General Information for Parents

Students are not permitted to carry a cellphone during school hours 8.45am – 3.15pm. Students who require a cellphone for out of school purposes are to hand their phone into their classroom teacher at the beginning of the day.

Our preferred method of payment is through internet banking. Our school account number is 12-3122-0202229-00. Use your child’s name as a reference and in the particulars, write briefly what the payment is for.

Alternatively payments can be made by eftpos or cash at the school office.

For up to date information, cancellations and changes to our school day, check out our Facebook page or download the BNMS app.  We use these means of social media to communicate instantly and effectively with our community.

This book is a regular and important form of communication between home and school.  Each day students record their homework tasks and attach any school notices.  We seek parent support by requesting your signature which confirms to us that the information has been received and read.

All 10-14 year olds, regardless of what they say to the contrary, are expected to do 20 minutes homework, a minimum of three times per week. This is not a set amount, but rather in the nature of a challenge “How much can I do?”

 During the school day, no student may leave the school grounds without staff permission. An explanatory note from parents or caregivers must be presented on each occasion and students must be collected from the office. It is expected that these occasions will be infrequent.

Requests for periods of leave during term time are to be directed, in writing, to the principal.

Money and valuables requiring safekeeping should be placed in a clearly labelled envelope and handed to the classroom teacher, who will follow our “all care but no responsibility” policy. No responsibility will be accepted for money or valuables not handed in. 

All personal items, uniform, books and other equipment must be named. All students must respect the property of others and only use it with the owner’s permission.

School begins at 8.45am and finishes at 3.15pm.  To ensure that learners are able to make the most of the programme of learning at Berkley, students are to be at school by 8.30am to prepare for the day ahead and are expected to remain at school for the full day.  Students using public transport to and from school need to use timetabled routes that are scheduled outside of school hours.

Please advise our school office immediately of any changes to student information, such as medical history, change of address, email address or phone number. In case of an emergency it is important that our information is accurate.

There is a phone for students to use in cases of an emergency. Please come to the student counter in the office to access this.