Principal Report

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Well this has been the most unusual start to a school term. On a number of fronts it has been quite challenging as we tackle all the adjustments and variables associated with this new approach to learning. I must certainly give credit to all our parents who are giving this their best. It is most certainly a challenge as parents juggle working from home or remotely as well as supporting children in their learning at home. I applaud you all for your efforts.

I would like to sincerely thank the many parents who have sent through emails of support and appreciation for the efforts of staff during this transition to home learning. Throughout this week I have spoken to all classroom teachers regarding their phone conversations with parents and students. The overwhelming response to teachers has been positive. Thank you for sharing this with the teachers as this certainly inspires them to keep an upbeat approach to their job. While we acknowledge that the approach we have taken to home learning will not suit every parent I am grateful to those of you who have appreciated the efforts of our teachers through these phone conversations.

Our aim in the weeks ahead is to increase our connectivity with the children without overloading the demands on parents (not an easy task but we will do our best).

Over the past two days the Year 3-6 teachers have connected with their students via a Google Meet. The children have loved being in contact with their teacher and classmates. These 'Meets' will be offered twice next week.

We are also looking into setting up a Google Meet for our Prep-Year 2 students in the coming week or two.

Also, in response to constructive feedback from a couple of parents, we will be sending out the week's learning activities on Sunday. This, we understand, will assist those parents who like to prepare their children as well as get ready for their own working week each Monday morning.

Life at school is very different. We have anywhere between 5 and 7 children attending on any given day through the week. These children are supervised by a teacher on a rostered basis. They are all working from the library, completing the Home Learning tasks set by their teacher. We have only 4-5 staff on site each day.

I hope you are able to join me for Friday morning assembly again tomorrow morning. There will be a tasty surprise!! Keep an eye out for the Flexibuzz.

Attendance

As we are now aware of the families who need to send their children to school we will not be sending out a fortnightly Flexibuzz to all families as originally planned. We would ask that, if your family/work situation changes and you do need to send your child/children to school, that you contact the office directly to communicate this change.

Building Progress

We are only a week away from receiving our certificate of occupancy for our entire  building project. It is very exciting and the refurbishment of the older classrooms looks amazing. 

Once we receive this certificate we will commence moving classes and furniture. Unfortunately all of our new furniture for the library is coming from New Zealand and for obvious reasons has been held up. We will use temporary shelving and furniture until it arrives.

I am sure that when all the children return to school, they are going to love the new learning spaces.

Easter Raffle

Thank you to those families who bought tickets for our Easter Raffle. Congratulations to the following winners

Winner of Guess the Easter Egg Jar

Celeste D - 1/2L

Easter Raffle Winners

Daimon S - 1/2G

Christina N - 5/6I

Jake B - 3/4S

Jessica L - 3/4D

School Banking

Message from Commonwealth Bank 

The health, safety and wellbeing of our communities and our people remains our highest priority. Due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding coronavirus, the School Banking program will remain on hold. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed with any updates including how we will be managing Dollarmite tokens for students. 

In the meantime, here are some handy online resources for parents who wish to maintain momentum with their child’s financial education: 

• Start Smart: these resources have been created to improve children’s money management skills, and is aligned to the Australian Curriculum and the National Consumer Financial Literacy Framework. 
• The Beanstalk: offers videos and fun activities for children to learn about money.