Welcome back to Term 4! I am hopeful that you managed to have some rest and family time during the holidays and managed to get a couple of picnics in on the nice days.
We are expectant for 18th October when we will be able to welcome back the Prep students, and later in the week, the Year 1s & 2s. It will be wonderful having the little people around again. When we have everyone back on November the 5th, this will be all the more exciting.
The Government have sent out an operations guide that all schools must adhere to. There are unfortunately some disappointments for us all in the operations guide and, at the moment, we are not sure how long this guide will be in place for. If you could help prepare your children for some of the following situations it will make the transition back to school a lot smoother for all.
Currently, the operations guide says we cannot have assemblies, however we will continue with these online as we have been. Excursions, camps, incursions, and visitors are also not allowed. I know the cancellation of camps will be very disappointing, particularly for the Secondary students who will not be able to go on camp again; I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ewan Harris and Robert Court for their tireless rescheduling in this area. Masks will be mandatory for all Secondary students inside and outside (unless sitting and eating) and are recommended for Primary children. All students have been wonderful in complying with mask rules and we thank them ahead of time for continuing this.
Staff will endeavour to have as many outdoor classes as possible. This means you may like to send your child to school in either the winter or summer uniform – whatever you feel is best, dependent on weather. I am very aware that many students have grown out of their uniform (as have my own children), but if you could please send them in as much appropriate uniform as possible, that will help everyone to feel back at home.
Mixing year levels once again is restricted and we will ensure all students have their own separate play areas where possible. We understand that this is difficult for some students as friendships are in different year levels and we will try to make this as flexible as we can within the guidelines.
All PE and Sport lessons will be conducted outside. Students are not allowed to use the library, but we are working on enhancing the mini libraries in the classrooms, as we know how much students have missed books.
We are busy praying that 2022 will be a much more consistent year of schooling for all.
I know some students will be hesitant about coming back after being at home for so long – please, can I encourage you all to send your children to school. We have strict hygiene regimes and we have ensured we have followed all guidelines. If you need extra help with transitioning your child back or indeed for yourself, please do not hesitate to call us and we may be able to alleviate some anxiety.
We will of course be making school as enjoyable as ever. There is much to look forward to even if we don’t have all our traditions this term. Also, I am very much looking forward to seeing pictures of all of the sunflowers the Year 4s have been growing with Mrs Templeton.
We look forward to seeing you all very soon.