Effective communication
An important part of our College mission statement reads, “The College seeks to work together with parents and will endeavour to provide the human and practical resources …..” In a busy Prep to Year 12 school there is a lot we need to communicate with you about and likewise you have important information to communicate to us.
Email is the most effective form of communication we can use and it is our preferred method due to its immediacy, accuracy and efficiency. However, for email to work well, we rely on families supplying us with their correct email addresses. If you have not yet supplied us with your email address, please do so as a matter of urgency.
If you have supplied us with your email address but aren’t receiving correspondence that you know you should have (such as the fortnightly newsletter) then please check your spam folder and also ensure that your mailbox is not full. If you are still not receiving correspondence via email then please email [email protected] with your correct email address and we will double check our records and follow up on the problem until it is corrected. We have encountered a few problems with the process this year so appreciate your cooperation and patience.
Swimming Carnival
In a world where everything seems to change, some things do stay the same. On this note, I’d like to congratulate Ararat students for their outstanding efforts in once again winning the annual Swimming Carnival.
Even though Ararat took the prize, Zion and Sinai students did brilliantly and 45 records were smashed this year. You can read more about the event and see photos in the Sports’ section of the newsletter.
P and F Family Fun Day
Hopefully you have now seen the colourful posters around the College advertising the P and F Family Fun Day on Saturday 23 February between 11am and 3pm.
The P and F do a wonderful job of this event and it is always an enjoyable, relaxed day for all ages. I encourage you to come and meet some new families or catch up with ones you have met in previous years. The children have a terrific time and there are lots of planned activities for them.
For catering purposes, please RSVP to [email protected]
Bus Rolls
To speed up the efficiency of the buses and further facilitate the smooth flow of traffic at peak times, we will no longer be marking bus rolls. Glasshouse Country Coaches keep their own roll so a lot of what we have been doing is duplicate paperwork. We are in close contact with Glasshouse Country Coaches and any challenges that may arise can easily dealt with and managed.
Kiss and Go
I’ve spent some time observing the Kiss and Go in action lately and have been very impressed with how efficient it is when used properly. The dropping off and picking up of students from this area works seamlessly until someone breaks the rules and parks in this section for longer than the two minutes or leaves their car unattended altogether. It only takes one person to do this and our Kiss and Go zone is reduced by one third, making things difficult for everyone and dangerous for our students.
In the photo below the red line designates the Kiss and Go zone which ends just before the crossing. There are also signs either end of the zone in Roberts Road. Please remember that there is a two minute time limit between 8am and 9am and then again between 2.30pm and 3.30pm. During this time, drivers must not leave the car. If the student has not turned up during the two minute time limit, then the driver will need to depart the Kiss and Go lane and then rejoin at the back of the queue. Turning around can be done safely at the roundabouts.
