Schools in Category 0, 1 and 2 on the Bushfire At-Risk Register
School preparations for the bushfire season
Each year, to prepare for bushfires and grassfires, schools and early childhood services complete a range of activities.
The Department of Education runs an annual fire risk assessment of schools and early childhood services. They are allocated a category of risk (categories 0 to 4) and are published on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR).
On elevated fire danger days schools in the highest levels of risk (categories 0, 1 and 2) take pre-emptive actions to minimise the risk of being caught in a fire in these conditions.
These actions are based on the Local Government Area they are in and their fire risk category.
In addition, all schools and services listed on the BARR and Category 4 list will close when a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast in their fire weather district.
When the Bureau of Meteorology provides public fire danger rating forecasts, they use fire weather district areas. In Victoria, there are 9 fire weather districts, which include numerous Local Government Areas. Our school is in the Central fire weather district.
As part of preparing our school for the fire season, we have updated and completed our Emergency Management Plan and we have also prioritised maintenance work required in our annual bushfire mitigation in preparing for the threat of fire and cleared our facility’s grounds and gutters.
What does this mean for our school?
Our school has been identified as being in one of the highest fire risk categories – BARR Category 2.
Our school will action its pre-emptive plan and close on a day forecasted as Extreme fire danger rating in our local government area (LGA), Cardinia.
Our school will also close on a day forecasted as Catastrophic fire danger rating in Central fire weather district.
What is the department’s policy?
The department’s Bushfire and Grassfire Preparedness Policy requires schools at high risk of bushfire to enact pre-emptive action plans based on LGA level fire danger forecasts. Conditions can vary significantly across the wider weather district, so using local forecasts helps us to respond appropriately to risks in our local area and maintain stability and educational continuity for our students and school community. This policy is consistent for all schools at high levels of risk and this approach is supported by emergency services.
The policy also requires that all schools and early childhood services on the BARR and the Category 4 list close when a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast in their fire weather district. All school bus routes which travel in or through a district with Catastrophic fire danger must also be cancelled.
When will our school enact our pre-emptive action plan?
Our school will action our pre-emptive plan to close on days when the fire danger forecast for our local government area, Cardinia is Extreme.
Our school will use the LGA forecast confirmed by emergency services the day before an Extreme fire danger day in our LGA to trigger our plan. We will let you know when we are enacting our pre-emptive action plan. Please be aware that no one will be on site on days where the school has enacted this plan.
What do we do when our LGA has a different fire danger rating to the wider fire weather district?
As we respond to local conditions, there may be days during the fire season when our fire weather district, Central fire weather district is forecast as an Extreme fire danger rating, but our LGA is at a lower level of fire danger. On these days our school operations will continue as normal, however we will be taking action in line with fire services advice by:
- checking our Emergency Management Plan and taking any necessary preparedness actions
- actively monitor our local conditions and warnings
- having plans and procedures in place for if a fire starts to support us to take immediate action.
While our school will continue to operate, we encourage our school community to consider their own bushfire survival plan and reassess any travel through bushfire risk areas. We encourage you to follow your family bushfire survival plan and the advice of emergency services.
There may also be days where our LGA is forecast as Extreme fire danger, but Central Fire District Weather is not. On these days we will enact our pre-emptive action plan.
When will our school be closed due to Catastrophic fire danger?
Our school will also close on a day forecasted as Catastrophic fire danger rating in Central fire weather district.
Closure of the school due to a forecast Catastrophic day will be confirmed on the day prior and we will provide you with advice before the end of the school day. Any information regarding potential or confirmed Catastrophic fire danger days will be communicated to you by a Compass notification. We would encourage you to download the Compass App to your phone to ensure that you are receiving alerts and notifications. Please also check your Compass login details are current, to ensure you have access to all communications.
Once confirmed, the decision to close will not change, even if the weather forecast changes. This is to avoid confusion and help your family plan alternative care arrangements for your child. It is also important to be aware that:
- No one will be on site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Catastrophic day.
- All bus routes that travel through the Catastrophic area will be cancelled.
- School camps will be cancelled if a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast for fire weather district in which the camp is located, or if the travel involves passing through areas that have Catastrophic fire danger.
Families are encouraged to enact their Bushfire Survival Plan on Catastrophic fire danger rating days. On such days, children should never be left at home alone or in the care of older children.
For those of us living in a bushfire prone area, the Country Fire Authority (CFA) advises that when Catastrophic days are forecast, the safest option is to leave the night before or early on the morning of the Catastrophic day.
What can families and the school community do to help us prepare?
- Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers.
- Keep in touch with us by reading our newsletters, checking our website www.emeraldsc.vic.edu.au , by talking to your child’s teacher or any other member of the teaching staff about our emergency management plan.
- Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements in the event that our school is closed due to fire danger. Further information can be found on the CFA’s website.
- Enact your family’s bushfire survival plan if your own triggers are met. Our school community may be spread out across many areas and some families may be at higher risk than others. Your family’s safety is critical, so please let us know if you are enacting your bushfire survival plan and if your children will be absent on these days.
- If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s bushfire survival plan.
You can find more information on emergencies, and preparedness actions here:
- VicEmergency app – that can be downloaded on your android and iOS mobile devices
- VicEmergency Hotline (1800 226 226)
- Website https://emergency.vic.gov.au
- ABC local radio, Sky News and other emergency broadcasters
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World Teachers Day
Australia will celebrate the teaching profession on World Teachers’ Day on Friday 27 October 2023. Let’s celebrate Australia’s teachers for their skilled work in educating, inspiring and supporting our students. We are enormously proud of our Emerald Secondary College teaching staff and acknowledge them as the dedicated, hard-working and caring teachers that they are.
Hats off to teachers this World Teachers’ Day!
Community Service
Our students continue to visit The Glades Aged Care Facility each week. Small groups of students visit each Friday on a rotating basis and we have had outstanding feedback from the Facility about the impact their visits have on the residents. We look forward to continuing building on and developing this relationship into next year and welcoming new groups of interested students into the program.
Some of our students have also signed up to collaborate with Puffing Billy Place Reserve (playground area) and will be contributing in their preparation for the expenditure of allocated funding toward a masterplan development.
If you would like to contribute – Puffing Billy would like to know how you currently use the park, how you would like to use the park in the future, and what you would like to see included in the masterplan. For information on how to get involved, see Puffing Billy Place Reserve, Emerald | Creating Cardinia
College Captains
As our Year 12 cohort move onto study and preparation for future pathways, we would also like to take the opportunity to thank our College Captaincy team for their incredible efforts this year. Jackson Acott, Hayley Marshall, Caiti Ellis and Ethan Crosher were announced as our Captains at the end of last year and have managed study, work, sport, personal commitments and their Captaincy roles with maturity and dedication. Their contribution will be long lasting and the team worked together with staff and with others to work on projects that will impact the student body moving forward. Thank you to our wonderful Captains!
We now also look forward to the process, which has already begun, of selecting and announcing a new College Captaincy Team for 2024. A place on the team is available to any ESC (current) Year 11 student and details are on Compass. Applications are due Monday 23rd October.
Campfire Conversations
On Wednesday 18th October, Emerald Secondary College hosted its first community Campfire Conversations Event in our newly built campfire area. This event was an opportunity for community members to gather, connect and feel empowered – where every voice sparks a future. Participants were encouraged to cultivate self-determination for First Nations people in education and the event served as a bridge, bringing diverse perspectives together to discuss and collaborate. Thank you to our Wellbeing Leader Felicity, our ESC families and participating primary school and community members for supporting this event.
Classroom Routines
Our staff and students continue to maintain high expectations in all classes. The shifting culture of our College is assisted by our classroom routines outlining the way we want our students to behave, learn and celebrate in class. It has been wonderful to walk around the school and see these classroom routines in action.
Uniform
Emerald Secondary College is a uniform school.
The full list of Emerald Secondary College’s compulsory school uniform items are available at Appendix A to this policy.
General appearance
While at school, travelling to or from school or participating in school activities, Emerald Secondary College students must comply with the following:
- Uniforms must be clean and in good repair
- Additional layers of clothing may be worn underneath the uniform for added warmth, provided these undergarments are completely hidden.
Support
Where a staff member has been made aware of a welfare issue in relation to uniform the student will be given borrowed items if available, and there will be support through State-School Relief. The student may be issued with a pass by the Learning engagement Leader for a set period of time.
School Wide Positive Behaviour Support
Emerald Secondary College has been successful in launching the School Wide Positive Behaviour Support framework beginning in 2024.
What is School Wide Positive Behaviour Support?
School-wide positive behaviour support (SWPBS) is a school improvement framework. It helps to improve student behavioural, wellbeing, and academic outcomes. It emphasises prevention-focused activities and the efficient use of school resources.
Why do schools adopt School Wide Positive Behaviour Support?
Schools adopt SWPBS for a range of reasons. Examples include:
- improving student behaviour
- enhancing school climate
- promoting more evidence-based practice
- increasing inclusive practices
- aligning instructional, well-being and mental health supports
- creating better relationships between staff, students and the community
- preventing and addressing bullying behaviour
- maximising the value of instructional time
- reducing restrictive practices
- more efficient use of school resources
SWPBS supports learning and wellbeing as outlined in the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO 2.0).
Janine McMahon, Tanja Korsten & Jarrad Donders