Not your average Principals' report

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow...the important thing is not to stop questioning"

Albert Einstein

I like to display this quote on my wall to help me stay focused on what is important from day to day, and right now that is more important than ever as we enter such unpredictable times.

I hope that you and your families have been able to stay safe and happy in spite of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. I encourage you to continue to isolate, keep safe and remain healthy, while spending quality time together as a family and making the most of these trying times. We must now look to the coming weeks and prepare ourselves for what is going to be a very different and challenging time. It is a very difficult time for all concerned. Nothing would make all of us happier than to be returning to some form of normality, but unfortunately this can’t happen and we must make the most of what we have.

As you are all no doubt aware, we are headed into very strict procedures to minimise the movement of people around the community in order to try and reduce the spread of COVID-19. As this is a health crisis rather than an educational issue, the key focus is to restrict travel and movement for as many people as possible and this will include our teachers and parents to the best of our ability.

Remote Learning for all Students – Minimal Exceptions

Our staff will continue to provide a remote teaching and learning program for all students and only those students who must be at school according to the new criteria set by the government, will attend on-site. This will mean that both parents meet the criteria for permitted workers. It is clear that many children who have attended GRPS so far this term, or last term will now be supervised from home. Please contact the school via email if this creates a need for a loan device to access online learning.

Vulnerable Students

The school will contact parents whose children must be offered on-site supervision to discuss this option. This will include those students with a disability who are deemed vulnerable using the department criteria.

Staff who can Work from Home Must Work from Home

All teachers will work from home this time and are not permitted on site except where this is essential. This will be to support us in maintaining a safe environment and ensure the safe running of the school and staff directly engaged in the supervision of students who must be on site.

Expectation of Minimal People on School Sites

The tighter restrictions than the first two periods of remote and flexible learning will see schools returning to an absolute minimum of students and staff on site.

New staffing arrangements will also be necessary to comply with the changed criteria around those staff permitted to be on-site due to personal and family health circumstances and willingness to attend on-site supervision.

New Request Forms Required to be completed for On-site Supervision

Parents who wish to have their child considered for on-site supervision under the new tighter criteria, please email Karen.rouda@education.vic.gov.au. 

Please note that an email is a request only and does not guarantee access to on-site supervision for your child. Parents will be contacted via email if attendance needs meet the set criteria and attendance is approved. If further clarification is required, parents will be contacted. Only those parents who meet the criteria will be permitted to send their children to school for supervision. This process will be completed to ensure, to the best of our ability, that we are being fair and equitable to our school community and the community at large, and that we are following the spirit of the stricter guidelines in our attempt to support the State Government efforts to reduce the spread of Corona virus COVID-19 in Victoria.

Wellbeing

We will endeavour to support our students and families where we possibly can or help to arrange support that may be available. We will do this within the current government restrictions and guidelines, and we are endeavouring to apply these as fairly and equitably as possible.

We are very grateful to one of our parents Dr Hok Lim, who is a GP at the Hills Medical Centre and our current school treasurer. In our recent School Council Meeting, the School Captains talked to us about how many of the children were finding lockdown increasingly difficult. Hok talked to the children about the different help lines available, and also the services that are offered by the local doctors. 

Hok sent us the following information and I would like to share it with our school community to assist with any anxiety or stress that you may be experiencing. 

Recommendations from Hok included Kids Helpline, which is something that is easy to access for kids of all ages and parents can gain advice too. Your local GPs are often in a good position to understand the family context and can offer good lifelong follow up. All GPs are offering phone consults at the moment which are bulk billed. Headspace is available, but they are really for the older kids (12 and up).  The Smiling Minds App is also very helpful for mindfulness techniques that can be utilised by kids. 

• Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (telephone and online counselling for ages 5-25)
• Lifeline 13 11 14
• Call Parent line in your state or territory for counselling and support for parents and carers
• eheadspace to chat online
• SANE Australia (people living with a mental illness and their carers) — call 1800 18 7263
• ReachOut.com (youth mental health service) — visit the website for info or use the online forum

I thank everyone in our community for your understanding and support. Once again, I encourage you all to take time to think through the new conditions calmly and know some things are beyond our control. Please focus on those things you can control and look for the positives and seek help where needed.

My very best wishes and warmest regards to all at this exceedingly difficult time for us all to navigate. Try to stay healthy and take great care.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 

On a lighter note I asked for some Home Learning stories from families last week - the good, the bad and the ugly. 

Let’s face it, no matter how carefully we plan, something may still go wrong. 

Even our teachers are finding it hard to overcome the obstacles of Remote Learning, with their own children. 

Mrs Rice was happy to share some of her home experiences with her 3 children. 

She was heard saying by a trusted source, “Is it bad that I wanted to send them all the Principal’s Office by 9:30am on some days?”

The same trusted source, emailed me these photographs of proof of the struggles Mrs Rice is encountering.

You think as a teacher you would definitely have remote learning sorted.......

Can’t get the iPad to work! Can’t get her on Google Meet! What’s wrong with the internet!

Trying to work with 3 kids! Can you just leave me alone for 2 minutes, I’m on a Google Meet.

Trying to get them up in the morning!

 Please just GET UP!

Going up to check on Mr Year 8 and how he is going with his work. Doona and Tik Tok, don’t remember that being on the curriculum!

Take care and Stay safe

Karen and Melissa