Principal Report
Dear families,
I hope this message finds you and your family healthy and well. There are still lots of families being impacted by COVID-19 across all schools, as well as staff. Recently we have found the usual winter germs have returned to school, cold, fevers, gastro and flu. This is a timely reminder to continue safe hygiene practices and to think about having the flu vaccination this season. Thanks to masks, remote learning and closed borders there have been a couple of flu seasons missed. I think this season will be a big one for non-covid illnesses for our school.
So far, I am proud of our efforts as a school to continue to keep our school open and all of our programs running. The staff have been brilliant. Often jumping in to take a class so that a much-loved program is not altered for our students. During remote learning, we proudly offered our core curriculum as well as our specialists and did not rest any programs.
We have all noticed when supermarkets have look empty or our favourite coffee shop is now closing earlier. This is all due to staff shortages due to unplanned illnesses.
The last few weeks have started to really test our resolve to keep our operations running as normal. There have been a few split grades, not because we wanted to, but because we have no options for replacement teachers. Agency and local replacement teachers are being booked a day or two in advance of absences. This is tough to manage when someone wakes on a day feeling unwell. We want people that are unwell to feel comfortable to take time away to get well. Managing absences looks like it will be the norm for the rest of this term.
We know this has an impact on how children feel at school, they thrive on familiarity and routine. I am hoping you can take the time to reassure them that this is a short-term window that we are all working together to get through.
The teaching staff have agreed collectively that we do not wish to cancel any programs. This includes Specialist classes and Science. If a program is cancelled it will be because we have exhausted all other options.
I want to share with you our plans for managing this tricky spell, as it is looking more and more likely we will need to think outside the box to cover unplanned absences.
On day one of an unplanned absence, we will split the class across a grade/team level. The split class will be planned, and the students grouped by the teacher. They will be consistent all year. On day 2 the students will then have a replacement teacher. If more than one teacher in a level team is away, we will explore an option to limit the class splitting.
We will book replacement teachers as quickly as possible when we know an absence is planned. We will assume that anyone absent with cold, or flu symptoms will be taking more than one day. Those with COVID or on carers leave to supervise a child with COVID will be replaced for the week. Where possible this will be the same replacement teacher.
In some cases, we may need to use our staff in our tutoring programs to join a teacher to cover a class. Two classes would be joined for a session or if required the day.
If a teacher is absent for a day for a medical and has informed us in advance, we will book the replacement teacher.
I hope that you know by now that our goal is to keep things in our school moving forward and open. In managing this spell, we want as much constituency for our learners as possible.
We think this will last until the end of the term. I want you to know we appreciate your ongoing support and I appreciate the ongoing fortitude of our staff.
Best wishes,
Craig
PS I would like to share my appreciation for grade 3 and 5 students and teachers for their efforts leading up to, and throughout NAPLAN.
The students conducted themselves brilliantly, and all tried their personal best.
A special mention to the grade 4 and 6 students who rolled with the class changes and acted with a high level of maturity as their class friends completed their assessments.
Let's hope they get the results they are hoping for!