Facilities News
Dr Denise Clarke
Facilities Manager
New building - As Corinne has mentioned in her section the new modular building is going well. We have ordered the new classroom furniture for the building so the excitement is building on a daily basis.
Fire Services upgrade - The Victorian Schools Building Authority is upgrading the fire services at the school. Instead of digging trenches to lay water pipes the contractors are boring tunnels for the pipes. There are many construction vehicles onsite over the past two weeks with dedicated compounds in the administration car park and in the parents’ carpark. They anticipate it will take six weeks to complete if they do not have any unexpected challenges. The reception car park is restricted and will be used for parent drop off and pick up. There is no access to the parent/carer car park on Bamburgh Street for the remainder of the term. We are expecting the majority of large vehicles will be taken off site prior to Tuesday which will minimise traffic congestion but we will not have complete access to all our usual drop off and pick up point.
Over the past two weeks, contractors have found some unanticipated rock. We are also anticipating some restrictions in small areas across the site which are designed to assist plumbers to complete the service connection. Students and staff will be notified in advance so provision can be made to re-adjust any outdoor learning spaces.
COVID 19 Precautions-
Two 1st Aid Rooms - The school has now established two First Aid rooms. The existing 1st Aid Room near reception will continue to be used for student injuries and accidents.
The second 1st Aid Room in the Primary breezeway will be known as the Medical First Aid Room. Students who present with any sign of a respiratory infection or other illness that is potentially contagious will be directed to this room for temperature checks and assessment. We have purchased Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for staff who will be assisting the students.
If students present with an infection at school, parents will be notified and requested to pick up their child as soon as possible to seek medical advice. This will minimise the potential to spread infections throughout the school community.
Many staff have taken the opportunity of free testing for COVID 19 for school staff who have no symptoms. This is reassuring the for the staff members and our community. We just need to continue our good hygiene practices, take advantage of the additional school cleaning and minimise our exposure to unfamiliar people.
A new Vuly trampoline has been installed in the playground 4 replacing the previous one which had been bounced out of energy. I am sure the students will enjoy the new one when they return next week.
School Technology - the school lent out over 60 technology devices. We will be recalling these next week. Parents of Middle and Secondary Sub School students will be asked to return the devices on Wednesday 27th and Primary Sub School equipment on Thursday 28th May. Each device will be sanitised before going back onto shared trolleys. I know many parents were surprised at how proficient their children were in using technology. I can see some big birthday and Christmas presents being bought later in the year.