25 Sep 2023
The New Student Mobile Phone Management Plan comes into effect on Day 1 of Term 4, 9 October 2023.
This policy is being implemented to increase focus in classrooms, remove distractions and promote positive social interactions in the playground.
As outlined across Term 3, students will be required to follow the “Off and Away’ mobile strategy. Mobile phones cannot be used during school hours. Students will need to switch their phone off and place it in their bag from the time they enter the school gate and until they exit the school gate. This also includes breaks.
Students will be required to use either cash or keycard for purchases at the school canteen.
We are excited to make our school a mobile phone-free space to improve learning and engagement, however, we will always make sure you can contact your child in an emergency. As such, we ask that you contact the office on phone: 02 44214977 if you need to message your child/ren. Students can see a staff member and they will assist them to make contact home if needed.
There are exemptions under this policy for health and learning purposes. If you would like to discuss an exemption for your child/ren, please contact the school to make an appointment with the Principal.
If a student does not follow the new Mobile Phone Policy, they will be asked to report to a Deputy Principal or Principal to have their phone confiscated, of which it will be placed in a labelled envelope and placed in a safe. The Deputy Principal or Principal will contact you to request that you come and pick it up. For the first confiscation, students will be given a Verbal Caution. On their second confiscation, students will be placed on Red Deputy Principal Monitoring. For their third confiscation, students will be placed on a Formal Caution. Parents/Carers will be required to pick up and sign for their child’s phone on each occasion.
We will be conducting a survey early in Term 4, to gauge staff, students and parents/carers perspectives on the policy implementation. The survey findings will be discussed with both staff and the Parent Engagement Group to review.
This will certainly be a challenge for students to change their habits, however, we are committed to a successful and positive implementation of the policy and hope that you will be able to support us. As such, I ask that you discuss this new policy with your child to ensure that everyone is aware of the policy requirements and consequences.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school directly.
Kind regards,
Jodie Wellington
Principal (Acting)