Welcome to Byron Bay High School ~ The Essential Guide to our school ~

Our school website - your best friend!

The Byron Bay High School website is a wonderful resource for new families and will answer many of the questions you might have in the first weeks of High School.

Below are some links to our website with important information you will need. Please click through each point to become acquainted with all the 'need to know' information:

• absences
• excursions
• illness at school
• late arrivals
• leaving early
• library times
• school map
• sport
• student wellbeing
• uniforms
• virtual tour

Our TOP 3 TIPS to make your BBHS journey simpler!

We've put together our top 3 tips for parents to help answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

1. Absent? Reply to the sms

When your child is absent or late to school, please wait for the ‘absence sms’ that we will send you around 11 am. Unless you have urgent information, there is no need to call or email the school office to let us know - simply reply to the sms with a detailed reason why your child is away from school and your response will be automatically entered into our Attendance system.

If your child will be away for more than 5 school days for travel, please ensure you submit an Application for Extended Leave - Travel form at least 1 week prior to departure.

2. Leaving early? Send in a handwritten note before 9 am

If your child needs to leave school early for any reason, write us a short handwritten note stating their name, the leaving time, a detailed reason why and who will be picking them up. Your child will present the note to the Office before 9 am and a Leaver Slip will be generated. Then, at the designated pick up time your your child can leave their classroom and meet you at the car!

3. Check your emails! All consent and payments are done online

All communications from us will be emailed to you. Please keep a regular eye on your inbox. For all school fees, excursions and sporting events you will be emailed an easy online consent and payment link.

2024 Bell times

Mobile Phone Policy

In line with the new statewide NSW Department of Education policy, all student mobile phones must be switched off and in their bags before they enter the school gates.

“Off and away for the whole day! Mobile phones must remain off and out of sight for the entire school day.”

Any phone seen out during the day (including Recess and Lunch breaks) will be have to be handed in to a Deputy Principal (DP) and collected at the end of the day. This also includes any electronic devices and earpieces which students use to listen to music. Parents/carers will receive an email advising them if their child has breached the Mobile Phone/Electronic Device Policy.

Refusal to hand in a mobile/electronic device to the Deputy Principal when requested will result in the student being placed on a Deputy Principal Monitoring Card and the student will be required to hand in their phone each morning to their Deputy Principal until the Monitoring Card has been completed.

PLEASE NOTE: Students will need to bring a physical EFTPOS/credit card or cash to use at the canteen. The canteen will not accept cards on a mobile phone.

We appreciate that parents and caregivers may need to contact their child throughout the day and we kindly ask that this communication be made through the school Office by phoning 6685 8188 or emailing byronbay-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

For more information about the BBHS Mobile Phone Policy please refer to the document linked below:

Uniforms

School uniforms are available from School Locker located at the Harvey Norman Home Maker Centre, 26 Boeing Avenue, Ballina.

Be sure to label all uniform items when you get them home! We can not return lost items to your child if they do not have a name on them.

Our uniform colours are white, teal and navy blue.

Books and essential materials lists

We have put together a list of the books and stationery items that your child will need for each of their subjects. You can find these lists on the Links and Downloads page on our website:

Book and stationery packs are available to purchase online through Dolphin Office Choice

For your convenience, the workbooks and essential stationery items needed for all Year groups can be purchased online through Dolphin Office Choice via the link provided below:

If you are accessing the Dolphin Office Choice Booklists on your phone, please see the instructions below:

Bring your own Device (BYOD)

Here at BBHS we have a number of laptop banks, devices and dedicated computer rooms for student's to use whilst at school.

However, we do also support students who wish to bring their own laptop. If you plan to go shopping, please take the following details to your place of purchase.

Laptop Minimum System Requirements

School Locker in Ballina also sell laptops and technology:

Canteen

We are so lucky at Byron Bay High School to have a wonderful canteen that provides healthy and delicious food options for students. Our canteen is open for breakfast (8:40 am to 9:00 am), Recess and Lunch.

The canteen accepts cash or card. If paying by card, students will need to bring in a physical EFTPOS/credit card (as cards on mobile phones will not be accepted).

Items can be purchased by lining up at the canteen during the breaks, or to avoid the lines, students can place an order at the beginning of the day. We recommend that students pre-order specials for Recess or Lunch as they often sell out quickly.

To place an order, students should visit the canteen prior to 9:00 am and fill out their choices on a paper bag.

How will we communicate with parents?

We use a variety of platforms to communicate with our families. We have compiled a guide below so you know what to keep an eye on.

Email

When we need to send parents important school information it will be via email.

All online permission notes for excursions and sporting events will be emailed to you from noreply@mail.schoolbytes.education

Please check your inbox daily for emails from us. Also ensure that the email address noreply@mail.schoolbytes.education is marked as a 'safe sender' in your email browser... so we don't end up in your 'junk box'!

All emails will be sent to the 'Family' email address that you provided on your child's enrolment form. If your email address changes at any time, please contact our school office to let us know.

NOTE: Unfortunately our School Bytes communication system does not recognise or send to international email addresses. If you have provided us with an international email address on your enrolment form, please contact our school office to provide an alternate address.

BBHS website

To find upcoming event dates, access the school calendar, past newsletters, assessment publications, links to forms and information about our daily procedures, please check out our Byron Bay High School website. You'll be surprised how much information is online.

Byron Breeze online newsletter

Each week we will email you a link to our latest Byron Breeze newsletter. This weekly newsletter contains current information about what's happening at Byron Bay High School. In the Byron Breeze you will find key dates for your diary, updates about school events and celebrations of student's achievements.

You can also find our Byron Breeze newsletters on our school website.

Facebook

Like us on Facebook today for a little bit of fun and some important bits'n'pieces too!

Excursions

All information regarding excursions and sporting events will be emailed to you from our School Bytes Event Management system. To avoid your child missing out on important excursions, please ensure you check your email inbox regularly and action your consent and payment before the due date. The event portal will always close 2 days prior to the excursion to allow us to finalise staffing, buses, medical information and rolls.

If you give online consent for your child to attend an excursion please have a conversation with them, so they know that they are attending.

You are able to add excursion events to your calendar, or print them for your fridge using the blue icons at the top of the online permission form.

The School Bytes Parent Finance Portal

Our School Bytes Parent Finance Portal is available for you to easily track your Statement of Account. Parents and carers can visit the portal at any time to make a payment online, view payment history and track your credit.

Once your child commences at Byron Bay High School we will email you details on how to register for the Parent Finance Portal.

Payments | 6 things you need to know

1 | When we require your consent and payment, we will send you an email containing an easy online payment link. You can also view and make payments via your School Bytes Parent Finance Portal.

2 | If you do not wish to pay online, you can pay with cash, cheque or card at the school office after you grant your online consent.

3 | Unfortunately over the telephone payments are not available via the school office for security reasons - all payments are processed either online or via cash/cheque/card at the school office.

4 | Your online consent must accompany your payment. Payment alone does NOT guarantee a place on an excursion. We require you to fill in the online consent form for your child to be able to leave the school grounds for an excursion.

5 | We need to receive your online consent and payment 2 days prior to all events/excursions to allow for staffing, buses, medical information and rolls to be prepared. Once a due date has passed the online portal link will expire.

6 | Some sports and excursions have limited spots and fill up fast! To avoid disappointment please read and action your emails daily!

Keeping your details current

Have you changed your email address, home/postal address or phone number since you filled in your child's enrolment form? Has your family situation changed? Are your emergency contacts still current? Remember to keep us in the loop if any of your family details change!

In the event of illness or an emergency it’s vital we have up to date contact details so we can reach you quickly. You can notify us easily in writing of all changes by filling in our Change of details form on the Links and Downloads page on our website and returning it to our school office.

Lockers

Student lockers are available to hire for $10 per year, depending on availability. Please email the school at byronbay-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au to add your child's name to the Locker Waiting List.

Please make sure you include your child's name and their Year group when emailing us.

School buses

Students who live beyond a 2km radius from the school can apply for a bus pass online. All applications are made through the Transport NSW website (see links provided below).

If you need information regarding bus timetables please contact the local bus company in your area:

• CDCNSW (formerly Blanch's & Brunswick Valley Coaches) - 6686 2144
• Northern Rivers Buslines - 6626 1499
• Ballina Buslines - 6686 3666

Click here for more information about travelling to school on buses, bikes, scooters and skateboards:

Bus passes

Access the Transport for NSW webpage here:

Wednesday Sport

Wednesday sport runs for the duration of each term and is a compulsory part of the Byron Bay High School curriculum for students in Year 7 to Year 10. There will be plenty of support on hand as our new students navigate this process.

All Sport selections take place online. Links are emailed to the student's school email account.

Term 1 | Week 1 2024 - On Thursday 1 and Friday 2 February Year 7-10 students will receive a list of the Term 1 sports available and information about the online Sports selection process

Term 1 | Week 2 2024 - On Monday 5 February, from 8 pm, students can select their sport online. Selections close on Wednesday 7 February.

Term 1 | Week 3 2024 - On Wednesday 14 February Term 1 Sport begins

• At the beginning of Term 1 2024, your child will receive a list of the available sports, including their location and cost. Please have a conversation with your child about their choices prior to Monday 5 February.
• On Monday 5 February, students will receive an email with a link to the Sport Selections Portal. The email will be sent to their Department of Education (DoE) school email inbox - they can access this from home by logging into the DoE Student Portal. The Sports Selection Portal link becomes live from 8 pm.
• Students will select 2 preferences and submit their choices.
• Some sports have maximum capacities and as they fill up, they will drop off the selection menu.
• Computers will be available at school for students who cannot access a phone/computer/internet from home.
• The Sports Selection link will close on 7 February at 3:30 pm.
• Any student who does not select a sport online will have a sport chosen for them by the Sports Coordinator.
• In the days after the Sports Selections Portal closes, our Office will send parents a sport confirmation email - including a payment and consent link for parents to complete.

There are loads of great sports to choose from so we encourage students to pick something they enjoy or try something new - but they need to get in quick as some sports are very popular!

On Wednesday's, Sport finishes at 3:10 pm, in time for students to catch their usual buses home.

Any issues that may arise almost always have a solution! If your child has a sport related problem, we encourage them to go and see the teachers in the PDHPE Staffroom at Recess on Wednesdays (before sport starts) ie. forgot their sports gear, don’t know where to go, which bus to get on, etc.

If your child misses the bus to Sport they should see our Sports Coordinator, Mrs Caoyonan who will be out at the bus bay. We also provide supervision in Room 5 for any students who are not doing sport due to sickness or injury (with parental notes) or for those who have missed their bus.