It is compulsory for a child over the age of six to attend school and it is a Department of Education regulation that written or verbal reasons are provided to the school staff in the case that their child is absent. We want to know that every child who has left home for school arrives here safely. We follow up unexplained absences daily by phone.

Our office is managed by Lauren Bills and Jenny Bowler who ensure the needs of The Education Department, our staff, students, and parents are met.

Anaphylaxis is a severe and sudden allergic reaction when a person is exposed to an allergen. Common allergens for children include eggs, peanuts, tree nuts such as cashews, cow’s milk, fish and shellfish, wheat, soy, insect stings and medications.  If your child has an allergy, please make sure you fill in the form in your enrolment pack to inform us.  We also appreciate your consideration of other children who may have allergies when packing your child’s lunchbox. We are a cashew free school.

In the case of an emergency, it may be necessary to call an ambulance to transport your child to hospital. The cost of the ambulance transport would be your family’s responsibility as the school does not cover this cost. We strongly advise you take out ambulance insurance to ensure that you are covered should such an incident occur. 

Whole school assemblies will be held in the multi-purpose hall on Friday afternoons at 3:00pm. Parents and community members are welcome to join us in singing our national song, sharing news and celebrating achievements at this time.

Parents who have students with asthma conditions must fill in the Asthma Management form provided with your enrolment pack.

Students can ride to school and place their bike/scooter/skateboard in the bike shed. This is locked at 9:15am and reopened at 3:15pm. Helmets are compulsory. Students who arrive without a helmet will not be permitted to ride home. For safety reasons all riders are asked to walk their bike, scooter or skateboard between the bike shed and the end of the Ashley Street drop off zone.

Class requisites are provided to students direct from the school.  These items are in the classroom ready for the first day of school.  Any students who arrive at Paynesville PS after this time, will be provided with the required items.

Our school car park can get very busy before and after school. We ask families to ensure that they are accompanying children to and from the car if they choose to park in the school car park. We are very conscious of the fact that students can be smaller than the vehicles' windows and drivers may not be able to always see if children are behind cars / 4WDs when reversing.

Paynesville Primary School delivers programs based on the Victorian Curriculum, which is the curriculum for Victorian schools. The Victorian Curriculum incorporates the Australian Curriculum and reflects Victorian standards and priorities. Visit our Curriculum page for further information.

In conjunction with Victoria Police, Paynesville Primary School educates students about the risks involved and the consequences of inappropriate or illegal activity online.

We recommend that children arrive at school at 8:45am in order for daily tasks to be completed before the class commences. These tasks include handing in daily reading diary, handing in weekly home learning, preparing equipment for the day, changing readers, giving and/or receiving feedback from teachers and greeting friends.

Session 1:        9:00am to 11:00am

Recess:                 11:00am to 11:30am

Session 2:        11:30am to 1:30pm

Lunch:                    1:30pm to 2:30pm

Session 3:         2.30pm to 3.30pm

See our Bell Times page for further details.

When children are arriving or leaving school outside regular hours, please sign the book located on the front counter at the office. It is a DEECD requirement that we know where all students are at all times.

Excursions and camps are a very important part of our whole school program. 

Grade 6:   Melbourne Urban camp

Grade 5:   Bicycle Camp to Nowa Nowa 

Grades 3 & 4:  Coonawarra or Coolamatong (alternating years)

Grade 2:  Overnight sleepover in the school library

Assistance for the cost of school camps is available through the government subsidised CSEF (school camp and excursion fund). See Jenny or Lauren in the office for further details.

Camps and excursions form a very important part of the school program. It is important that all students participate as these activities are usually organised to supplement or enhance class programs with class work being done before and after the event.

All excursions and camps are pre-approved by School Council. You will be notified of planned excursions via the newsletter and special permission is still required for excursions further afield. Normally students will be transported by bus, but should we need to use cars, you will be notified of the driver and asked to sign a separate permission form. In some cases, where only a small number of students are involved, we may seek your help in finding transport for your child.

We aim to provide you with as much up front information about proposed camps and excursions, so you will be provided with a full list of the camps on your child’s booklist. You will have the option of paying for these camps at the beginning of the year, or a pay as you go plan.

Please do not hesitate to contact us or come and have a chat if you need any assistance.

Our fundraising committee is driven by volunteers who have done a fantastic job raising money for various projects around our school. Keep an eye on the newsletter for the next project.

If you have any ideas for fundraising or you can help out in this area please contact us and let us know.

Responsibilities for managing head lice are shared between parents, care givers, schools and principals. Parents/care givers have a primary responsibility for detection and treatment of head lice. For further information regarding the management of head lice please visit the Head Lice page on the Victoria Education and Training website.

Soft drink, lollies and chocolates are not permitted at school.

Primary responsibility for the prevention and control of infectious diseases lies with individuals, families and public health authorities; however schools also have an important role to play. Schools can support the prevention and control of transmission of infectious diseases by supporting immunisation programs, providing prompt and consistent response to detected or suspected cases of disease. 

Schools are not expected to give expert advice or treat students, which is the role of medical practitioners and health authorities as appropriate. Some diseases include exclusion from school for a period of time. Schools must be aware of, and abide by, exclusion requirements during an outbreak of an infectious disease. For detailed information on exclusion, see the Department of Health’s website: Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Surveillance (IDEAS).

Whilst we encourage students to have minimal absences, sometimes students develop illnesses that have certain guidelines attached. These exclusions are based on advice from Department of Health Victoria. A list of exclusions can be found on the Department of Health Victoria's website. 

The most common illnesses that affect school students are:

Chicken Pox – Exclude patient until all blisters have dried. This is usually at least 5 days after the rash appears in unimmunised children, but may be less in previously immunised children. Exclusion period for contacts (e.g. siblings or parents).

Immune Deficiency – Any child with an immune deficiency (for example, leukaemia) or receiving chemotherapy should be excluded for their own protection. Otherwise not excluded.

Diarrhoea – Exclude patient until there has not been a loose bowel motion for 24 hours. Exclusion period for contacts (eg: siblings or parents) - not excluded.

We just ask that families be mindful of ill children and to follow their doctor's advice.

Each week, each class has a scheduled time in the library, where students can learn about books, listen to stories and borrow books to take home. Students can borrow up to 2 books per week and they are expected to take care of the books and return items on time.

Each child will be given a menu during the first week of school. Our canteen is an outsourced service operated by local chef Ian Pearson. Food is varied each season and is offered in accordance with the Department of Education’s School Canteen Guidelines.

Lunch Orders are available on Friday's only.

See our Canteen page for further information or to download the latest menu/price list.

Children’s Illnesses

The best place for students who are ill is at home. If your child is sick, please keep him/her comfortable at home.

Whilst we encourage students to have minimal absences, sometimes students develop illnesses that have certain guidelines attached. These exclusions are based on advice from Department of Health Victoria. A list of exclusions can be found on the Department of Health Victoria's website. 

The most common illnesses that affect school students are:

Chicken Pox – Exclude patient until all blisters have dried. This is usually at least 5 days after the rash appears in unimmunised children, but may be less in previously immunised children. Exclusion period for contacts (e.g. siblings or parents).

Immune Deficiency – Any child with an immune deficiency (for example, leukaemia) or receiving chemotherapy should be excluded for their own protection. Otherwise not excluded.

Diarrhoea – Exclude patient until there has not been a loose bowel motion for 24 hours. Exclusion period for contacts (eg: siblings or parents) - not excluded.

We just ask that families be mindful of ill children and to follow their doctor's advice.

Medication 

Should your child require medication to be administered at school on a regular basis or occasionally, parents must complete the form “Authority to Administer Medication”, and medication must be clearly labelled with the child’s name, dosage and time medication is to be given. Medication cannot be administered without written authorisation form caregivers

Asthma suffers on medication must provide the school with an emergency supply, as well as having their own supply on hand at all times. Please make sure a current asthma information plan is completed for your child. 

Epipens should be clearly labelled and discussed with your child’s teacher. 

The school produces a newsletter fortnightly on a Thursday. This includes news from the previous week's, as well as up and coming events. The newsletter is distributed via email and through 'UEducateUs' app.  A printed copy is available for families at the office. Please contact us or register at the Office if you would like to be on our Newsletter emailing list so you never miss a copy.

You can also download the latest Newsletter, as well as previous versions of our Newsletter, direct from our Newsletters page.

Each year a randomly selected group of families is invited to participate in the annual parent opinion survey. For our sized school it works out to be about 40 families. The survey seeks opinions about all aspects of the school and families are asked to respond based on their experiences. The surveys are completed online. The data is collected and collated by an outside company with results coming to the school and to the Department of Education.

From time to time there will be days when students are not required at school. On these days staff undertakes professional development, write reports and are involved in whole school planning. We endeavour to give parents as much notice as possible.

The School Council is a group that oversees the governance of the school in accordance with the Department of Education’s regulations. Council consists of community members, staff and parents. Please contact us and let us know if you would like to be involved. 

Broad brimmed hats are provided to each new Prep student. Other students may purchase a school hat from the office. These hats are worn every time the student is outside during Term 1 and Term 4. We recommend students come to school with sunscreen on during these two terms. Sunscreen can be provided by parents and kept in student bags if extra protection is required.

We all know how exciting it is to have a new toy or game. Some children may want to bring it to show friends, but school can be a rough place for toys and special belongings. We recommend that toys and personal items may be brought for show and tell, but left in school bags and saved for use at home. We cannot guarantee that the items will be safe and returned in one piece.

Mobile phones are held in the Office for the duration of the school day and returned to students at 3.30pm. These items are placed in individually named storage bags for safe keeping.

Any money should be sent in a purse or wallet for safe keeping.

Paynesville Primary School has a compulsory school uniform. New items of uniform are available from:

Nick's Bairnsdale 
93 Main Street,
Bairnsdale

Phone: 03 5152 1333

The school uniform consists of a royal blue polo shirt, black shorts or pants or skirt or alternatively a blue and white gingham dress. Shoes must cover the toes. Please label each item of clothing so that it can be returned if misplaced. Students will also be required to wear the Paynesville Primary School Hat which can be purchased from the Office. If you need any assistance with purchasing uniforms, please contact us or come in and see us.

Most schools rely on volunteers either on a daily or intermittent basis. Community members, parents and relatives bring all types of skills and experiences that can assist schools in daily reading programs or in specialist areas. We value your skills and experience and would appreciate your spare time.

Please let us know if you would like to help and we can help you obtain the Working with Children Check.

If you have any concerns about how your child is going in class, any problems in the yard or any other issues relating to your child, your first port of call is your child’s classroom teacher. You may also talk to the teacher who is the team leader of your child’s school level.

Should you be unsatisfied after talking to the classroom teacher and team leader, your next port of call is to speak to our Principal – Deborah Mathers. Please be assured that she will do her utmost to work with you to resolve any concerns and she will be happy to explain why a decision has been made or why a certain path is being followed.

If you have any concerns about payments, forms, etc, please see Lauren or Jenny at the Office.

Our School requires that anyone who volunteers in the school or attends camps and excursions has a current Working with Children’s Check. The WWCC form can be found online and the application is free. Once the application is completed online, you then head to a government Post Office where your Passport Photo will be taken free of charge.

Please do not pay the fee for a WWCC, as that is for people who are employed in Children’s Services. More information can be found at the WWCC website but feel free to contact us or come in and chat to Lauren or Jenny in the Office.

The yard is supervised during recess and lunch. During school hours students are not permitted to leave the school grounds without permission from a teacher. We have two teachers on yard duty at recess and lunchtime, plus additional Education Support staff.

A staff member with first aid qualifications is available during recess and lunch breaks.