persons are entitled to be treated equally before the law and, as far as it lies within our capacity to do so, we will endeavour to treat the members of our community with equity and fairness.

 

We are committed to living in peace with our fellow Australians irrespective of differences in faith, race or culture. We are committed to the social value of respect for all persons.

 

The ‘Education and Reform Act 2006’ requires all education providers to operate in a manner consistent with this set of Australian democratic principles.

 

In accordance with the Act we will deliver our programs and teaching in a manner that supports and promotes the principles and practice of Australian democracy.

 

This includes a commitment to:

  • Elected government
  • The rule of law
  • Equal rights for all before the law
  • Freedom of religion
  • Freedom of speech and association
  • The values of openness and tolerance

The following processes and resources assist our school to support and promote the principles and practice of Australian democracy in our programs and teaching:

  1. School review and principal review processes require our school to present a published vision and mission statement based on the mission or purpose of a Catholic school. By the very nature of Catholic schools, which seek to develop the whole person and to assist students to become active members of the Catholic Church and contributors to the common good of society, these statements acknowledge Australian democratic values.
  2. Our school displays a poster of democratic values as required by the Australian Government within the school.
  3. The Civics and Citizenship domain of the Victorian Curriculum, which are required to be taught in all Catholic schools, provide students with knowledge, skills and opportunities to understand and practise what it means to be a citizen in a democracy. All students are required to work through the two dimensions of the Civics and Citizen domain:
  • Civic knowledge and understanding
  • Community engagement

 

Allergy Awareness

St Mary MacKillop College has enrolled a number of students who could potentially have an anaphylactic reaction to nuts, therefore we would prefer that nut products are not brought into the school. 

 

Students that require an Epipen as part of their anaphylaxis treatment plan must have provided an Epipen to the school, with the students’ name clearly marked on the Epipen.

 

Asthma is also considered an allergy and parents need to ensure that the school has been provided with an up to date Asthma Plan.  Phone calls home will be made in the coming weeks to parents of students that have been identified as having Asthma, that have not yet provided a plan to the school. 

 

School Injuries and Insurance

Please note that Parents, Guardians and Carers are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs. We would encourage families to obtain their own health insurance or personal accident insurance, to be covered if a serious injury were to occur.

 

In the event of an injury at school, or a school event, an ambulance will be called if deemed necessary by the staff members in charge.  Please ensure that you have current ambulance cover as the cost of an ambulance, if called, is the responsibility of the Parents, Guardians or Carers.

 

Please Keep Your Records Up To Date

If you have moved through the holidays, or changed your phone number or email address please contact the Front Office on 5032 9771 or email office@mackillopsh.vic.edu.au to update your records. 

 

Annual Privacy Reminder

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 remind yourself of the school’s collection statement, found on our website https://smmc.vic.edu.au/our-community/policies/. 

 

For more information about privacy, please see our Privacy Policy, also available online at https://smmc.vic.edu.au/our-community/policies/.