Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we now settle into the “new normal” for this term, students and their families continue to respond positively to the changes in routine due to the current circumstances. The changes to the ‘pick up and drop off’ process is settling into a great routine for many, with a number of parents providing positive feedback about this new smooth transition.

The school will continue to act on the advice of the state government departments and Catholic Education Melbourne in relation to the community wide response to the COVID pandemic.

As restrictions start to ease more broadly in our community, I wish to draw your attention to our parish website to see the latest information about how our parish is responding to the changes in restrictions. Under careful management, strict procedures and generosity of parish volunteers, the church is now open to the community for mass and private prayer. Please see the Parish News section of this week’s newsletter or go to the Parish website for more information.

Semester One Reporting and Parent Teacher Interviews

At this time of the school term normally we would be communicating with school families regarding the distribution of school reports and the scheduling of Parent Teacher Interviews.

One thing that we all know is that this term has been far from normal.

As a school in partnership with families, we have made many adjustments to continue the provision of learning during this time. When it became clear during the term that students would be shifting from a remote learning model back to the school site for “face to face” teaching, a timeline was put in place to navigate this transition.

Part of the transition was the decision to delay the distribution of the Semester One report so that teachers could effectively assess students’ learning progress. This will mean that the distribution of the Semester One Report will take place on Friday 7th August. Parent teacher interviews will take on Tuesday 11th and Thursday 13th August, subject to any restrictions still in place. More information about this will be provided closer to the time.

If at any time you wish to contact your child’s classroom teacher to discuss their progress please reach out by email or set up a phone conversation.

The Term 2 remote learning experience has resulted in a set of circumstances where students, families and teachers have had to make big adjustments and changes that have provided some unexpected opportunities. Throughout this time, parents have shared with school staff that the remote learning experience has given them a greater insight into how their child engages in learning. For some students this was a positive empowering experience that allowed them to articulate the parameters that helped them concentrate and learn. For other students, they struggled without the classroom routine and interaction with peers and teachers.

Regardless of the experience, the school would like to provide an opportunity in the Semester One Report for parents to share a reflection about how their child responded to Remote Learning. The following questions may help stimulate your thoughts about this:

How did your child adjust to the remote learning environment?
What insights did you gain about your child as a learner during Remote Learning?
What has been a highlight for your child’s experience in Remote Learning?

If you would like to submit a parent reflection to be included as part of your child’s Semester One report please email your response to your child’s classroom teacher no later than Thursday 25th June. A list of classroom teacher email addresses has been provided below.

Last Day of Term Friday 26th June - Early Dismissal

The students normally finish at 1:15pm on the last day of the school term. Here are the staggered dismissal times to minimise congestion at the front of the school.

1:05pm Red House
1:10pm Blue House
1:15pm Green House
1:20pm Yellow House

As a one off, we are trying a shorter time interval (5 minute) to see how this works with the current staggered dismissal arrangement in the car park. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

School Board Meeting - Wed. 24th June 7pm

The School Advisory Board will be meeting on Wednesday 24th June at 7pm in an online video conference.

God bless

Tom Wursthorn

Principal

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