Below are details of who to contact for various matters. If you have any wellbeing and/or academic concerns about your child, we want to hear from you.

Absences
Please phone the school land line (59 568 568) as soon as you become aware that your child will not be attending school; if this is on the weekend or in the evenings, please send an email (admin@pivs.org.au).

Bus
For bus changes and requests during school hours, please email Amanda (admin@pivs.org.au). For last minute morning updates, please text the bus driver directly on the PIVS Bus Phone 0475 107 851.

Queries or Concerns
If you have a query or concern, please email admin@pivs.org.au as a first point of call, and we will direct your query to the correct Mentor/member of the Leadership Team.

Mentors and school staff are around before and after school to keep in touch with families. Please arrange appointments in advance with teaching staff if you wish to have a longer (i.e. greater than 5 minute) discussion about your child.

Please phone the school land line (59 568 568) as soon as you become aware that your child will not be attending school; if this is on the weekend or in the evenings, please send an email (admin@pivs.org.au).

Upon enrolment at PIVS, parents/guardians/carers sign an Enrolment Agreement. Click below to access and fill in a copy of this agreement.

PIVS Enrolment Agreement 2025

Students with known medical conditions are required to have a Medical Management Plan detailing a description of the condition, symptoms of deterioration of the condition, usual medical treatment to be administered at school, medical treatment if the condition deteriorates and any side effects of the medication. The Medical Management Plan will also include the name, address and phone number of the child’s medical practitioner and emergency contacts.

Copies of the Medical Management Plan will be kept in the student’s file in the office and in the first aid area. As per the enrolment agreement, your child’s medical information and medication must always be kept up to date.

The PIVS school calendar contains most of the important dates for the year, including cycle breaks, Foundation student rest days, and student-free days for Mentor planning, report writing and professional development.

Please note that our school follows a different calendar to other schools. Our 2025 calendar can be found here.

The school day starts at 8:45 am and finishes at 3:15 pm. Students are welcome to be dropped unaccompanied anytime from 8.30am and should be collected by 3.30pm.

Please phone us at school on 5956 8568 if you are running late for pick-up or drop-off.

The Village Schools typically employ people less than five days per week to facilitate work life balance. See below for the days Mentors are at PIVS.

Angie Ray - Wednesday to Friday (until lunchtime)

Cassie Richards - Monday and Tuesday

Chrissie Berdy - Wednesday to Friday

Christie Edwards - Monday to Friday

Debra Broberg - Monday to Thursday

Kate Eastcott (Principal) - Monday to Friday

Lien Sim (Philosophy & Community Leader) - Monday mornings, Tuesday, Thursday afternoons, Friday

Marcelle Monet - Thursday and Friday

Natalie Hodgkin - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

Nick Kirby - Monday to Thursday

Tim Anders - Monday, Tuesday, Friday

At the start of each year families are contacted to submit their bus booking requests. Places may be limited and are allocated on a first come / first served basis; we do our best to meet everyone’s needs.

Parents can book a regular seat on the bus for for their child(ren) and these bookings remain in place for a whole cycle. Casual trips can be taken subject to availability. Fees are charged for the cycle booking, regardless of whether the place is used (together with charges for any additional trips) at the end of each term (every two cycles).

Exact times and pick-up / drop-off locations are confirmed prior to your child/ren starting school.

Permanent Changes to Bus Bookings
If you want to make a permanent change to your bus booking during the year, please email admin@pivs.org.au at least 24 hours in advance. You will receive a reply email to let you know whether the change can be accommodated.

Casual Changes to Bus Bookings
More than 24-hours in Advance
If you want to make a casual change to your bus booking during the year, please email admin@pivs.org.au at least 24 hours in advance. You will receive a reply email to let you know whether the change can be accommodated.

If you do not receive a reply prior to the date you want the change to take effect, please call the school on 5956 8568.

Within 24-hours
If you need to make a last minute change within 24 hours of your bus booking, send a text message to the bus phone directly on 0475 107 851.

Bus fees are in addition to school fees; however, they are offset by the Travel Conveyance Allowance.

The State Government provides a Travel Conveyance Allowance in regional Victoria to assist with covering costs of transporting students to and from school. The applications and payments are submitted and received by PIVS and are passed on to parents as a credit to your school fees account. An application form is provided upon enrolment. Families must live more than 4.8 kms away from the school to be eligible.

The Allowance typically covers between 40-50% of the bus fees. Families receive this allowance regardless of whether their children use the bus.

The amount of the Allowance is determined by distance from the school. It is important to update your address with the school if you move to ensure your Allowance is accurate.

PIVS bus fees per trip exclusive of Allowance for 2024 (per student per trip; one way):

Cowes, Rhyll, Ventnor, Sunderland Bay, Wimbledon Heights - $4.00

San Remo, Newhaven, Cape Woolamai - $5.75

Bass, Anderson - $7.70

Corinella - $8.70

PIVS fees in 2025 are $1,057 per child per term (equivalent to two PIVS cycles), which includes lunch, snacks throughout the day, most excursions, camps and learning materials. 

Invoices are sent prior to the start of each term (every two cycles) and payments are due prior to the start of the term.

Statements are sent at the same time as invoices to show your total account balance, your payments, and any credits received.

Credits for the Student Travel Conveyance Allowance (if applicable) and Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (if applicable) are applied to your account once funds are received and will appear on your statements.

Payment Plans
If you would like a weekly, fortnightly or monthly payment plan for your school fees please request this by emailing admin@pivs.org.au.

The Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF) is a Victorian government annual payment for lower-income families to attend activities like school camps and excursions.

The payment amount for 2025 for eligible primary school students will be updated shortly. PIVS credits this payment directly to your school fees account.

To be eligible, parents/carers/guardians must have a Health Care Card or a Pensioner Concession Card. Other conditions apply. Notify the school if you hold a valid Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card and we’ll provide the CSEF application form.

Children are free to wear clothing of their choice at PIVS. We encourage children to wear clothes that they can get dirty in, move freely in and that have layers to help with changing weather conditions.

To ensure your children are prepared and able to participate in all the school activities we recommend that students have a change of clothes, sun hat, raincoat and sports shoes/runners in a bag which is left at school for the cycle.

A spare set of clothes should be brought every day if children want to participate in wet or messy play.

All members of the PIVS community are free to be without shoes except when on the bus, out of school grounds or working in the kitchen or garden.

The PIVS food program comprises lunches four days per week (one day BYO), as well as classroom snacks and fruit and vegetables throughout the day. All food provided is vegetarian, and children are free to select what they’d like from the range available. Gluten and dairy free options are always available.

On BYO days (Fridays) we encourage food that is good for bodies and minds and all food brought to school must be NUT FREE. As an environmentally sustainable school, and without playground rubbish bins, we also ask that any food items that come to school have minimal wrapping.

The kitchen is staffed by a PIVS Kitchen Coordinator three days a week and by parent volunteers one day per week. In 2025, our volunteer day is Wednesdays (11:30 am to 2:00 pm).

We will also occasionally call out for kitchen helpers for community events. Our food program relies on our kitchen volunteers, and it’s also a fun way to be part of school life.

School photos are taken in mid Spring each year and are provided to families at the end of the year on a USB drive. The cost of the photos is included in the school fees.

The photos include whole school, younger and older years group shots as well as individual and sibling shots in the children’s favourite locations around the school.

At PIVS we aim to find a balance between our duty of care for students, respect for families preferred sun strategies and the development of individuals' self-management. This means that we do not have a blanket 'no-hat, no-play' policy, but we do expect that children will (with regular group and the occasional personal reminder) actively use a HAT and SUNSCREEN while outside on sunny days.

We have a public Facebook page (Phillip Island Village School) on which we post photos and news that will be of interest to the broader community. If you use Facebook, please show your support and ‘like’ our Facebook page.

We also have a private Facebook group (PI Village School Community) for currently enrolled families, staff and board members to share school-related information, photos and discussion. The posts in the group are only visible to members of this closed group. If you want to join the group, please email admin@pivs.org.au and request to join.

Family Camp (FAMP) is a two-night family camp usually held at the start of the year, which parents and siblings are welcome and encouraged to attend. FAMP is an integral part of the Phillip Island Village School program and is a valuable way to establish community connections. All students are expected to attend.

We understand that work or other commitments may prevent all family members from being there for the whole time, so it is fine to come and go as you need during the day, and just join us for dinner and evening activities.

In 2025, FAMP will be held in Cycle 1, and more details, including a FAMP info pack will be sent out at the start of the year.

A favourite on the PIVS calendar, taking place several times a year, are our greatly enjoyed Community Dinners, which are held at the school. These are evenings that bring together Mentors, students and families. Our community members connect and catch up in a social setting, with the tradition of ‘bringing a dish of food’ to share and enjoy.

Our community dinners also provide great opportunities for student performances, including plays, dance performances or movie making presentations. There is something quite magical for the children and their families about spending an evening at the school with the whole community.