Dear Parents and Guardians,

Remote Learning 2.0 is well underway now for our school community. Google Meets, remote learning packs, Google Classroom streams and posts, questions and uploading work are now very much part of the fabric of our learning landscape.

The community’s reliance on technology has never been greater than at this time when we are restricted in the physical ways we can interact socially with each other. This means for many of us, including our students, we are turning to or increasing the ways we are communicating online.

Children’s interactions within the world of online communication, chat, social media networks and video chat is an area that needs to be well supported and supervised by parents and carers.

The Australian Government’s eSafety Commissioner is a valuable resource for parents who have questions or need support in being able to help their children navigate the risks and dangers of online communication and interaction. Go to esafety.gov.au/parents for more information.

The School also has a role to play by looking for age-appropriate opportunities for students to explore, discuss and respond to positive and protective online behaviours. At St Simon’s some of the actions we have taken to support and protect students include

establishing of acceptable use of ICT agreements for students.
the development of procedures and protocols for Google Meets and other online platforms
establishing the class group and teacher as a safe place or person to raise issues with
the proactive nature at which school staff respond to instances of inappropriate behaviour and then seek to take action through an educative action\opportunity or referring on to parent or guardian for further attention or action.

School Assembly - Live Stream

One of the key school activities we have missed dearly has been our whole school assembly. This Term we will be hosting our whole school assemblies as video live stream events. The first assembly of this new format will take place on Thursday 30th July at 10am. Our Year 6 student leaders will be working with school staff to host each assembly, with a focus on gathering as a community for prayer as well as celebrating the many learning successes and opportunities within the St Simon’s Community.

Here is the link to the assembly for this week

https://stream.meet.google.com/stream/720c5adf-bd61-4ef7-abab-0cd8e8ea50d1

You will need to use a St Simon's School Google account to view this live stream. I recommend that you use a student account to sign in.

Face Masks

Face coverings will be mandatory for people aged 12 and over. These measures will slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and help protect our school community.

Students who attend primary school for onsite supervision will not be required to wear a face covering. Students who are aged 12 by Year 6 will not be required to wear face coverings. The Victorian Chief Health Officer has advised that it is not practical to require some primary school students to wear face coverings while others are not required to.

Parents and carers will be required to wear face coverings whenever they leave the house, including for school drop-off and pick-up.

All school-based staff must wear face coverings at school, and when travelling to and from school.

Teachers and education support staff will not be required to wear face coverings while teaching, but those who wish to do so can. Teachers should wear face coverings in other areas of the school when not teaching (for example, in the staffroom, on yard duty, and when providing first aid or taking temperatures), and when travelling to and from school.

Students or staff who have a medical condition – including problems with their breathing, a serious skin condition on the face, a disability or a mental health condition – are not required to wear a face covering.

Wellbeing Wednesdays

This week the school community took a pause from the intensity of remote learning by having a Wellbeing Wednesday. This is a time for students, parents and staff to relax from the scheduling of Google Meets and work deadlines, to focus on activities that promote wellbeing.

The Victorian Department of Education has some suggestions for managing wellbeing for your children at this time. Click here for more information.

The next Wellbeing Wednesday will take place on 12th August.

Staffing News

Maree Fatouros, Deputy Principal, will be taking Long Service Leave commencing Monday 10th August for Term 3 and part of Term 4. During this time Hedy Carvalho will be Acting Deputy Principal.

God bless

Tom Wursthorn

Principal