COVID-19 Update

Our return to school

Thursday 10th June, 2021

Dear Families

It is with a sense of cautious relief that we welcome the State Government’s decision to ease restrictions at midnight tonight. We look forward to our students coming back to school tomorrow.

As we are already well trained in understanding return to school protocols, I gently remind you of the importance of caring for the entire community and ask that you speak with your child regarding the necessity of good hygiene, especially hand washing. We have a good supply of hand sanitizer at school and will be encouraging everyone to use this. We also have ongoing extra cleaning and sanitizing daily.

A summary of the key changes and advice is provided below;

Students and school staff in all schools across Victoria should attend their school in accordance with normal arrangements from and including Friday 11 June.
Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) programs operating in schools can also resume full operations from and including Friday 11 June.

We will return to our guidelines as they relate to restrictions as they currently stand;

All visiting adults on school grounds must wear masks at all times.
For the purposes of communicating, teachers and education support staff are not required to wear a face mask while teaching, but those who wish to do so, can.
Children under 12 years of age and students at primary school are not required to wear a face mask when at school, or when attending an OSHC program.
Parents and visitors are currently not allowed inside the learning spaces at this stage. Please wear your mask onsite and drop off at classroom areas without gathering.
All parents attending administration/office area must only enter 2 at a time and maintain social distancing.
The density limit of one person per 4 square metres applies to spaces used only by staff and to publicly accessible areas. It does not apply to classrooms or other areas used by students.
Interschool sport cannot resume at this stage.
Assembly is for school staff and students only. No parents permitted.
Playgroup cannot go ahead at this time.

This notification, signals for our community, the end of our fourth significant lockdown. We know that for some of our students, the extension of time away from school may have impacted their sense of certainty and added to feelings of disconnection. Please, do not hesitate to contact your child’s Classroom Teacher or any member of our Wellbeing Team should you want to discuss any concerns you have regarding your child’s feelings, attitudes, or behaviours during this lockdown or in returning to school.

Please return all loan devices back to the classroom with your child, complete with chargers (if provided).

I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the extraordinary efforts of our educators, who without any doubts at all, planned for an online context with ease. This is because of the professional people that they are and because they prioritise student learning and student wellbeing.

We look forward to welcoming you all back tomorrow knowing that the long weekend is ahead of us.

Warm regards,

PATRIKA ROWLEY

Principal

Food for families in need

The Southern Peninsula Food For All work every week to prepare food hampers for those in crisis or who are struggling to pay rent and feed their families. At the moment they have a number families requiring urgent help. These amazing volunteers work from the large shed behind our school hall. If you know of anyone who is requiring support you can contact the crisis centre in Rosebud on 5986 1285. The Southern Peninsula Community Support Centre is able to provide food parcels for families that may be in need at this time. You simply need to ring and chat to one of the workers at the centre.

Another service through the Mornington Peninsula Shire.

See above flyer: they can deliver free hot cooked meals to your family. Orders just need to be placed by 12noon for same day delivery.