Messages for students
If you need to get a message to your child, please ensure you call the office prior to 3:15pm. The end of the school day is very busy in the office and we are not always able to leave the office to locate children and give them the message.
Separated Parents' contact details
A form titled “ALTERNATIVE FAMILY DETAILS” is available which is specifically for parents of students who do not reside together. By completing this form, address and phone details for both parents are able to be listed on our database.
If you would like a copy of this form to complete or to make further, strictly confidential enquiries, please contact the school office.
Parent payment invoices
Parent payment invoices were sent home with the eldest student in the family yesterday. Preferred payment method of these accounts is BPAY or QKR! Each family has its own BPAY code which is printed on the invoice.
If you are experiencing financial difficulties, we encourage you to speak with Matthew Forrest or Julie Stein-Reeves to discuss alternative arrangements.
Accounts with outstanding amounts are issued once per term.
Absence Notifications
If your child is late or absent from school without explanation from parents, an SMS will be sent to Adult A at around 10.15am. Please respond to the SMS promptly. Please note the following:
If your child is LATE FOR SCHOOL, a parent must accompany the child to the office when you arrive, sign your child in the Early Leavers/Late Arrival book and take a “Late Pass” for your child to hand to their teacher. Rolls are marked promptly at 9am. If the music has finished and your child is not yet in class, they have probably missed the roll.
If your child will be ABSENT FROM SCHOOL, we ask that you either:
- Log onto Skoolbag and record the absence
- Phone the school on 5426 1518 and leave a message on the absence voicemail; or
- Send an email to the school’s email address; macedon.ps@education.vic.gov.au
If you need to take your child EARLY FROM SCHOOL we ask that you:
- Call or email the office to advise what time you will be collecting your child so we can have them ready at the office.
- come to the office to sign your child out.
Working With Children Checks
All parents, carers and other visitors to Macedon Primary require a current Working With Children’s Check to volunteer at the school. To apply for a volunteer WWCC you simply log on to
https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/ (its free!)
If you have a current WWCC or VIT and have not advised the office, please bring your card into the office to have it photocopied or simply take a photo of the card and email it to the office at macedon.ps@education.vic.gov.au
If parents do not have a current working with children check, they cannot attend camps/excursions.
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
