Communication and Correspondence

Parent Communication

All communication between members of the St Columba Anglican School community, including staff, parents, carers and students, should reflect the School's values. The School encourages parents to be actively involved in their children's education and generally believes that involvement enhances student learning. For this reason, the School places great emphasis on the establishment and maintenance of effective channels of communication with parents. Our procedures will be characterised by fairness, mutual respect and a spirit of cooperation in resolving issues and concerns. For more information on parent communication, see the document here.

Separated/Divorced Families

In balancing the rights and obligations arising under the Education Act 1990 with those arising under the Family Law Act 1975, the school is unable to involve itself in any family matters. Where natural parents are not living together, both parents will receive all communication from the School (regardless of financial responsibility) unless the School is furnished with court orders that specify otherwise. 

Emails to Teaching Staff

Parents/caregivers may contact the school by email. Please note that, due to commitments such as sport and excursions both within and outside the school, staff may not have an opportunity to read emails each day and therefore may not be able to reply to them on the day they are sent. Although School staff will attempt to respond within twenty-four hours, your patience is valued greatly. Email should be used for routine correspondence (such as enquiries or establishing a time for an interview). Email is not always the most appropriate medium for discussing complicated or emotionally-charged issues; please set up a time for an interview with the appropriate teacher in such cases via info@scas.nsw.edu.au.

We strongly encourage parents not to request impromptu meetings with teachers outside of prearranged appointment times.

Emails to Parents

During the year, the School will send emails to parents regarding important matters, such as changes to routines, advising of student awards, and the weekly newsletter, the SCAS Express. Some parents have found that these emails have gone to their junk mail folder due to the spam filter settings on their personal email accounts. It may be worthwhile checking these folders and ensuring that emails received from St Columba Anglican School are marked as safe to avoid this happening.

Parent Interviews

The School welcomes enquiries from parents/caregivers at any time. A formal Parent/Teacher Information Evening is in the first weeks of Term 1. Interviews are arranged during Term 1 and Term 3 and at other times as requested. 

The School may also request interviews if problems exist that hinder a student’s progress or where the student’s conduct warrants a parent conference. 

To meet with your child’s class teacher or any other staff member, please get in touch with the Front Office or email info@scas.nsw.edu.au and request an appointment. A member of staff will contact you to arrange a time. It is not appropriate to interrupt a teacher at 8:50am or 3:20pm when they are settling or dismissing the class.

• Formal Parent/Teacher interview times are organised, but additional meetings will be arranged on a needs basis if required. Parents are encouraged to discuss their concerns with the class teacher in the first instance.

• Parents are asked to use courteous written and spoken language at all times when interacting with other members of the School community.

• Parents are encouraged to raise concerns early and communicate with appropriate staff as issues arise.

Parent Portal

Our Parent Portal provides a variety of information, including students' timetables, medical and attendance records, assessment task notifications, events, and academic reports. The Parent Portal is also used to give permission for excursions, verify absences and access your fee account. The School Calendar contains venue details, time and other information on events and excursions. Information notes pertaining to events and excursions are often attached on the event detail page for more detailed information.

In the Secondary School, Pastoral Care entries assigned to students for issues such as uniform infractions, homework non compliance and the like, will be visible to parents on the Parent Portal. This is designed to keep parents informed about student behaviour and school expectations. 

Initial access to the Parent Portal is provided by email. Parents are asked to treat their password and access as they would a credit card PIN number. Further information about accessing and using the Parent Lounge can be found here.

Student Diary (K to Year 6)

A School Diary is provided for all students in Kindergarten to Year 6.  Students must bring their diaries to and from school each day. Parents are encouraged to sign the diary each day in Primary. Some of the uses of the diary include; management of after school activities, changes to routine, recording of homework, information for a staff member or parent that is not urgent, organisational matters, or to communicate minor incidences or positive affirmation of student behaviour.

Student Portal "Seqta Learn" (Years 7 to 12)

"Learn" is an individualised portal that provides students in Years 7 to 12 with information about their timetable, subjects and the assigned work for their classes. It also provides students with an eDiary and eCalendar that automatically lists classes and tasks that staff have assigned, along with each student’s activities, excursions and sports. 

Students in Years 7 to 12 are encouraged to use Seqta Learn for their timetable and other academic and co-curricular management. However, Secondary School students may purchase their own paper diary to record homework and assist with their own personal organisation. School ethical guidelines about appropriate written and pictorial content apply. Parents may find it more convenient to use the diary as a means to send written notes such as permission to leave school for appointments and so on. 

School Publications

The SCAS Express is an electronic information publication which is emailed to families each Friday during term time. 

School news articles are published regularly on the School News website.

Facebook and Instagram

The School has Facebook and Instagram. There is also The SCAS Exchange, the Facebook page available for families to buy and sell secondhand uniforms, text books and other school equipment.