With great enthusiasm, I welcome back our DPS families to the 2022 school year. To our new families, I welcome you with a warm reception to the Doncaster Primary School Community.

I feel privileged to be leading our DPS community as the Acting Principal for 2022. I am looking forward to a successful year of learning. This year our mantra is Care, Connection and Commitment! This mantra will anchor our core purpose, which is to provide your children with an engaging learning environment that stretches and challenges their minds whilst simultaneously building resilience and attending to their social and emotional needs.

Student engagement and wellbeing are a primary focus as we move through this next phase of the pandemic. Over the past two years, we have demonstrated that as a community, we are resilient and adaptable. These strengths will help us navigate the new norm of living with the virus. I believe that the way forward is with confidence in our practices and calmness in our approach.

All teachers, education support and the leadership team are committed to our core purpose, which was evident in the planning and preparation leading up to the return of the students. I thank our teachers for their hard work, dedication and perseverance. Miss Epskamp and I spent some time in all the classrooms on Monday and it was lovely to see the children settled and happy.

News from North West, Victoria

Mr Hill and I have been in touch throughout the holidays and over the past few days, and I am pleased to say that Mr Hill is also having a great start to the year. We wish Mr. Hill and his students all the very best at his new school.

Compass Newsfeeds

Please remember to check Compass regularly for news and updates. We are doing our best to consolidate information to minimise the number of Newsfeeds coming through, however, there are times when this is unavoidable. Thank you for your patience as we endeavour to provide you with clear and comprehensive information.

COVID-19 Back to school Plan and Management-

Main points:

Free rapid antigen tests

Thank you to those families who have collected their child’s RAT from the office. We will continue to distribute tests from the office between 8:00 and 4:30.

We will let you know when we are ready to distribute the next batch of RAT in the coming weeks.

It is recommended that you test your child on set days during the week to help establish a routine. We thank our families who are doing their part to keep our community safe.

Students and staff will do the tests at home; they only need to report their result if it is COVID-positive. They must report a COVID-positive result to:

the school by phone or the RA Test Portal; this is so the school can support them, record that they will be absent while in 7-day isolation, and let the rest of the school community know there has been a positive case onsite and that they should monitor for symptoms
the Department of Health via the COVID-19 Positive Rapid Antigen Test Self-Reporting Form or call centre on 1800 675 398.

Information about how to do a test and how to read RAT results, including a how-to video translated into 33 languages, is available online.

Vaccination requirements

Parents and carers must have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or have a valid medical exception (with limited exceptions) to enter school buildings.

All staff working in schools need to be fully vaccinated or have a verified medical exception.COVID-19 vaccinations for students are not required for them to attend school but vaccination for students is highly encouraged.

For more information on how to book a vaccination, including important information about vaccination for children aged 5 to 11, visit Vaccination information for children and teenagers.

Masks

School staff are required to always wear masks indoors. There is an exception from this requirement if they are actively teaching.

Students in Grade 3 and above must were a facemask indoors at school. Please ensure that your child has a supply of clean facemasks to bring to school every day.

Students in Prep to Grade 2 are strongly recommended to wear a face masks indoors.

Ventilation

We are making sure that classrooms are well ventilated by opening windows and doors, to minimise the risk of infection. The air purifiers have been allocated to priority areas across the school and are being used as an added safety measure.

Vital COVIDSafe steps

Hand hygiene, mask wearing, and social distancing will continue wherever possible in Term 1.

Staffing our school

I know many of you will have questions about what happens if your child’s teacher gets COVID-19. We will be able to bring in extra teachers and other staff if we need them, and we will be doing everything that we can to make sure our school stays safe and open.

COVID positive case notification via Compass Newsfeed

You will continue to receive daily newsfeed from me regarding the classes and cohorts that may be impacted due to a positive case.

Please remember that if your child is not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, they can continue to attend school, but you should monitor for symptoms and continue with the twice-a-week rapid test.

If your child tests positive or is a household contact please inform the school and isolate for 7days.

Remember to record a positive test result RA Test Portal or

COVID-19 Positive Rapid Antigen Test Self-Reporting Form or call centre on 1800 675 398

Feel free to contact us to clarify any concerns you may have via email at doncaster.ps@education.vic.gov.au or by phone on 9848 1122.

Drop off/ Pick up and Parking

I would like to remind all parents to take care when driving during drop off and pick up. Please be mindful of the children and families who may be around your vehicle.

If you are using Hummel way for pick up and drop off please ensure that you safely park along the left hand side of the road (this may mean that you need to park further down Hummel Way or park in the gravel car park opposite our gym)

Please DO NOT PARK on the right hand side of the road on Hummel Way as this creates a very narrow passage way for cars to drive through and it is dangerous for pedestrians.

Please be mindful of the traffic and pedestrian congestion along Hummel Way and Council Street especially at pick up time. It is very important that we are all patient and respectful of the road rules to ensure that safety of our children.

Please ensure that you use the school crossing on Council Street and on Doncaster Road when crossing the road.

Wishing everyone a fabulous start to the school year!

Kind regards,

Larissa Vesdrevanis

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