Principal's Report

From Christian's desk....

Return to on-site learning

On behalf of our school, I want to say a big thank you to all our students, parents and carers for your continued resilience and support throughout this year. I know remote and flexible learning has not always been easy, but through our collective efforts, our students have continued to make valuable progress in their learning. You can be confident that our school will support any student who has fallen behind to catch up.

Term 4 is important for every Victorian student, and our teachers will strive to deliver high-quality learning for everyone. Whether we’re teaching remotely or face-to-face, our focus for Term 4 is on making sure that every student is supported in their wellbeing, learning and transition needs.

The Victorian Government has outlined the staged return to on-site schooling for all students as part of its gradual roadmap towards reopening. From 12 October (next Monday), students in Prep to Grade 6 will return to on-site schooling. The existing remote learning program will not continue.

Facilities update

Thankyou to our groundskeeper Kim for his efforts maintaining our grounds over the last few months. Not only do our spaces look terrific, he has put considerable time and effort into a few projects:

A play kitchen has been added to the Wellbeing Playspace
The bench seats in The Birches have been restored
The stairs going to The Hill classroom (PRT) have been reinstated.

Community members may notice that there is some outstanding arborist work that has been unable to be attended to due to weather and the availability of Council/trades during the COVID period. These will be attended to at the earliest possible time.

Outside of School Hours Care

OSHC is once again available for all students. For those of you requiring the service:

Hours of operation:

6:45am – 8:45am for Before School Care
3:30pm – 6:30pm for After School Care

Fees:

$12 for before school care before the childcare subsidy is applied
$18 for after school care before the childcare subsidy is applied

For all Out of School Hours Care bookings please email oshc.croydon.hills.ps@education.vic.gov.au or call 9724 4514.

Health and safety measures

The Term 3 remote and flexible learning arrangements were put in place to significantly reduce the movement of more than one million students and their families across Victoria, to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Thanks to you and your family for contributing to this on behalf of our school community.

As on-site schooling resumes, we will continue to have strong measures in place to protect the health and safety of students, staff, families and the community. This includes:

restricting parent access to internal school grounds
continued emphasis on hand hygiene and physical distancing where possible
extra safety measures to allow for window sales at the Canteen. Lunch orders will be available five days per week.

Further, please give particular attention to reducing the risks associated with congregation at school gates and taking steps to contribute to physical distancing within the school.

School Entry and Exit Procedures

School entry protocols (Refer to Map):

Students arriving at OSHC are met by OSHC staff at the gym door.
Students that:
- do not require parent support are able to enter through Gate 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14 or 15 at any time between 8:30am - 9:00am (identified as ‘Easy In’). This includes students that:
Walk to school via Campaspe Drive or through Yarrunga Reserve.
Are dropped off at the drop-off zone via Access Point
Are dropped off on the western curb side of Campaspe Drive
Require adult support to enter the school are to:
- Prearrange support with their classroom teacher.
- Approach their nominated gate at 8:50am where their classroom teacher or an Education Support staff member will be waiting. Specifically at:
Gate 2 - PCF, JTA, JJO,
Gate 3 - PEC, PKS
Gate 4 - PRT, JKF, JPB, JAW
Gate 6 - PCB, PJT, JLC, JKB, JTC, JCF,
Senior and Middle students are to arrange a specific gate with their teacher.

School exit protocols (Refer to Map):

All students:
- attending Out of School Hours Care will be dismissed from class at 3:30pm.
  - Prep students will be collected by OSHC staff in Week Two of term.
  - Students will walk to OSHC through the Senior building.
  - Students will be collected in the evening with parents adhering to social distancing guidelines.
Students that:
do not require adult support will exit through Gate 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14 or 15 at 3:30pm. They will then follow their family’s exit arrangements. This may include heading to a meeting point along the Campaspe Drive boundary near the school’s exterior playgrounds, ovals or towards Yarrunga Reserve (identified as ‘Easy Out’).
To support siblings (or family arranged groups of children) moving out of the school together the school encourages families to make pre-arranged plans with their children and their teachers. This may include:
- Older siblings leaving the classroom at 3:27pm to walk to the youngest sibling’s classroom.
- Siblings meeting at a designated point in the school grounds before exiting the same internal school gate together.
require adult support to exit the school are to:
- have prearranged parent/child/teacher plans
- Approach their nominated gate at 3:27pm where their classroom teacher or an Education Support staff member will accompany the child/ren to the gate at 3:30. Specifically:
- Gate 2 - PCF, JTA, JJO,
- Gate 3 - PEC, PKS
- Gate 4 - PRT, JKF, JPB, JAW
- Gate 6 - PCB, PJT, JLC, JKB, JTC, JCF
- Senior and Middle students are to arrange specific gate with their teacher.

Our community are excited to return, please practice safe traffic behaviours including crossing at the school crossing. Please take care!

Our Three Key Priorities in Term 4

Mental health and wellbeing

Our highest priority will be the wellbeing, particularly the mental health, of every student and member of staff. This means effectively mobilising all available resources to support our most vulnerable students and enabling staff to access the relevant support services.

Learning and excellence

Some of our students have thrived in the remote and flexible learning environment, others have maintained their learning progress, and some have fallen behind, despite their best efforts and those of their families and teachers. Our priority will be supporting both those who need it to catch up and those who have progressed to continue to extend their learning.

Transitions

We will make every effort to ensure successful transitions for children moving from kindergarten into Prep and the Year 6s moving into Year 7.

We know some families are worried that their child may have to repeat a year due to the disruptions of coronavirus (COVID-19). There is little evidence to support the benefits of repeating a year to catch up. Instead, we will use teaching strategies that draw on the best evidence available to help students meet their learning needs.

Return your devices please

To ensure we have adequate devices to support learning at school we ask that all families return borrowed devices to the school office. This can begin today if you have suitable technology at home to get you through tomorrow’s last day of Remote Learning.

Christian Holdsworth - Principal