From the Principal

 We are ALL Back!

This week it was great to hear the hum across the learning spaces and the squeals of joy on the playground as all our children returned to full time learning at school. The children have settled really well back to the rhythm of the school day. We are building up our learning stamina and are ensuring we have moments for a quick stretch and a change of pace when we see the need.

COVID Safety

I am so impressed with our school community and in particular with our seniors who are consistently wearing their face masks in the learning space. Congratulations to the children, to our parents and to our staff for reinforcing the importance of this action for all our safety. Masks have been shown to add as much as 50% protection and with a 80%+ vaccinated adult population can help give us a greater level of protection from the virus.

There have been cases in Lynbrook and Lyndhurst and we all need to be as vigilant as possible. I thank parents who have taken the initiative to keep their child at home when unwell and get them tested. Others have contacted us when they have needed to isolate when a household member has tested positive or they have been near a close contact.

It is important that the instructions provided by the health department are followed. If a household member is positive all must quarantine. However if a close contact at your home is negative the other family members can continue to attend school. Please do keep us informed.

Our learning space bubbles will continue for learning times and play times for another week. We hope that case numbers subside further, so we can begin to remove these safety measures as soon as possible.

Drop Off and Pick Up Zone

Now with the whole school back, we all need to be attentive and patient to ensure the children get picked up as quickly as possible from the pick up point after school. We have extra staff on duty to help make this process as safe and as quick as possible. Please be respectful and remember the staff are all doing extra duties to make this as smooth as possible. All this is new for everyone and we are constantly refining what we do. A rainy day adds extra complications and requires extra patience. Honking does not help!! We need your support at this time, so please remember:

• To stay in your car at all times.
• Please follow the road rules around the school. e.g keep the roundabout clear of traffic.
• To make a left turn as you leave the school grounds at the after and before school peak times, so you do not hold up the traffic behind you.
• Please inform your child if you are picking them from the drive through.
• Please do not walk into the drive through area. If walking please pick up your child from the learning space.

Children in the pick up zone are waiting in learning space groups. 

1. Learning Space 1 by the portable
2. Learning Space 2 by the red entrance to the school.
3. Learning Space 3 by the Community room

A reminder that parents will need to be doubled vaccinated once the school opens for parent helpers and for events such as Confirmation and Graduation later this term. While visitors will be able to use the QR code and Service Vic app, anyone working/volunteering at the school during school hours will need to provide a copy of their digital certificate. We invite parents who regularly work at the school to provide a copy of their digital certificate to the office.

Building News

This week we were informed that we have been successful in getting a grant for a sun sail. I will be getting this organised so that we have it installed by the deadline in Term 1. I hope it can be achieved this year but there is a high demand for this service. The new sail will create an outdoor learning space by the oval for the whole school to access.

Our Multi-purpose hall has also taken a huge step forward. On Wednesday afternoon I received this exciting news, "Confirming that the project was approved by PBFC today and we can now proceed to tender as anticipated." This was the last step to get plans and funding approved by the MACS Planning, Building and Finance Committee (PBFC). The project has now proceed to tender and we anticipate to have a builder by December.

Mathematics Professional Learning

On Thursday our staff participated in a two hour online mathematics professional learning session. These days were organised at the start of the year and there was no opportunity to change them. At this time it is also difficult to replace teachers so we used our existing staff and children were able to enjoy a fun activity together.

The Mathematics Professional Learning has been incredibly valuable as the entire staff are involved and we can ensure the desired consistency in strategies across the school. There are eight session for the year and we have completed session seven this week. On Thursday we were looking at number word sequences. Having a good grasp and understanding of number sequences requires a child to do more that just say a set of numbers in sequence starting at 1. When we develop our understanding we can count from different starting points, we can say the number that comes after and the number that comes before, 10 more or 10 less, 100 more or 100 less. There is a sequence in the way we build up this understanding and develop competency. There are many games we can play to make this learning fun and interesting. There is  quite a lot to learn for little children and getting the pace right is important too. The aim is to achieve this with understanding and enjoyment. Let's work together on this and we will share some of the FUN activities with you. We do not need to race or bore them with tedious worksheets. 

Christine White

Principal