Out and about with Mr Walsh

Term 4 Return to School Date - Wednesday 7th October

We are very excited at Surfside with the recent news of Regional Victoria easing restrictions and this will therefore result in an earlier start to school for term 4 than anticipated. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our students, staff and families for their continued support, patience and flexibility in what has been a very challenging yet in a number of ways a very rewarding school year. Along the way our school community has learnt new and important skills and this has been highlighted by a true collaborative learning community in many ways. We anticipate that term 4 will still look very different and all information and guidance is subject to change based on the advice of the Chief Health Officer. Following Department of Education guidelines and in consultation with School Council, all students will return to on-site learning at Surfside Primary School on the following date:

All students return to on-site learning

 Wednesday 7th October

The Department of Education and Surfside Primary School has highlighted the following areas as a priority for term 4 and in preparation for the 2021 academic year:

• Wellbeing and Equity - The wellbeing, and particularly the mental health, of every student, staff and community member is the highest priority. This means encouraging and sustaining motivation for learning, re-engaging students and families where needed, and supporting the social and emotional learning of children and young people alongside curriculum-based learning. All available resources will be mobilised to ensure support for every student, including our most vulnerable.
• Learning Excellence - Some students have been better able to progress in their learning in the remote and flexible learning environment, others have maintained their rate of progress, and some have, despite their best efforts and those of their families and teachers, not progressed in their learning as would normally occur. It will be important to meet all students at their point of need – both to support those who have not progressed in their learning to catch up and those who have progressed to continue to extend and stretch their learning. Literacy and numeracy across the curriculum will be a priority, while also adapting the teaching and learning program in Term 4, to be responsive to student needs while being involved in an engaging curriculum.
• Transition - Term 4 is a critical period, particularly for the children moving from kindergarten into Foundation, from Year 6 into Year 7 and other year levels will also prepare for a change of teachers and new classmates. A key focus of Term 4 will be to make every effort to ensure each of these end-of-year and beginning-of-year transitions occurs as successfully as possible. This includes finding appropriate and engaging ways to conduct transition programs, orientations and end-of-year celebrations.

It is paramount that we can identify and prioritise the areas of need for each individual student and therefore on the Monday and Tuesday teachers will be organising and meeting with individual or small groups of students to undertake relevant assessments, complete wellbeing check-ins as required and allow for a successful transition back to on-site learning - (Not all students will be required on these days). This will allow for a targeted approach to teaching and learning during term 4 while supporting the social and emotional needs of all of our students. Teachers will contact relevant families to organise a required time for assessments or meetings and these will be conducted either in person at school or via the Webex platform (a reminder that on-site meetings will be for students only and parents are still not allowed on-site).

The following will still be available on these days:

• Remote Learning Platform will be released on Monday and Tuesday for all students
• On-site supervision for essential workers – communication will be made closer to the start of term 4

Daily School Operations – As a school we are still awaiting advice from the Department of Education on the daily operations of the school day and we will communicate this prior to the start of term 4. We are aware that many things can change in a short amount of time so we want to make sure that everyone has the most up to date advice.

Again we thank you for the continued support to allow us to meet the social, emotional and academic needs of all students at Surfside Primary School and we wish you all a safe and restful holiday break. Continue to support the health guidelines to ensure we are able to keep the Ocean Grove community safe and most importantly see our students return to school.

Regards,

Peter Walsh

Thank You

All of the Surfside students, staff and families have done a terrific job throughout Remote Learning 2.0 but I do want to take this opportunity to personally thank Linda Giggins, Gill Hodgson, Lynda Patterson and Robyn Frew for their continued leadership, support and guidance throughout term 3. They have continued to have our students at the centre of every decision, worked collaboratively to support the academic, wellbeing and financial needs of the school, have never found any challenge too overwhelming and have kept us all afloat.

I would like to thank our school council for their continued support of the school operations and school community. They have continued to be a positive and supportive voice of the school community and always offer a helping hand.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank our regular Casual Relief Teachers who have filled many roles during remote learning from google and SeeSaw classrooms to on-site supervision. They have always offered engaging activities and ideas to best support our students as well as participating in professional learning. All of this is able to happen due to the strong relationship they have built with our students.

Most of all thank you to our students, staff and families who have continued to undertake the most ambitious change in education in our lifetime. I am sure there has been success, cheers, challenges and tears along the way but I have seen all of you step up to the challenge and embrace the experience of remote learning (well I only hid under the table from my kids once but who is to judge). Fingers and toes crossed that we start to see some normality in our lives.

2021 Planning

We are currently working through our workforce plan regarding classroom structures for 2021. If  your child(ren) are not returning to Surfside Primary School in 2021 please contact the administration team on 5256 1411.

Term 4 Staffing Updates

Miss Heenan - We are excited to announce the return of Miss Heenan from maternity leave during term 4. Mrs Heenan will be working on Thursday and Friday and will work across a number of classrooms, assisting staff and students in implementing our intervention and extension program.

Mrs Welsh - Mrs Welsh will not return to on-site teaching and learning during the initial stages of term 4 and will be covered by Mrs Mock. Mrs Mock has completed work with J8 on other occasions and has a strong relationship with the students of J8 and will be a much welcomed staff member at Surfside.

Mr Cunningham - Mr Cunningham will not return to on-site teaching and learning during the initial stages of term 4 and will be covered by Mr Fraser. Mr Fraser has continued to engage with the students of Surfside in the Health and PE program during remote learning and we look forward to having Mr Fraser on board.

Mr Murphy - Mr Murphy will be on Long Service Leave during term 4 and will be covered by Mr Asher. Mr Asher is a consistent staff member of the Surfside community and has worked in all areas of the school and the music and specialist department look forward to having Mr Asher join their team. We wish Mr Murphy all the best during his leave and look forward to seeing him again in 2021.

Term 4 Uniform - Hats

Term 4 will see the re-introduction of compulsory broad brimmed hats for all students. It is a sun smart requirement that all students are wearing a broad brimmed hat when outdoors during recess and lunchtime as well as outdoor activities. Students will stay in a shaded area if they have not brought their hat to school.

If you require any uniform items for term 4 please contact Looking Smart Uniforms and they will be happy to help you out: 

School Program Updates

• Fresh Food Fair Update 2020 - Cancelled
• Surfside Primary Intensive Swimming Program - Term 4 week 1, 2, 3 & 4 - Cancelled
• School Photos - Rescheduled to Term 4 (Date TBC)
• School Camps (years 4 & 6) - awaiting advice from Department of Education but dates have been rescheduled and planning continues

Below are some important dates to assist in planning for term 4 (dates and programs are subject to change at short notice based on restrictions and the advice of the Chief Health Officer)

• 7/10 - Students return to on-site learning
• 20/10 - Prep Information Evening (Virtual Evening)
• 21/10 - Geelong Cup Public Holiday (no school for students)
• 23/10 - AFL Pre-Grand Final Public Holiday (no school for students)
• 26-30/10 - Year 4 Camp Anglesea TBC (Year 4 cohort will be split into 2 groups due to COVID restrictions (Group 1 - 26/10-28/10 Group 2 - 28/10-30/10) Groupings will be communicated once camp has received Department of Education approval
• 16-19/11 - Year 6 Camp Roses Gap TBC based on Department of Education approval
• Week 8 (23/11-27/11) Date TBC - School Council Endorsed Curriculum Day

There are still a number of events that need to be confirmed but we continue to wait until we have received the most up to date health advice to confirm these events and dates.

Throughout term 4 we have seen that 2 weeks is the equivalent of 2 months, 6 weeks is the equivalent of 6 months and 24 hours is like a week and therefore we are planning accordingly. We appreciate the patience and respect of our school community during these challenging times.

Surfside Primary School Week 10 Virtual Assembly @ 11.00am

Thank you to all of our students and families who have been joining in on our Friday Virtual Assemblies. We look forward seeing you all for the final time for term 3.

Last weeks highlights included a focus on R U OK? Day, interviews with Arwyn and Gill and  highlighting results from our Virtual Athletics Championships.

We will be running our final live virtual assembly for term 3 at the earlier start time of 11.00am with our Awards and a wrap up of term 3 and Remote Learning 2.0. We look forward to sharing what has been happening in term 3 at Surfside:

Virtual Assembly Link: Week 10 Virtual Assembly @ 11.00am

It is preferred that you access the virtual assembly on your device by downloading the Webex Meetings App and use the following login:

Using the Webex App please add the

Event Number: 165 611 9644

Event Password: surfside

Health & Safety at Surfside Primary School

The Victorian Government, Department of Health and Human Services and The Department of Education have introduced new restrictions and measures for all schools in the state of Victoria in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The move to remote and flexible learning is in place to support these measures and we continue to run an on-site program for applicable families. We can all do our part in the following ways:

• Please inform the school immediately if you or your family are notified as a confirmed positive case of COVID-19 or are identified as a close contact of a confirmed case, so we can take the necessary precautions.
• Continue good health and hygiene practice by washing hands regularly, coughing or sneezing into our elbow, using hand sanitiser regularly and limiting the sharing of equipment.
• When unwell it essential that you remain home, seek medical advice and not return to school until well again. Please contact the office at any stage if you are unsure.
• Students need to bring their own drink bottle clearly labelled.
• Parents and carers are not to attend school on-site at any stage and if you need to contact the office please call and make a time for an appointment. If you arrive late or need to collect your child early please call and we will collect or bring your child out.
• Adults are to wear face coverings and continue to practice social distancing at all times when dropping off, collecting students or visiting the administration office.

It is important that we all follow these regulations so we can move closer to allowing our students to resume full-time on-site learning. We are aware that situations and information changes very quickly so we will update our school community via Compass and email with important updates if required. Please make sure that your contact details are up to date.

Surfside Primary School Virtual Tour

Due to current restrictions we are unable to run our school tours for prospective families. To enable our prospective families to gain a valuable experience of the school we have put together a Virtual Tour. Please feel free to pass this on to families and share via Facebook and we look forward to welcoming our new families in 2021. We are planning to have small Q&A sessions with new families in the coming weeks. In the meantime sit back and enjoy the show. A big thank you to our Surfside parent, Eamon Urtone who has done a great job in putting this together and Layla, Ava and staff for providing some special guest appearances.