International Student Handbook

All personal information must be accurate, up-to-date and recorded by the college to help us maintain your safety:

The Director of the Progam (Mr Donaldson), Manager of theProgram (Ms Fujiyasu), any of your teachers, your homestay parent or any assistants who work with international students can assist you during your studyThe Department of Education and Training and through them, a Principal Class Officer of the school is responsible for your welfare. The college will appoint one of its staff to be your welfare support officer. You will have several people on whom you can call if you need help: Director of Program (Mr Donaldson), Manager of Program (Ms Fujiyasu), any of your teachers, your homestay parent or any of the assistants who work with the International program.

No changes to these arrangements can be made at any time by anyone other than the college. If you would like to discuss these arrangements or to request a change, please see Mr Donaldson or Ms Fujiyasu.

Only the school can approve homestays. Students, families or welfare support officers cannot change homestays at any time except when approved in writing by the college.

If there is a reason you wish to change homestay, make a time to speak with one of the international staff who will help you.

Elwood College provides a very high quality homestay service. Types of homestays vary, as do the needs of individual students.

Small problems are usually easy to resolve but can become more difficult if left for a long time.

Homestay Hosts will discuss the rules of their house with students.

If you have a problem with your homestay, the best thing to do is to speak with your homestay parent about it and tell one of the International Student Program staff about your problem as soon as you can.

If you are unable to resolve the problem, one of the International Student Program Staff will speak with the homestay parent for you.

If we are not able to solve the problem to your satisfaction, we will arrange a change of homestay for you. Remember, you may not change the homestay by yourself.

Staying away from your homestay

You must seek approval from Elwood College each time you intend to stay away from your homestay.

This is a Department of Education requirement .

You may not stay at the homestay of a friend or travel to other parts of Australia or overseas without informing Elwood College. Doing so may impact your visa.

Parent permission is also necessary to stay away from your homestay. You can do this easily by email. One of the International staff will give you a form to send to your parents and they can sign and return it.

Travelling

Student must inform Elwood College of any travel plans including travel within Australia and any plans to return to their home country, the flight details and the dates of their planned return to Australia.

Please remember that your visa is based on your safety and welfare. Only when we know where you are and who you are with can we be sure that you are safe. Any student who leaves their homestay without first seeking approval from Elwood College may be reported to the Australian Department of Home Affairs and this may impact their visa.

It is important that you keep Elwood College informed of your up-to-date contact details.

If you or your parents change a telephone number, please advise the school as soon as possible.

It is most important that the school should be able to contact your parents at all times. If any of their contact information changes, please make sure to tell one of the international staff.

If you require documents to be sent to your home address after the semester or the school year has finished, please remember to address an envelope to yourself at your home country address and to leave that envelope with the international staff.

 Please contact the school in the first instance. This can be done by outlining concerns in a conversation with, or via email to, school staff. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your attempt to resolve the matter with the school, the matter can be escalated to the department by lodging a formal complaint or appeal in writing. For more information, see: department complaints and appeals

You are required to attend all classes and all College activities such as Level Assemblies, International Assemblies, Private Study etc.

If you miss classes or assemblies you will not only miss important information but it is possible that you may not pass the subject if your attendance falls too low.

Elwood College requires that you attend 90% of classes in every subject in order to be eligible to pass that subject.

For your visa, you are required to attend a MINIMUM of 80%. This includes any time you may have away from school due to illness or accident.

When your attendance falls to 90% you will be placed on a contract which checks your attendance regularly. If your attendance falls to 80% you will be reported to the Australian Department of Home Affairs as breaking the terms of your visa and this may result in visa cancellation and you would then be sent home.

Please do not book flights during school term as this will impact your attendance.

There are clear requirements from Elwood College which students must meet in order to pass each subject:

If you have a problem with any aspect of your studies:

Discuss the problem with your class teacher. Remember that there is a translator available at the college to assist you if you are not confident to do this. Inform your counsellor/guardian and/or Mr Donaldson and Ms Fujiyasu so that she can help if necessary.

If the problem continues, request a meeting with either Ms Fujiyasu or Mr Donaldson to discuss the problem. The college will inform your counsellor/welfare supporter.

If the problem continues a meeting will be arranged with your counsellor/welfare supporter, the teacher concerned and yourself, with either Ms Fujiyasu or Mr Donaldson to resolve the problem.

You must not take time off school because of a problem which has arisen. It is better to discuss the problem in the early stages when it is easiest to resolve.

You must complete every part of the required work yourself.

If you have a tutor in any subject, you should inform your class teacher so they can work with the tutor to assist you.

IF you have a problem with or want to change your STUDY PROGRAM:

If you have a problem with any of your studies, the best thing you can do is to let the teacher know and to tell one of the International Student Program staff know about it immediately. If you have not been able to resolve the problem, we will help you speak with the teacher and to complete any work which may be overdue.

If you want to change your study program you should speak with either Ms Fujiyasu or Mr Donaldson and we will assist you. You may not change your study program by yourself.

If you have a health problem, there are many people who will be able to assist you. One of the teachers at Elwood College can take you to a doctor or to a dentist and we can also help you with translations if that is necessary.

Elwood College is also able to provide assistance with other health matters. Students can be assisted with nutritional health, mental health, personal advice etc and all of this is confidential and free to students.

If you have a problem with any POLICE, OFFICIAL or other MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC:

You should immediately tell one of the International Student Program staff about your problem, if necessary, using the Student Safety Card emergency contact telephone numbers. Remember that we are here to help you and you do not need to try to fix the problem by yourself.

You must be sure to co-operate fully with the Police and other Officials if in person. You may ask to see their Identification and you may ask to contact your school/. It is recommended that you should call the Student Safety Card emergency contact telephone numbers provided to you so that school staff can help you as soon as possible.

Please remember to be aware of scams via the internet, email, voice calls or text messages. Do not respond to people claiming to be police, government officials, bank representatives or delivery drivers even if they are speaking in your native language. Contact our school staff if you receive one of these requests and we can help you.

There are also Legal services available to International students and you can access these by contacting directly Legal Aid Victoria on 1300 792387 or though their web site: www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/contact-us

If you have a problem with any BOOKS, EQUIPMENT or UNIFORM:

Tell one of the International Student Program staff about your problem and ask for some help.

If you have a problem with a COLLEGE matter:

You should tell someone at the college and also inform your agent or representative if you have one. If you do not feel comfortable about telling someone at the college, you might also want to tell someone at the Department of Education. Please refer to the complaints above for more information.

If you have a problem of a MONEY or FINANCIAL matter:

If you have a problem with money, credit card, banking or insurance matter, tell either one of the International Student Program staff, Business Manager or the Principal. Any of these people will be able to help you with reporting the matter to the Police or in resolving the problem.

Elwood College also has a number of different counsellors available to assist students:

Elwood College is fortunate to have the services of an expert in Careers Counselling and Pathways (future study) Counselling. For many years the college has provided pathways students to gain entry to universities TAFES and other colleges in Australia and overseas.

The Counsellor can give expert advice on:

This service is completely free to all students. The service requires you to make an appointment to speak with the counsellor. If you would like to assistance with this service or you would like one of the international staff to go with you to the appointment, please advise Ms Fujiyasu or Mr Donaldson.

International Assemblies are held regularly. Different topics will be discussed each time. Some information will be given out about camps, excursions and other social activities.

Your personal information will also be checked at these assemblies.

International Assemblies are an important part of the College teaching program. All international students are required to attend these assemblies.

Establishing an Australian bank account is easy for international students.

Elwood College can help you to set up an account at a local branch and you will have a card linked to that account in just a few days.

You can use the account for your parents to send you money for your living expenses and the college will be able to send any homestay refunds you might be due directly to your account.

Please ask one of the international ataff if you would like assistance in establishing a bank account.

A critical incident is any incident onshore (in Australia) or offshore (in your home country or other country) which has an effect on your health, safety, study program or your visa conditions.

Examples of this might be: an incident in which you have an accident; an incident involving the Victoria Police; an im-person or online threat made to you or your friends which you feel makes you unsafe; and many others.

If you or your friends are involved in a critical incident, please report it immediately to one of the international staff so that we can give you every assistance necessary to ensure that you are safe and healthy.

Please use the Student Safety Card emergency contact telephone numbers and feel free to call at any time you need assistance with a critical incident.

Every international student receives a Student Safety Card with emergency contact telephone numbers.

Please keep this card  with you at all times, e.g. in your wallet or another safe place, in case you need to call for help.

It is intended that you should call for help at any time if you feel that a situation is not able to be controlled by you or your homestay.

The people on these telephone numbers are available to help you outside school hours, on the weekends and on vacation times. Please remember that it is the role of the international staff to help you and you can call whenever you feel unsafe, uncertain what to do in a critical incident, lost or in need of an adult’s help.

Elwood College offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities for international students.  These range from sports coaching to music lessons and social activities.

 A number of excursions to locations in Melbourne city or to other parts of Victoria are included in the program and no charge is made for these activities.

Two camps are included in the program and the college heavily subsidises these. They include a visit to Sydney, Gold Coast or Tasmania (depending on the year) as well as an outdoor activity camp. There is a charge of around A$350 per person for the interstate camps.

All students, homestays and welfare supporters receive a copy of an Important Dates document. This contains all the important dates for each school term and you should read this and keep it for future reference. This document should also be shown to parents who may be booking a return air ticket for you. The document lists the exact dates on which you may leave Australia and the dates on which you will need to be back for the start of a new term. All students are required to sign a statement to say that they have read and understood the Important Dates document.

International students need to purchase a myki card to use public transport and may be eligible for concession fares depending on their age. For more information speak to an international staff or see: myki - Public Transport Victoria