Principal News 

Student illness

As the weather changes it brings with it the typical winter bugs. With the seasonal change we have observed an increase in the number of unwell students coming to school. We understand that it is not practical to keep students at home during the entirety of a common cold. We also understand that early in the morning when everyone is getting ready for the day, some children appear perfectly well and that it is a complete surprise to you when we call to say that they have become unwell and need to be collected. We ask that if your child is unwell that you please keep them at home until they are well enough to be at school. If your child has gastroenteritis they are not to return to school until 48 hours after their last episode of vomiting or diarrhoea. This is a department of health requirement to prevent the spread of this unpleasant illness.

Like many schools, we are still experiencing a shortage of casual staff available to replace teachers and ES staff if they become ill. This becomes further challenged when unwell students or staff are in attendance, and they spread their illness to others. We always try to avoid splitting classes in response to the shortage of casual staff available however we appreciate everyone’s support with this to avoid others becoming unwell.

Uniform

We have received news from our uniform supplier (Spartan) that they have been able to accommodate the suggestions that families made about the fit and fabric weight of some of our items. You will begin to see these items become available soon. What you will also see is a reduction in price of many items. This is because the old stock (from RHS) that was sold to our supplier has almost run out and our new supplier is now able to make changes to our garment fabric and fits for many items and some at lower prices than our previous supplier. Our new supplier is also going to be providing our Year 6 custom uniform items, so we also look forward to an improvement in these. A reminder that all current uniform is here to stay indefinitely. We will continue to hold second hand uniform sales and items purchased from department stores are still able to be worn with or without a logo (we have iron on logos available at the office). You may notice that some items are currently running low in stock. This is due to the supplier awaiting the feedback from our survey and a hold being put on stock production whilst we gained  community feedback. Thank you again to all the families that provided valuable, honest feedback on our uniform as it enabled the school council to be fully informed of our community needs. It also facilitated the improvement to garment fit and comfort for our students.

This week has flown by courtesy of the Monday holiday and it’s time to enjoy another weekend. I hope that you have something fun planned for the weekend!