From Ms Gyton

Use Public Transport … and Tap On and Off every time!

We strongly encourage SCEGGS students to use public transport to travel to and from school when they are old enough to do so safely!

Why? Public transport is a greener option, reduces traffic, congestion and pollution, and builds independence in our students. I think all SCEGGS families want their daughter to grow up to be a strong, independent, resilient adult who can safely travel the world in the future if she chooses to do so … and that means we have to develop these skills of independence while she is still at school. (And secretly, I am yet to meet a SCEGGS parent who also wouldn’t like a little more time back in their own week!)

So if your daughter is in the Secondary School and you are still driving her to and from school every day, I encourage you to ask whether there is another afternoon each week where she could safely make her own way home on public transport …?

When using public transport, students must make sure that they:

• have a valid Opal card for travelling to and from school each day.
• Tap On and Off every time they use a bus, train or ferry service.

It is an important condition of the Student Code of Conduct when travelling that students must Tap On and Off with their School Opal Card or Child/Youth Opal Card every time when using public transport. Data from the Opal Network, particularly about student travel patterns, is a key piece of information in determining school bus routes – timing, frequency and the routes themselves. Tapping On and Off demonstrates how frequently all bus routes are used by SCEGGS students, so please make sure your children Tap On and Off every time so that this data is accurate.

If your child’s School Opal Card has expired or been damaged, lost or stolen, please visit www.transportnsw.info/school-travel-apply  to reapply.

So here is the challenge … which extra morning or afternoon can your daughter make her own way to and from school next term? Now is the time to have the conversation with her to plant the seed for a new arrangement next term, and help establish a new greener and more independent routine in Term 3!

Holly Gyton
Head of School