Principal's Message 

It has been wonderful to have all of our students back onsite over these past two weeks. Seeing smiling faces and hearing laughter and chatter again makes school feel ‘right’ again.  We continue to be so proud of our students and the way that they have quickly settled back into learning and the routines of school. The return of celebrations such as the ‘stripey sock walk to school event’, bring joy and a sense of connection that we have missed over these past few months.  Many thanks to Mr White, Mrs Philp and Mrs Carroll for organising this fun activity that also raised money for our upcoming Grade 6 Graduation event.

As students re-enter school onsite we are mindful of the need to prioritise wellbeing, engagement and reconnecting with their peers and teachers.  Learning time for literacy and numeracy is important, but so is providing time for programs and events that are also bring joy and and build a sense of community such as the productions, gymnastics, Grade 6 graduation and transition. It is very exciting that we are able to plan for the inclusion of these important events and programs over the coming weeks.  

Following COVID guidelines continues to be our new normal. Your child may have talked about working more often outdoors, as this is a way that we are following COVID protocols, particularly if cohorts of students need to mix.  Our covered basketball court area is a wonderful asset at the moment for our Shrek practices! 

Whole School Community Event

Please put Tuesday, December 14th in your diary.  Please note this has changed from the original date of December 7th. The back up date is Thursday December, 16th.  We are planning for a whole school community event where our families can come along and enjoy dinner from one of the onsite food trucks or bring a picnic while they watch our Prep and Grade 1/2 productions, our Grade 3-6s perform the Shrek finale item and the junior and senior choirs perform.  More details will be sent out closer to the date.

Changes to COVID guidelines

There has been some recent changes to the COVID guidelines for schools. Below are the updated requirements for schools –

Vaccination requirements for parents and carers attending schools

All parents and carers attending schools, including for drop off and pick up must also adhere to physical distancing, density limits, face mask requirements and practise respiratory etiquette and good hand hygiene.

Parents and carers who enter school buildings must check in using the QR code at the office and also provide proof of vaccination status or medical exception. 

Parents and carers who enter school buildings must have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and must have had two doses of COVID-19 vaccine by 29 November 2021 or have a valid medical exception with the following limited exceptions: 

• when attending to administer medical treatment to their own child when the treatment cannot be administered by the school
• when attending to collect their child who is unwell and cannot leave the school building unaccompanied by their parent/carer.
• when attending for a momentary period that does not involve any sustained contact with staff or students, for example, to collect a completed art project or similar

Parents and carers attending any event or activity inside a school building including, but not limited to tours, graduations, kindergarten transition, whole of school events are required to show evidence of vaccination status. 

Parents and carers attending school sites for drop off and pick up who do not enter school buildings do not need to comply with vaccination requirements.

Vaccination requirements for visitors and volunteers performing work in schools

Visitors and volunteers performing work on school sites (both inside and outdoors) must have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and must have had two doses of COVID-19 vaccine by 29 November 2021 or have a valid medication exception. 

We thank parents in advance for observing these updated COVID protocols.

Face Masks

Just a reminder that face masks are required for all students in Grades 3-6 whilst indoors unless the parent has supplied a legal exemption for their child.  The wearing of face masks is also highly recommended for students in P-2 when indoors.  Could parents please ensure that children bring a face mask to school each day as we have limited supplies at the office.  Thank you for your assistance with this.

Attendance

Student attendance at school is so incredibly important. We recognise and respect the challenges remote learning has meant and we are committed to continuing to support families as best we can to maintain student engagement, connection to school and peers, and to learning growth and development for students. As a school we are monitoring student attendance very closely and will continue to do so throughout Term Four.

Remote learning will no longer be an option unless students are eligible for a medical exemption (including COVID-19 Department of Health advised isolation) and as discussed directly with the Principal. In the case of such medical exemption, an alternate version of remote learning with be provided. 

Shade Sail Grant

We had great news this week that we have been successful in obtaining a $25,000 grant to construct a new shade sail over the asphalt area bordered by the prep classrooms, the administration block, the SAGK kitchen and the Grade 1/Prep building. This grant is a part of the Victorian Government’s initiative to assist schools in creating increased outdoor learning spaces. At this stage we are unsure of the exact timeline, however hope to start the project early in 2022. It will be a great new shaded outdoor learning and play space particularly for our P-2 students. 

2022 Prep Transition 

Although our 2022 Prep Transition program had begun, with two online storytimes and activities and an online parent information session, it was very exciting when our 2022 Preps were able to come to school last week for their first onsite transition session!  They had a wonderful time playing in our prep imagination garden, exploring the creek, playing in the sandpit and creating in the mud kitchen as well as spending time in the prep classrooms and playing on the colourful playground.  We have two more onsite transition sessions planned, with the Grade 5s very much looking forward to meeting their prep buddies at the final session.

Planning for 2022

Planning is well underway for 2022.  There will be three classes at each level next year as well as specialist teachers for Art, Music/Performing Arts, P.E., Sensory Gym, Maker Space and Auslan. 

In the next few weeks teachers will begin creating class groups for 2022. This process was not necessary at the end of last year as our classes all stayed together for 2021.  This worked extremely well, however after two years together, we feel it is time for our students to have the opportunity to expand their friendships and learn with a different mix of peers in 2022.  The only exception to this is our current prep cohort who will be moving up to Grade 1 in their current class groups, having only had one year together. 

How are new classes constructed?  Sometimes parents think that principals and leadership teams formulate new class structures, however teachers are the ones who know their students extremely well and best placed to take into account the needs of every student as they carefully construct the new classes.  It is a complex process, balancing friendships, interests, academic needs, gender balance and social and emotional needs. Please feel confident that the needs of your child will be carefully considered by the teachers.

Parents are able to put in writing or email to me, information about their child’s educational needs that may add value to this process and this will be passed on to the relevant teachers.  Please note that requests for a teacher or friendship groups are not able to be considered. Teachers will discuss friendship groupings with students to ensure that every student is placed with friends and peers that they connect with.  

Children can sometimes feel a bit uneasy about transitioning to a new class and new teacher, so as part of the transition process teachers will talk with students about how a new class offers the opportunity to not only build upon the friendships they already have but also get to know even more of their peers.  We have transition sessions in the last few weeks of term, where students visit next year's classrooms, looking initially at what is the same and what might be slightly different.  Becoming familiar with the new spaces and getting a general feel of where they will be next year helps to reduce anxiety and build excitement.  Parents can play a crucial role too, gently acknowledging any fears and reassuring your child that it is normal to feel a little bit unsure when we are out of our comfort zone.  Talking positively about the possibility of building new friendships as well as sustaining current friendships can also help children feel reassured about new beginnings. 

If there is any student, other than our Grade 6s who won’t be attending Wonga Park in 2022, could parents please let us know so this can be included in the planning for next year.

School Crossings

We now have three supervised school crossings (Dudley Road, Jumping Creek Road and a new crossing in Yarra Road) and we greatly appreciate the way that our crossing supervisors Briar and Kathy help to ensure the safety of our students and families.  One way we can also help to keep children safe is to keep the crossing clear in busy times when traffic can tend to bank up and to model crossing over at the crossing.  Thank you for your assistance with this.

Final Curriculum Day

The final curriculum day for the year will be held on Monday, December 13th. Teachers will use this day to work in teams to plan for 2022 and handover information to the next year’s new class teacher. Please note this is a pupil-free day.  TheirCare will confirm shortly if they will be able to offer all day care on that day.

Again, we thank parents and carers for your continuing support as we transition back onsite. One way you can help keep us safe is to keep your child at home if they are unwell. Adherence to the current COVID guidelines often requires us to send several students home each day who are unwell. We thank parents for their understanding when students are unable to remain at school if they are presenting with any of the COVID symptoms.

We look forward to our community being able to reconnect again and can’t wait to see you at the upcoming events.

Please reach out to Kerry or Lesley in the office, your child’s classroom teacher or Adele Brice or myself if you have any concerns or questions, particularly as we navigate the return to onsite learning.

Warm regards

Julie