From the Acting Principal 

Welcome back! It has been great to welcome staff and students back to school.

We had our welcoming assemblies on the students’ first days and it was masked smiles all around as students heard from their Sub-school teams about the year ahead and the opportunities that they will have.

We held three of the assemblies virtually within classrooms for our Year 10, 11 and 12 students and the Year 7, 8, 9’s were split into two groups within their year level to minimise the number of students in the assembly spaces. It took a lot more organisation than normal, but our students were able to find where they had to be and were soon settled into class for their first session ready to begin learning.

Our Year 7s spent their first day with their Connect teacher, the teacher that is the first point of contact for families, and who they meet with every day. Throughout the day, students learnt more about the organisation of the school and went on tour of the school to help them learn where all of their classrooms will be.

I took some photos of the students as they were on their tour, note how enthusiastic they are! They were finding their way very easily later in the day. I went and checked on a few classes and they felt that they had all of their questions answered. Our Year 10 peer support leaders came to spend time with them and will be great contacts for our Year 7s as they are settling in, ready to answer any questions that come their way.

We are so hoping that this year does not have the same interruptions to learning that we are becoming used to during the pandemic. I commend all of our hardworking staff,  the State Government, the Department of Education for putting in place the resources that are required for students to be able to return to school.

We have received our allocation of air-purifiers and have been able to put one in every classroom. The school has also purchased additional purifiers for other spaces such as the Instrumental Music classrooms and staff offices. In addition, we have received enough Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kits for every staff member and student, as well as our CRTs and support staff. We have been distributing them during the Connect classes and explaining how they will assist us in staying out of remote learning.

Thank you, to our families, for your support in implementing the COVIDsafe measures adopted by the school as outlined by the DET in our 'Back to School' plan. Please read the newsletter article about the Back to School plan in this issue to find out more about the COVIDsafe measures in place.

Please remind your children about the importance of them adopting the COVIDsafe behaviours at school, as well as on their way to and from school. I also ask that students come to school with a suitable face mask as there remains a limited supply available at the school.

Unfortunately, visitors are still unable to attend the school site and therefore we cannot run many of our usual welcoming events in these first weeks. Where feasible they will be run online, but we are looking forward to running some of our events in person after Week 4.  Stay tuned for updates via the Compass newsfeed and future newsletters.

Chris Jones

Acting Principal