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- IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL TIME!
- 2021 BOOK COLLECTION DAYS
- COVID SAFETY AND BOOK DAYS
- BOOKLISTS
- PAYMENTS, PLANS AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
- SCHOOL ASSOCIATION HOODIES AND HATS
- LOWES POP-UP UNIFORM SHOP
- STUDENT INFORMATION VALIDATION FORMS
- STUDENT MEDICATION 2021
- MEDICAL MANAGEMENT PLANS
- BACK TO SCHOOL ROAD SAFETY
- 2021 BUS TIMETABLES
- COMMONWEALTH - SCHOOL BANKING
- PLATES PLUS TASMANIA LAUNCH
Back to school (or BTS as we Back to School Nerds call it) is a busy time, full of forms and information, book covering, and updating personal details. This edition of our newsletter is your one stop spot for all of our BTS information in readiness for our Book Collection days next week.
So, please excuse us as we invade your holiday serenity and strap yourself in, get out your contact and book labels and read on for all of your 2021 BTS information.
Tuesday 19th January 2021 @ St Marys Campus Performing Arts Centre | 9.00am - 3.00pm | For students enrolled at both Fingal and St Marys |
Wednesday 20th January 2021 @ St Marys Campus Performing Arts Centre | 9.00am - 3.00pm | For students enrolled at St Marys Campus (and Fingal Campus by arrangement) |
Wednesday 20th January 2021 @ Fingal Campus | 8.00am - 12.00pm | For Students enrolled at Fingal Campus only |
Please allow time to complete your Annual Student Information Validation forms.
We really enjoy seeing our students and hearing about their holidays on book days, but this year, things will need to be a little different.
Where possible, we are asking parents to attend without their children to collect books and complete Information Validation Forms.
Entry will be into the PAC/Hall through the old foyer doors at St Marys Campus and through the main admin doors at Fingal Campus.
Remember to follow our COVID-19 procedures by using the hand sanitizer provided and keeping 1.5 meters apart. If we reach capacity for numbers inside, you will be asked to wait outside, wait in your car, or come back later if you live locally.
Do not bring your children into the building with you, unless you need to visit the Lowe's pop up uniform shop which will be located in the music room on Tuesday 19 January. Once you have made your uniform purchases, we ask that your children wait outside on the green and catch up with their friends, while you finish the validation process and collect your book packs.
When you have finished your BTS business, we ask that you leave through the designated exits which will be signposted at each campus and leave the school grounds immediately.
If you or your family members are sick, or are in self-quarantine after returning from a COVID-19 red zone, do not come in on book days, we will be happy to make other arrangements when you are well or out of isolation.
Please see below for copies of booklists for all grades, to assist you with your book covering needs.
All books and pens etc are included in your 2021 Composite Levy, so there is no need for you to to join the back to school rush in the stores.
PAYMENTS, PLANS AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Levies Invoicing
Christmas, School Holidays, School fees and Uniforms .... it is an expensive time of year for everyone. To support families, we will not be issuing Levy Invoices until after students start the school year (that's Feb 3rd for those who are interested). Once you receive your invoice, there are a variety of payment options available.
If you wish to confidentially discuss a payment plan that suits you, please make an appointment to see our School Business Manager, Mrs Lisa Bean.
Book Collection and Information Validation days are a little earlier this year:
- Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 January @ St Marys Campus for all enrolled students.
- Wednesday 20 January for students enrolled at Fingal Campus only.
You will not be required to pay for your book packs on these days.
Student Assistance Scheme (STAS)
Have your financial circumstances changed recently? Please take the time to look into the Department of Education, Tasmania's Student Assistance Scheme, which has changed for 2021, to support more families. If you have any questions, or need confidential assistance completing the paperwork, please contact the School Administration office on 0363723900.
The Department of Education recently announced that we would be expanding the Student Assistance Scheme for 2021.
Parents who have a current concession card as listed below can apply for dependent students for assistance under the STAS:
- Services Australia – Centrelink Health Care Card
- Service Australia – Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card
- Services Australia – Pensioner Concession Card or
- Department of Veteran Affairs – Pensioner Concession Card.
Please note that if you are already receiving student assistance you do not need to complete a form.
For 2021 a new on-line form has been developed to assist with processing applications for new applicants.
The online form can be completed here: https://stasonlinesubmission.education.tas.gov.au/
Once a validated form is completed the Department of Education will confirm the outcome of your application in writing, this process takes approximately 14 days.
We understand this online option may not be possible for all families, so if you require a hard copy form please contact our Administration office 0363723900, or stas@education.tas.gov.au or 1800 827 055.
SCHOOL ASSOCIATION HOODIES AND HATS
Limited numbers of school hoodies are available for purchase from our Administration Staff. Orders can also be made for delivery early in Term 1.
Hoodies are $35.00 each
All students were issued with school hats, donated by the SMDS School Association during Term 4 2020, if your child has lost their hat, replacements can be purchased from the book pack collection point for $11.00.
Kinder students, students entering Grade 7 from other schools and new enrolments will be issued with their hats at the beginning of Term 1 at no cost.
If you happen to be visiting the south of our State, our uniforms are always available from Lowes' Glenorchy Store.
In a hurry? you can order from the online shop 24/7 https://www.lowes.com.au/.../st-marys-district-school-st...
Please contact us if you have issues with the online store.
STUDENT INFORMATION VALIDATION FORMS
When collecting book packs on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 January, parents will be requested to complete the Student Information Validation form for their children. Please allow plenty of time for this.
Although the validation process is a bit tedious, it informs us of important things such as your child's medical conditions, who to contact in an emergency or a school closure, who can pick your child up if they are injured or fall ill when you are at work or out of town, where to send reports and other correspondence, how to contact you via email, SMS etc. The validation process also helps us complete emergency evacuation lists in case of flooding or fire, compile our bus lists so we know who goes where after school, who to call to pass on good news or congratulations, where to send Values cards plus a whole lot more.
To ensure accuracy of information, emergency contact details for students are removed each year. Please ensure you have the details of your emergency contacts with you on the day. It is important that you nominate at least two emergency contacts, in addition to enrolling parents, who are available and capable of acting in your place in case of an illness or an emergency.
Why do we ask parents about their education and employment?
The collection of education and employment details for parents of enrolled students assists with the funding of our school. The more accurate the data, the fairer funding we receive. All information is treated with the strictest confidence.
Your assistance with completing these forms on book days will ensure that our student information is up to date when they return to school on February 3rd.
Our staff will be available to assist you with the completion of paperwork.
The start of a new year is a good opportunity to remind our school community about the processes and expectations around student medication at school. Parent/legal guardians can assist the school in the administration of medication during school hours by following the guidelines below:
Non-Prescription Medication
- Administration of non-prescription medication (eg Panadol, Neuofen) MUST be authorised by a parent or guardian by using the DoE form: Authorisation for Administration of Student Medication Form A: Non-prescription Medication (available from the office).
- Parents must ensure the safe delivery of medication to the school.
- Medication must be in date and delivered to the school in original over the counter packaging only. If medications are expired, or not in the original containers, the school will NOT accept these medications.
Allergy Medications/EpiPens/Asthma Inhalers
- An Administration of Student Medication Form B – Prescribed Medication is completed by a doctor, pharmacist or practise nurse, and signed by the parent. Parents MUST ensure that the completed form is supplied to the school, or the school will NOT administer medication to the student.
- Provision of an Asthma or Anaphylaxis Action Plan completed by their medical practitioner before your child starts school or as soon as the condition is diagnosed.
- Safe transfer of the medication to school.
- Allergy Medications supplied to a school MUST be in date (not expired), and in the original containers or in a Webster-pak prepared by a pharmacist. If medications are expired, or not in the original containers or Webster-pak, schools MUST NOT accept these medications.
Prescription Medication
- For prescribed medication (eg antibiotics and other medications prescribed by a doctor), parents must ensure that an Administration of Student Medication Form B – Prescribed Medication (available from the office) is completed by a doctor, pharmacist or practise nurse, and signed by the parent. Parents MUST ensure that the completed form is supplied to the school, or the school will NOT administer medication to the student.
- Parents must ensure the safe delivery of medication to the school. Medication must not be sent to school with the student.
- Medications supplied to a school MUST be in date (not expired), and in the original containers or in a Webster-pak prepared by a pharmacist. If medications are expired, or not in the original containers or Webster-pak, the school will NOT accept these medications.
- The medical practitioner's specific prescribed instructions for administration must be on the pharmacist’s label, affixed to the medication container.
Schedule 8 Drugs (ADHD Medication)
- Parent/legal guardians must arrange for a medical practitioner’s authority to administer medication using Administration of Student Medication Form B – Prescribed Medication (available from the office). Parents MUST ensure that the completed form is supplied to the school, or the school will NOT administer medication to the student.
- The parent/legal guardian must deliver the medication to school in original container with medical practitioner’s instructions on the pharmacist’s label and any remaining medication is collected by the parent/legal guardian in the prescribed container.
- Medication must not be sent to school with the student.
- In general, the equivalent of one week of medication only should be delivered to the school at any one time.
An information guide containing the appropriate forms is available from the Department of Education's Website:
If you have recorded a medical condition on your child’s Enrolment or Information Validation form (for example, an allergy, food intolerence, anaphylaxis, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and other relevant medical conditions etc), in addition to the provision of a Medical Action Plan prepared by your Doctor, we will ask you to assist us in preparing a Medical Management Plan to support your child at school.
A Medical Management Plan contains information specific to your child regarding day to day management of an ongoing medical condition, including the administration of medication and medical care and support. Our First Aid team will assist you with this process. The information provided is collated onto a Department of Education Medical Management Plan document and kept at hand for your child.
Parents MUST ensure that a Medical Management Plan and/or Medical Action Plan is in place for students requiring ongoing medical management, and that this is communicated to the school annually.
Any students who currently have a Medical Management Plan will need to have an updated Plan for the commencement of school on the 3rd February, 2021. Your child's 2020 Medical Management Plan was mailed out with their Booklist and Levy information in December. Please review this and bring it to school with you when you come to collect your child's books. We will have staff available to assist you or answer any questions you may have about the plan.
If the management of your child’s medical condition changes throughout the year, please contact us so that we can update or modify the plan.
Please contact the School Administration Office for further assistance.
Please take the time to refresh your family's road safety skills with this information from the Metro Tasmania website.
Over one third of Tasmanian school aged children travel to and from school on a bus. Everyone has an important role in making bus travel safe, and so Metro has joined with the Department of State Growth, the Tasmanian Bus Association and the Road Safety Advisory Council to develop the Smart Stop initiative.
The Smart Stop initiative means working together to encourage children to:
STOP – LOOK – LISTEN – THINK
- Stop back from the kerb
- Look right, look left, then look right again.
- Listen for vehicles approaching
- Think where or not it is safe to cross.
Here are some more great road safety tips and advice:
- Slow down when nearing school buses and bus stops – it’s the law. A driver must not exceed 40 km/h within 50 metres of a bus displaying a school bus warning sign and/or warning light.
- We encourage you to supervise and hold your child’s hand when crossing the road or in car parks until your child reaches the age of 10.
- Remind children when disembarking the school bus to wait until the bus has departed before crossing the road, and not to ever enter the danger zone, located directly in front or behind the bus.
- Peer pressure from other children can put your child at risk, so make sure to tell your child not to be persuaded into unsafe behaviour around roads or vehicles.
- Research has found that a child is unable to gauge the speed or direction of a vehicle until the age of 12.
For more information and fun activities for everyone,
Head over to the Bus Safety Website to learn more about how to teach your child to be road smart.
School Banking is a fun, interactive and engaging way to help teach your child the importance of saving.
Children who deposit money into their Youthsaver account through School Banking will earn an exciting reward everytime they reach 10 deposits.
School Banking day is Tuesday.
This year there is a selection of rewards available from previous years to make sure you don’t miss out on the ones you wanted!
For every deposit made at school, students will receive a Dollarmites token. Once students have individually completed 10 deposits/ reached 10 tokens they can redeem them for a School Banking reward item.
The rewards available during 2021 are:
o Terry Denton’s Activity Book |
o Scented Stackable Highlighters |
o Mini Soccer Ball (size 2) |
o Icicle Slapband Ruler |
o Treetop Stationery Set |
o Snowy Origami Set |
o Treetop Handball |
o Water Skimming Bounce Ball |
o Tomato Seed Kit |
o Polar Pencils & Pencil Toppers |
o Emoji Wallet |
o Scratch Art Cards |
o Snakes & Ladders Game |
|
Getting involved in School Banking is easy!
All you need to get involved in the School Banking program is a Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account. You can open an account for your child in one of two ways:
- Online
Visit www.commbank.com.au/schoolbanking and click on the link to open a Youthsaver account.
- In branch
Visit a Commonwealth Bank branch with identification for yourself and your child, like a driver’s licence and birth certificate.
If your child has an existing Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account they can start banking straight away. They just need to bring their deposit in every week on School Banking day using their Dollarmites deposit wallet.
The Plates Plus: Safer driving for life campaign has been launched by the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport to highlight that the changes are about more than just getting your L and P plates, they’ll also enable new drivers to develop the lifelong knowledge and skills they need to ensure they, and the Tasmanian community, are safer on the road.
There are seven key elements to the new Plates Plus young driver safety campaign, all aligned with the specific safety enhancements being made to the licensing system.
- 80 logbook hours, including 15 at night. To help get the 80 hours in the learner stage, drivers will be able to:
- attend a Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) program and gain five hours for the learner logbook;
- get a one-hour lesson with a certified driving instructor and gain two hours for the learner logbook (capped at 10 lessons, totalling 20 hours’ credit); and
- get a free Keys2drive lesson funded by the Australian Government, plus a second free lesson funded by the Tasmanian Government.
- A single licence card for learner and provisional periods.
- New maximum speed limits of 90 km/h for learners and 100 km/h for P1 licence holders.
- A total ban on mobile phone use, including hands-free, for all learners and P1s.
- P1 drivers under 25 can carry no more than one peer passenger.
- New green P2 plates in the P2 stage.
- The new safer driver reward.
The campaign directs people to our newly created website platesplus.tas.gov.au to find further information.
We understand that some of the changes are not straightforward, particularly for those already in the licensing pathway, and that some people may be unsure of how they will be affected.
Letters were sent out to all novice licence holders in Tasmania early in October to explain the new requirements for their licensing stage, but we would appreciate your support to direct your clients or members of your community to the Plates Plus website if they are uncertain how the changes will affect them.
If you still need further clarification on any of the changes please get in contact with us by email at graduated.licensing.system@stategrowth.tas.gov.au.
NOTICEBOARD