Macedon Primary School Newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Welcome Back

I would like to welcome everyone to school this year and extend a warm welcome to our Foundation students and new families starting in other year groups.  It has been a thrill to walk through the classrooms this week and see everyone.  I am very happy with the smooth start to the year and look forward to an exciting year of teaching and learning.

Parent Teacher Evening and Parent information Sessions

On the 16th and 17th of February we will be holding our first round of parent teacher meetings in the afternoon and evening. There will be a small “get-to-know-you” form that we will distribute and encourage you to fill out and bring to your parent teacher meeting to share with your child’s teacher.   This form will support us to learn a little more about your child and family at the beginning of the year.

We will also be conducting parent information sessions on these nights to give you an overview of what to expect from the term one program for your child. These information sessions will run for 30min and will give you an opportunity to ask questions of our teaching teams. 

House Swimming Sports – Tomorrow

All the very best to our four houses for the swimming sports tomorrow.  We received news from Kyneton Aquatic Centre that parents are now allowed to visit and watch the swimming sports as spectators.  Good luck everyone. 

School Council – Notice of Election

We are holding an election to fill the vacant positions on the school council for 2021/2022.  There are three parent positions and one DET employee position that will be vacated by the end of February.  The school council is an important opportunity for parents and staff to become involved in the governance and support for the school.  The school council oversees the financial, facilities and programs such as the before and after school care program, the Macedon PS pine plantation and the Farmers’ market.  The school council supports the school to operate with strong governance and transparency.  There is no special prior knowledge or experience required for parents to be on school council and we encourage you to consider this option if you are interested.  The school council membership term is two years. Below is a timeline of the election process.

If you would like to nominate someone, or self-nominate, please fill in and submit your form to the front office by 4pm on Friday 19 February.  You can find the forms at the front office.

School Council Election Process and Timeline 2021

4 February - Yr 3 - Yr 6 Swimming Sports

16 & 17 February - Parent / teacher meetings

24 February - District Swimming (selected students)

26 February - Family Fun Night BBQ & Games from 5:00pm

8 March - Labour Day Public Holiday (no school)

24 March - House Cross Country - Tony Clarke

31st & 1 April - Year 1 and 2 camp

1 April - Last Day of Term 1 - 2:30pm dismissal

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 School's privacy policy. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/pages/schoolsprivacypolicy.aspx 

Please take time to remind yourself of the school's collection statement, found on our website. Collection Statement Primary School

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools' Privacy Policy - information for parents.

First Aid

We are in the process of updating all student details. As such, we request that all Anaphylaxis, Allergy and Asthma plans are updated (if needed) including a recent photo of your child, or Medication Authority Forms (for any other medication held at the school) are completed for 2021, and forwarded to the office no later than the end of next week. This will ensure we have the most up-to-date information possible. We also request all medications held for your child are in date.

 Insurance

A reminder for parents/guardians and staff that the Department of Education does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and it has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property.

Parents or guardians of students, who do not have student accident insurance, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs. Parents/guardians can purchase insurance policies from commercial insurers.

Camps, Sports, Excursion Fund (CSEF)

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps ensure that no student will miss out on the opportunity to join their classmates for important, educational and fun activities. School camps provide children with inspiring experiences in the great outdoors, excursions encourage a deeper understanding of how the world works and sports teach teamwork, discipline and leadership. All are part of a healthy curriculum. CSEF will be provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities. If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child. The annual CSEF amount per student is $125 for primary school students. Contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form. If you received CSEF last year, please note that you must complete a new CSEF Form for 2021 and return to the office by the end of February. 

Conveyance Allowance

Parents have primary responsibility for transporting their children to and from school. The Department of Education (DET) provides financial assistance in the form of a conveyance allowance to help families in rural and regional Victoria with the cost of transporting their children to their closest appropriate school. The conveyance allowance is a contribution towards transport costs and is not intended to cover the full cost of transporting children to and from school. The allowance is an acknowledgement of the often limited government-provided transport infrastructure available outside metropolitan Melbourne. A conveyance allowance is provided to a student on the basis of individual eligibility.

To receive a conveyance allowance individual students must meet all of the following criteria:

1.      Attend a school/campus located outside the Melbourne Urban Growth Boundary.

2.      Attend the closest appropriate school/campus. For students attending government schools, this will be the closest school appropriate to the age and gender of the student (e.g. primary, secondary, single sex).

3.      Reside 4.8km or more from the school (shortest practicable route calculated by school at time of application from the student’s home to the school attended).

4.      Be of school age (between five and 18-years-old at the time of application), and a resident of Victoria.

5.      Be enrolled and travelling to school three or more days per week.

Students’ circumstances can change during their school years (e.g. moving residence or changing schools). Change of circumstances affects eligibility and a new application must be submitted with each change of circumstance. If you are unsure if you are eligible for Conveyance Allowance please contact the office.

If you received Conveyance Allowance last year, please note that you must complete a new Conveyance Allowance Application Form for 2021 and return to the office ASAP.

Conveyance Allowance applications must be lodged in early March, therefore the Conveyance Allowance Application Forms must be received at the office no later than Friday 5th March 2021.

(No late applications can be accepted).

School Crossing

I have received a message from our friendly crossing guards about some unsafe crossing use.  Please make sure you are not parking over the crossing, or doing u-turns in front of the crossing.  Our ultimate goal is to keep our most precious little people safe.  Please do your bit by using the dedicated crossing and waiting for the guards to stop traffic and blow their whistle.  

Staff Carpark

The car park bays on Smith Street are reserved for staff carparking. Can parents please refrain from parking in these carparks during school pick up and drop off.

Book Club 

Welcome to the Scholastic Book Club for 2021! All book orders should be made through the Scholastic LOOP ordering system which can be found at www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP.  Please note that Macedon Primary School does not accept cash or cheque orders at the school.  The first catalogue was sent out this week and orders need to be completed by Friday 19th February.

Julie  and Emma

F/1TT - Archer C - For a positive start to grade one and his learning.

F/1MS - Roisin M - For being an excellent role model and leader in our classroom!

1KH - Hector M - For great in depth responses to our classroom discussions.

1/2KB - Edith P - For making such a positive start to the year.

2RG - Thomas D - For using the counting on strategy to add numbers.

3VW - Cooper B - For great effort with his symmetry drawing.

3VW - Arwen J - For fantastic input to class discussions.

3/4MS - Addi E - For concentrating and working beautifully in class.

3/4MS - Joseph C - For listening well in class and putting a lot of effort into his school work. Well done.

4CS - For a fantastic start to 2021!

6AB - Ciara R - For an outstanding approach to her leadership role as a sports captain.

6AB - Leo C - For being attentive and starting the year with joy.

6AB - Charlie H - For excellent leadership at the beginning of the year.

6AB - Charlie W - For an excellent attitude towards his learning. 

Our rates are: $15.00 for Before School Care (7:00am - 8:45am) and $22.00 for After School Care (3:30pm - 6:30pm). All you need to do is call the school 5426 1518 or email oshp@macedonps.vic.edu.au to book.  If the unexpected happens and a casual booking is required within 24 hours, please contact the school via phone, we cannot accept walk-ins after school.  Please note that enrolment forms need to be completed at least one business day before the first session of care.

Please pay through the school via Direct Deposit, using the following details (not BPay):

Account name: Macedon Primary School

BSB: 063-840

Account: 1003 4330

Vicki, Helen, Karen & Marie.