Principal's News
Dear Parents / Carers,
Welcome back to all of our students, staff and families. I trust families were able to make the most of the Easter holidays. The beautiful weather we have been enjoying was appreciated, no doubt by all of the campers during this busy period. Given the stories on the playground this morning, one can’t help wondering about Victoria’s fish stocks, going forward.
Term Two promises to be another very busy one. Unfortunately COVDI-19 will continue to rumble along within our community and while the easing of restrictions is welcome, it still has great capacity to impact on our staff and their attendance at work, which is always tricky.
Grade 5s will be on camp, next month, the swimming program will be running throughout the term, Catholic Education Week is celebrated next month with a combined school Mass on Wednesday May 25th and our Grade 3 & 5 students will sit the N.A.P.L.A.N. Tests from May 10th to 13th.
Our Mother’s Day Stall is next Friday May 6th and we will have two school closure days on May 27th and then again on June 24.
RELATE This year one of our major focuses for Professional Development for our staff will be our involvement in the “Relate Program” and it is a requirement of this program that all staff attend two Professional Development days (May 27 & June 24).
But what is Relate? Essentially the program is designed to help our school create a culture where it is understood that a precondition for learning is that the wellbeing of our students and staff is the first building block.
ReLate is a model that supports a school in creating the preconditions for improved teaching and wellbeing.
ReLate looks through a trauma-informed lens, providing schools with practical strategies to create a safe, supportive, predictable environment that nurtures curiosity and innovation, and enhances teacher practice and student learning outcomes.
ReLate provides stability and consistency for school communities, deepens staff understanding of trauma-informed education, and connects global research and evidence to the schools’ front door. It’s about understanding what it means to be human and to persevere through adversity and challenging times in a community of best practice.
ReLate was developed by MacKillop Family Services and is a three year commitment of Professional Development for staff in order to create and maintain sustainable cultural change.
ReLate promotes transformational relationships, not only for students, but equally for school staff as well.
ENROLMENTS 2023 As we are currently accepting Enrolment Applications, I would encourage current families who have a younger child ready to begin school next year to complete an Application Form and return it to school at your earliest convenience. I have surveyed the kids and have done my best to develop a list of younger siblings for our 2023 Foundation class, however, my experience tells me that this will not be very accurate! (Some children can’t wait to get baby brothers and sisters to school no matter how young they may be!).
I have therefore sent Enrolment Application Forms home today to those families where older siblings have indicated I should. If we missed you, please call the office and let us know.
I am conscious that this is still quite early in the year and parents may not be certain as to whether a child will start in 2023 or 2024. My advice is always that there is no rush for children to begin. Most children turn 6 during their Foundation year and some may be already 6 on the first day.
Legally, children must have turned 5 by April 30th in their Foundation year to be enrolled but this is a minimum and does not reflect the demographics of most Foundation classes.
As always the Kindergarten teachers are excellent resources for parents if they are in any doubt about when their child should start school. If they express any doubt the wise parent will listen carefully. This advice is never a criticism, some of us just take longer to hit our straps (but we’re worth waiting for!). Advice to wait is given in the best interests of each individual child.
COVID-19 The Victorian Government has announced some important changes to COVID Safe measures for schools that will apply from the start of Term 2.
Face masks
From 11:59 pm Friday 22 April, face masks, while recommended, are not required in any school setting. This means students in grades 3 to 6, staff and visitors in primary schools are no longer required to wear face masks. Any student or staff member who wishes to wear a mask may do so, including those who are medically at-risk.
Screening requirements
Students and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19, and have completed their 7-day isolation period, now do not need to undertake rapid antigen test (RAT) screening for 12 weeks after their release from isolation. This was previously 8 weeks.
Household contacts
Students and staff who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are no longer required to quarantine. They can return to school as long as they undertake rapid antigen tests (RAT) 5 times within their 7-day period and wear face masks indoors if they are aged 8 and above unless they have a valid exemption.
If any household contact returns a positive RAT result during this period, they must isolate for 7 days and not attend school.
Vaccination requirements for visitors to schools
Parents, carers and other adult visitors (not performing work) are no longer required to show evidence of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
Community use of school facilities
Schools will no longer need to request evidence of vaccination of staff or workers from external community groups who use premises outside the school’s normal operating hours.
RAT screening program extension reminder
The supply of RATs will continue for the first 4 weeks of this term. The screening recommendations remain the same:
- mainstream schools – recommended to test at home twice a week