St. Simon The Apostle

From the Principal

The impact of the COVID19 restrictions is having a massive influence on the economy and job security.  Any school family who is experiencing financial hardship and needs assistance with school fees obligations is encouraged to contact me via 

email (principal@ssrowville.catholic.edu.au) to discuss how we can help at this time.

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 

Welcome back to Term 4!  

Two weeks ago as a school community we thought we were welcoming back our Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students on Monday 12th October however, two weeks is a long time in a pandemic and circumstances can change very quickly!  

It is with much excitement that we are looking forward to welcoming all students to the school from Monday 12th October.

Morning Drop Off

The school gates will be open from 8:20am till 8:50am.  Please drop your child\ren off at one of the two locations shown on the map below.

As per operational guidelines, visitors including parents are to refrain from coming on to the school site.  School leaders and classroom teachers will be available to greet students at entry points to the school to assist with managing anxiety that students may be experiencing.

Please contact your child’s classroom teacher to discuss any specific concerns.

Classes will begin at 8:45am.

Families with more than one student please use the youngest sibling gate entry.  There will be school staff to accompany and direct older siblings to their classroom area.

Parents and families who come on to the school site for pick up and drop off must practise physical distancing at all times and should refrain from congregating within the school. 

        

 Afternoon Pick Up

     Students will be available for collection from 2 locations

  • Prep Gate (near sandpit) via the carpark drive through
  • Outside the Atrium near the double gates

Please make an arrangement with your children about where they will be picked up from.

Students will be dismissed according to House Teams.  This will mean family units will be kept together ready for collection by a parent\carer.

 

The pick-up times will be staggered:

  • 3:05pm Green and Yellow House
  • 3:15pm Red and Blue House

Students who are booked into afterschool care will be collected at the usual time by Beyond Edu Care staff.

IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT PARENTS ARRIVE PROMPTLY AT THE NOMINATED PICKUP TIME AND EXIT FROM THE SCHOOL SITE IN AN EFFICIENT MANNER TO PREVENT GROUPS OF PEOPLE CONGREGATING.  

  • Families are able to make pick up arrangements for their children at the appropriate dismissal time where a family member meets the child\ren in the park opposite the school.  Younger siblings should be collected by older brother\sister to ensure safe walking to the family’s agreed pick-up location.
  • Families who have arrangements in place where their child\ren walks or cycles home may continue.  Please note the earlier dismissal times for some students may mean they are returning home earlier than usual.
  • The car park at peak times for drop off and pick up works best when families use this as “kiss and drop” or drive through pick up function.  School staff will be supervising these movements at the beginning and end of the day.
  • During afternoon pick up time families are asked not to park or wait in the car park ahead of your family’s nominated house colour pick up time.  This type of behaviour affects the smooth flow of traffic for other families driving through to complete the pick-up process of children. Thank you for your cooperation.

I continue to receive very detailed information from Catholic Education Melbourne and DHHS regarding the operation of the school during the pandemic.  This information and advice is what the school follows in order to main a COVID safe school environment for students and staff.  

Student Wellbeing and Reconnecting

We know students will be returning to face to face learning with a myriad of emotions.  At St Simon’s we will be having a whole school approach focus with respect to student wellbeing that will seek to make a smooth and positive transition back. Our teachers and support staff have students' needs at the top of their priority list and we look forward to sharing with you ways we are trying to help students settle back into face to face learning.

School Photos - an update

Under the current guidelines, the school is not permitted to carry out our planned School Photography activities.  The school photo day has been rescheduled till Thursday 5th November to allow more time to seek a possible resolution to this. I will keep you informed.

A Final Word...

Finally, I wanted to share with you a short and practical article that seeks to acknowledge the incredible amount of stress and pressure that parents may have experienced throughout the pandemic. Respected psychologist Michael Grose reminds us that we need to look after our own mental health as parents so that we can continue to support and nurture our children during this uncertain time.

 

 

God bless

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Wursthorn

Principal