From the Principal

Welcome to Term 2

Welcome to a Very Different School Term!

The Coronavirus pandemic has certainly impacted on us all, how we live, work and learn. I hope you have all managed to cope in these tricky times and to keep well.

Term 2 began with a Pupil Free Day (Tuesday 14th April) which gave staff an opportunity to further develop our remote learning programs and procedures. We ask that you respect that teaching remotely is not what we normally do and we fully understand that parents do not normally oversee a formal home learning program – new challenges for us all and along the way we’ll learn what works best and what needs to be adjusted.

I acknowledge the fabulous work our teachers have been doing to prepare for remote learning, in their respective teams and mostly via video conferencing with each other. Whilst students on a ‘normal’ school day are in classes for 5 hours (300 minutes), the Department of Education & Training is not expecting this to be done at home remotely.

We’re all in this together and we will come out the other side on top!

Attendance

Recording Student Attendance Every Day

The Department of Education & Training expects schools to record daily student ‘attendance’ during this period of remote learning.

It is important that parents check DoJo each morning and respond to any messages by 11 am. Students who are submitting work electronically or who have been in contact with their teacher on any given day will be marked as present also. If unsure at any time please call the school. Parents can continue to use Compass to record known absences in advance or on the day of illness – this also will serve to inform the classroom teacher that students are unavailable to participate in the remote learning program on that day(s).

Whilst we can appreciate some students aren’t morning people and will like to engage later in the day, or students are sharing an iPad amongst siblings, we ask that you respect that our staff will be keeping normal school hours when responding to student and parent enquiries.

Building Works

By now you will have noticed we are missing nearly half a school! The proposed works were able to proceed on time. Last week Tim and I visited the off-site modular building premises. So far, so good. Everything is going well so hopefully this continues- fingers crossed. As long as we stay in Stage 3 lockdown the building will continue. If we go to stage 4 this might be a different story. We have selected all paint colours, carpet and fittings and purchased all appliances.

The demolition area is fenced off as there will continue to be some minor works happening over the next few weeks on the site. Please take care if coming to the school office and only use the gate near the Ga Ga pit and oval (back of the STEAM room). Please be aware that if entering the school social distancing rules still apply.

Issues

For those that are not yet aware we have had a number of obstacles in the demolition, some of which are still not rectified. We lost water for a period and have been unable to get our phone lines back up and running. We purchased a mobile phone and the school phone number has been diverted to allow families to still access the office. With only one line in, if we are busy, please leave a message and we will call you back. 

Prep Tours and 2021 Enrolments

During a ‘normal’ Term 2 we would facilitate school tours for prospective families of Prep for the following year – these sadly cannot be conducted in the current environment. Enrolment forms for Prep 2021  can be downloaded from our website (or downloaded and printed from the pdf below) and submitted preferably by the end of May 2020. Please scan and email completed application via the school email. An application may also be received via the post.

If needed, you can call 52 783 022 or email rollins.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au to obtain an enrolment form.

Current Rollins families with a sibling joining us in Prep for 2021 are asked to complete an enrolment form ASAP.

Many Thanks

I would like to sincerely thank our parent community who have shown great resilience and support in these really difficult times. I know it is extremely challenging-don’t be too critical of your efforts- surviving this, is a great achievement in itself.

Stay safe

Jenny Hassett

Principal's Pondering 

A Growth Mindset message...

Research has explained a growth mindset as ‘a willingness to confront challenges, viewing failure as a springboard for growth, and a passion for learning. Not surprisingly, this type of mindset is strongly linked to greater happiness and achievement in life.’ Children who are happy, comfortable, safe and confident have a greater outcome with learning and socialising. 

Here’s a child friendly video as made by one of our communication apps, Class Dojo, that explains it brilliantly.  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zrtHt3bBmQ

Story Time

Many thanks to Mr C who has organised Story time on Mondays Tuesdays Thursdays and Fridays at 11am. Obviously there were some initial clinches but we are now up and running. There have been some great comments online so obviously Mr C is a potential star in the making. Thank you so much Mr C.