From the Principal

Term 2, Week 6, Kevin Kennedy

Dear Families,

I hope you are well and staying warm. As we approach the half way point of the term I must commend the staff and students on how well they have all settled into the routine of school. It has been pleasing to see and I know the staff have appreciated having the students back. We are hopeful that we will get all the remaining  few absent staff and students back on deck in the not too distant future, our thoughts are with them.

Despite the cooler weather it’s been impressive to see the bike racks nearly full. We are fortunate that Adelaide’s climate and the central location of the school in West Beach makes it a relatively safe and easy ride. Recently however we have had a couple of reports of students riding out in front of cars on Burbridge road. I have spoken to all the classes about being safe while riding their bikes and to stop and look before crossing roads. Children, and I am sure we have all experienced this at some stage, have tunnel vision and don’t always use their peripheral vision. When on their bikes they require constant reminders and the occasional screamed instruction (along with a mild panic and heart flutter) to be aware of their surroundings.  We will continue to remind them of this at school and would appreciate if this message is reinforced at home. Hopefully once the COVID 19 situation has calmed we will once again be able to engage with the Bike Ed program.

We are in the process of reorganising  the administration and finance department of our school. We have recently employed a business manager to help guide these changes. Sue Dreyer joins us from Grange Primary School and brings with her a wealth of business and administration experience in. I’d like  to take this opportunity to welcome Sue to West Beach Primary,  with the hope she enjoys her time with us.

While COVID19  is still with us we will continue  to keep the amount of adults in the school to a minimum.   For the remainder of  this term and most likely into next we will be only having external specialists that support student learning in the classrooms and office spaces. Some good news however is that our school will be open after hours for community groups to access ( under strict conditions adhering to group size and hygiene practices). A pleasing result.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me at school. Have a great week.

Kind regards,

Kevin Kennedy

Principal