KEEPING BELMORE SAFE

As you are aware the approach Belmore School has taken in managing the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2020 and 2021 has been one of extreme caution and as we recently experienced this has proven itself in maintaining the health and safety of our students and staff. Please be reassured that we will act immediately upon any identified concerns and keep parents and carers informed as required.

To ensure the health and safety of students and staff we will continue to restrict entry to Belmore School and expect those permitted onsite to adhere to our strict COVIDSafe requirements, including wearing a correctly fitted facemask both inside and outdoors. Where possible we ask that parents and carers avoid entering the school building. A new intercom system is now in place at both the Stroud Street and Kaleno View entries where parents and carers can notify reception that they are in the school entry area to drop off or collect their child. We do request that parents and carers now use this method of contacting reception rather than phoning the school number as was previously in place.

The Department of Education and Training has mandated that all visitors and volunteers performing work on school sites (both inside and outdoors) must have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and must have had two doses of COVID-19 vaccine by 29 November 2021 or have a valid medication exception. Similarly, all parents and carers who enter school buildings must have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and must have had two doses of COVID-19 vaccine by 29 November 2021 or have a valid medication exception.

The Department requires schools to record vaccination status on all visitors and volunteers who attend onsite. Following on from checking in via the Service Victoria QR code, proof of vaccination must be provided to a member of the administration or leadership team. To save having to undertake this requirement on every visit, parents and carers are welcome to email me personally karen.overall@education.vic.gov.au with a copy of their vaccination certificate which will be stored in a restricted folder on our administration drive accessible only by myself and the business manager.

Many thanks to all parents and carers who have avoided bringing their child into school following an appointment in the morning. The Department guidelines now approve movement across multiple sites, though do recommend to minimise movement wherever possible. Subsequently students are now welcome to return to school following an appointment they are required to attend in the morning.

Finally I remind you that no-one should attend the school site if you are unwell or displaying any of the COVID-19 symptoms detailed in the list below. If a student is identified with any of the listed symptoms they will be safely isolated and the parents or carers called to collect them immediately. When this occurs it is the nurses strong recommendation that the child is taken to get tested prior to returning home.

Capital Works Project

It is with great delight that I am able to share with you the finalised plans for our significant whole school upgrade. Apart from the school hall and art room, every teaching and learning space and bathroom facility in use by every student will be effectively brand new, through either the new build or a substantial renovation. This means that every student will be learning in a state-of-the-art classroom, playing in a welcoming and safe outdoor recreation space and assisted with their personalised care needs in fit-for-purpose facilities.

While we respect that this scope of work will have a significant impact on the functioning of the school; the architects have gone out of their way to design the build to minimise the disruption, ensuring all students will continue to receive high quality teaching and learning programs within a safe school environment.

An overview of the project and plans is shared on the next dedicated page in this newsletter.

School Photos

Official school photos will be taken next Wednesday 17 June. All students are requested to wear their school uniform on this day. Please contact Kim at reception if you have not received the photo order form.

Whole School Production

Unfortunately our whole school production has been yet again impacted by the ongoing Government restrictions. Rather than postponing it for a second year and in consideration of the preliminary work the students and staff had dedicated to its planning and development, we will now be delivering a hybrid model of our 2021 whole school production. On Thursday 9 November, commencing at 1.30pm in the hall each class will present their themed performance in front of students and staff at school. The production on the day will be recorded to share with parents and carers at home. Further information will be provided shortly.

Karen Overall

Principal

Belmore School Newsletter

Issue 10 · 12 Nov 2021

In this issue