Principal's News
Dear Parents / Carers,
This weekend we celebrate Mother’s Day. We certainly wish all the mums the very best for a lovely day.
Our community is very grateful to Erica Gleeson and her team who have prepared a beautiful selection of gifts for the children to choose from for their Mums.
All children are encouraged to bring $4 to school in order to purchase a small gift for Mum on Thursday or Friday of this week.
ASSEMBLY Our school community is looking forward to holding our fortnightly assembly again, commencing this coming Friday, May 6. However, as we dip our toe in the water I am asking that we might limit our parent numbers to those parents whose child has won a Class Award for this week, rather than throw the doors open completely given the size and capacity of our Multipurpose Room.
So, the assembly will be held this Friday from 9:15am. Class award recipients can be found elsewhere on today’s newsletter.
N.A.P.L.A.N. Children in Grades 3 and 5 will participate in the National Assessment Program of Literacy and Numeracy next week. For the first time, at Sacred Heart, the tests will be conducted online.
Parents should treat these tasks as just another day at school. They are NOT tests that can be studied for. Rather parents need only reassure children that their best efforts, like any endeavour, is all we ask.
Both teachers and parents have a pretty good idea of each child’s strengths and weaknesses, a picture that is built up over months and years, not taken as the snapshot that these tests provide.
Reports from the test will be sent home during third term.
BOWLING CHAMPS! A special mention to our school’s Lawn Bowls team who this week will be travelling to Sunbury in order to participate in the State Final. It has been a fantastic effort to even make it to a State Final in anything, so a huge congratulations to the kids. We certainly wish them well for Thursday.
Thank you too, to Ms Lynch who continues to provide these opportunities for our students.
RELATE Just a reminder that our school will be closed on Friday May 27 in order that staff participate in Professional Development for the “Relate” program as described in last week’s newsletter.
HATS Now that we are in May, school hats are no longer mandatory whilst we are outside. This week I am encouraging all children to take their school hats home for a wash and any “maintenance required”. Children will need to wear their hats again in late August. This is inline with SunSmart advice.
ENROLMENTS 2023 Families who have someone to start Foundation in 2023 SHOULD have received an Enrolment Application Form. We would appreciate you returning these forms promptly as we planning for 2023.
LUNCH ORDERS/CANTEEN There will be NO lunch orders/canteen available for this Friday 6 May 2022.
COVID-19 The Victorian Government has announced some important changes to COVIDSafe measures for schools that will apply from the start of Term 2
Face masks
From 11:59pm 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