From the Principal

Welcome back to term 3

It was great to see students back on site for day one of the new term.  With the current health crisis and mixed messages in the media about which schools were open or not, I was concerned that confusion would have an impact, but that was not the case, and our attendance this past week has been good.

Whilst there are no plans for any change to our delivery of lessons, the situation could change very quickly.  It is everyone's responsibility to be doing the right thing to minimise the risk of contracting or passing on Covid19.

• If your child is feeling unwell, they should stay home
• If they are showing any of the well documented signs of Covid19, they should be tested, and remain home until a negative result is received.
• If a child becomes unwell whilst at school, home will be contacted to collect them

We are continuing with our hygiene processes at school to minimise risks for students and staff.  These include:

• Additional hand sanitisation stations across the school.  All are now touch-free units.
• Implementing social distancing expectations when lining up at the cafeteria etc.
• Hand Sanitiser available in every room and office
• Safety screens in place at key areas.
• minimising visitors to school during school hours
• Some restrictions have been lifted.  The playground is now available for use, and the library has been opened (limited numbers allowed in at once).  Students are allowed to play some ball sports at recess and lunch, but high contact games are not permitted.

Cancellation of events

The following events have been cancelled for this year:

• 2020 Debutante Ball.  Students who were to participate this year will be able to participate in next year's event if still enrolled at our school
• Athletics Carnival.  We will hold an in-class athletics program, as part of our HPE program, similar to cross country.  Points will be tallied over a period of time, allowing for a House Champion still to be named.

Staffing updates

We welcome back Mrs. Nicci Murtagh to our staff, who is going to be doing some specialist literacy work with some students.  Mrs. Jess Vuik has increased her time fraction, so we will be seeing more of her at work.  I am also delighted to welcome back Mrs. Kate Archibald, who is returning for the first time since February after illness.

Ms. Shelley Cross continues as my Acting Assistant Principal for term 3 whilst Mrs. Morrish is away.

AUSLAN

We have commenced a new program this semester - the entire school (students and staff) are learning together the Australian version of sign language - AUSLAN during home group sessions.  This is being really well received by our students, with people embracing the opportunity to learn something new together.  It is wonderful to see students from all year levels and staff members learning and working together.

Planning for 2021 - new subjects, new opportunities

A selection of new subject offerings for next year are being prepared - ready to be launched for our 2021 subject selection process.  I am happy to reveal some subject titles now - to whet the appetite!  We already have some positive support from local industries and employers to support the roll out of these new subjects to be done at Red Cliffs:

Year 10 2021:

• Environmental Science
• Certificate III in Laboratory Skills (VET Subject)
• Certificate II in Hospitality (Kitchen Operations)(VET)
• Certificate III in Information, Digital Media and Technology (2 years, partial completion) (VET)
• Certificate III in Music Industry (VET)

Year 11 2021:

• Certificate III in Laboratory Skills (VET Subject)
• Certificate II in Hospitality (Kitchen Operations)(VET)
• Certificate III in Information, Digital Media and Technology (2 years, partial completion) (VET)
• Certificate III in Music Industry (VET)

What an exciting selection of subjects on offer for students in the senior school at Red Cliffs in 2021!