Principal's News
Managed Return to School - Term 2
The next two weeks will see a Managed Return to School at St Joseph's Warialda. Our school is officially opened to the children of frontline workers however, no student will be turned away where there are compassionate or wellbeing reasons.
From Week Three of Term 2, the managed return of students to school for limited face-to-face learning will commence. A separate letter will be emailed to parents later this week outlining this.
Week 2
Remote learning via Zoom meetings and Google Classroom will continue for all students learning whether they are at school or at home. Students who attend school will undertake the same online learning experiences as those students who continue their learning from home. Therefore, it remains an individual family decision as to whether students return to school or continue their learning from home. Staff will deliver one mode of learning; remote learning - whether your child attends school for a day or works from home.
Students who meet the NSW Health definition of ‘higher risk’ should not attend school for any reason. Students who are displaying any signs of illness must also remain at home.
Attendance
School attendance is still being recorded as this is a legislative requirement. If your child continues to learn from home, their attendance will still be recorded as well as those physically present at school. Students who do not participate in our morning Zoom meetings or engage with the learning at home programme will be marked as absent. Please contact the school office if your child cannot participate in the Zoom lessons.
Health and Hygiene
We will be reinforcing social distancing and hygiene practices for those children at school. The students will be sitting in single desks spaced out through our two learning areas and the library. They will have their bag and book tub under their desk and each student will be allocated a tub of sports equipment (balls, ropes etc) that have been disinfected and for their exclusive use at recess and lunchtime. There will be no access to the sports shed, play equipment or sandpit.
Pick Up and Drop Off Times and Social Distancing for Parents
In order to comply with social distancing requirements during the managed return to school,
St Joseph’s parents are asked to ensure that they follow social distancing requirements and not congregate with others. Parents are asked to stagger the arrival of their children before school and not to enter the school grounds unless to visit the school office. For parents picking children up in the afternoon, the staff will bring the children to your car. We will resume bus duty for those students travelling to and from school by bus.
Wellbeing
This edition of our online newsletter contains a new page; Wellbeing. Part of our plan for a managed return to school is to support students and their families.
Each week we will publish a special report on an aspect of wellbeing that has been customised for
St Joseph's Warialda. Our first report is a Wellbeing-Checklist for Primary Students and you can download this from our Wellbeing page.
School TV
All Catholic schools in Armidale diocese have been given access to School TV. This is a wellbeing platform for schools supporting parents.
SchoolTV is a world first, wellbeing platform featuring Dr Michael Carr-Gregg. It addresses the modern day realities faced by schools and parents who increasingly need clear, relevant and fact-based information around raising safe, happy and resilient young people.
Whilst there is a great deal of information available, this can often be confusing and overwhelming for parents looking for guidance. SchoolTV addresses this issue. It is an online resource designed to empower parents with credible, sound information with realistic and practical strategies.
SchoolTV is a school-branded resource that is available through subscribed schools thus allowing parents to access information on individual topics.
You can access SchoolTV through our Wellbeing page.
Coronavirus Updates from CSO
https://arm.catholic.edu.au/news/coronavirus-updates/
Wishing you all the best in the week ahead.
Joe Dimech
Principal