Principal's Report
Well, that escalated quickly
Teaching and learning at Boorowa Central School continued relatively smoothly in Term 3 until Thursday last week when Canberra announced a locally acquired positive case. Stay at home orders were issued for those who had been in specific hot spots which led to many Boorowa residents being restricted to their homes with some exceptions. Friday was spent negotiating how best to support the families in this situation with learning from home packs whilst all others continued learning in their classrooms. Then at around 2 pm on Saturday, the whole of NSW was advised that as of 5 pm we would be in a seven-day lockdown. A quick change to school operation was required.
In response to this news, many staff began collecting resources from school and revisiting the online learning skills they had acquired in 2020 to ensure that they could continue to deliver high-quality teaching and learning whilst teaching and learning at home. And what a great job everyone is doing!
Yesterday the announcement was made that the lockdown will continue for another seven days in regional NSW. Next week the school will be delivering 'Learning from Home' packs to Boorowa families on Monday morning. The staff will also be collecting the 'School Readers' that were included in the infants learning packs. If you have one of these books, please place it in a plastic zip-lock bag (or similar) and place it in your mailbox before 9 am on Monday. Your child will receive another in their new pack.
Online learning continues for students from years 4-12 with hard copy resources being developed to supplement this for students in years 4-8. These resources will also be delivered to Boorowa families on Monday.
It is important to remember during this time that however you structure your children's learning from home time, this is ok. Your children's teachers are providing an appropriate amount of work to ensure it is manageable for all families in all situations.
As parents of secondary students, it is important that we reinforce the message to our children that whilst the expectations are different when learning from home, the students are still expected to complete their work. This lockdown is not an opportunity to go to work or to have a holiday. All staff are working extremely hard to ensure all students are supported as best as possible whilst they are at home. Please continue to reinforce this message of continued effort toward learning with your child(ren).
Year 12 Higher School Certificate Trial exams
Thankfully, our Year 12 students finished their Higher School Certificate (HSC) trial examinations just before going into lockdown. From all reports, the examinations were challenging which is common. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 impact, the Department of Education and the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) plan to continue having the HSC examinations in Term 4. Therefore, Year 12 students must take on board the feedback they are about to receive from all their teachers and allocate 'study time' each day leading into their HSC examinations.
Postponement of Kindergarten Orientation
Unfortunately, due to the lockdown, the scheduled Kindergarten Orientation and Kindystart activities have been postponed until Term 4.
Touch/Netball Carnival - Cancelled for 2021
The annual Boorowa Touch/Netball Carnival for 2021 has been cancelled due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19. Thank you to the Hilltops Council and St Joseph’s Primary School for working closely with Boorowa Central School to host this event each year. Fingers crossed we can have the biggest and best carnival in 2022, the first in 3 years!
Mr Graham Jones I Principal
Boorowa Central School