Leadership
Report
Dear Parents and Carers
On behalf of our school, I want to say a big thank you to all our students, parents and carers for your continued resilience and support throughout this year. I know remote and flexible learning has not always been easy, but through our collective efforts, our students have continued to make valuable progress in their learning. You can be confident that our school will support any student who has fallen behind to catch up.
Term 4 is important for every Victorian student, and our teachers will strive to deliver high-quality learning for everyone. Whether we’re teaching remotely or face-to-face, our focus for Term 4 is on making sure that every student is supported in their wellbeing, learning and transition needs.
The Victorian Government has outlined the staged return to on-site schooling as part of its gradual roadmap towards reopening.
Term 4 on-site schooling arrangements for students
In line with the advice of the Victorian Chief Health Officer, the Victorian Government released a staged approach for students to return to on-site schooling.
The purpose of the plan is to get students back in the classroom as soon and as safely as possible without putting at risk all that has been achieved through the period of restrictions to reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Health and safety measures
The Term 3 remote and flexible learning arrangements were put in place to significantly reduce the movement of more than one million students and their families across Victoria, to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Thanks to you and your family for contributing to this on behalf of our school community.
As on-site schooling resumes, we will continue to have in place strong measures to protect the health and safety of students, staff, families and the community. This includes staggering start and finish times, restricting parent access to school grounds and continued emphasis on hand hygiene and physical distancing where possible.
Please give particular attention to reducing the risks associated with congregation at school gates and taking steps to contribute to physical distancing within the school.
Please also remind your children who travel on school buses or public transport of the importance of the following:
- practising good hygiene, including using hand sanitiser
- maintaining physical distance from others where they can
- wearing a face mask (if over 12 years old)
- staying home if they are unwell.
Whether your child is, or children are, returning to face-to-face learning or will be continuing with remote and flexible learning, please be assured we will be focused on three key priorities in Term 4:
Mental health and wellbeing
Our highest priority will be the wellbeing, particularly the mental health, of every student and member of staff. This means effectively mobilising all available resources to support our most vulnerable students and enabling staff to access the relevant support services.
Learning and excellence
Some of our students have thrived in the remote and flexible learning environment, others have maintained their learning progress, and some have fallen behind, despite their best efforts and those of their families and teachers. Our priority will be supporting both those who need it to catch up and those who have progressed to continue to extend their learning.
Transitions
We will make every effort to ensure successful transitions for children moving from kindergarten into Prep, the Grade 6s moving into Year 7.
We know some families are worried that their child may have to repeat a year due to the disruptions of coronavirus (COVID-19). There is little evidence to support the benefits of repeating a year to catch up. Instead, schools will use teaching strategies that draw on the best evidence available to help students meet their learning needs.
Parents, families and carers can be confident that the best option for almost every child is to stay with their peer group, whether that is moving from kindergarten into Prep, or moving from Grade 6 into Year 7 at secondary school, or students moving up any year level in between.
Our school, working with you, has shown it can be flexible and adaptable in responding to the challenges of coronavirus (COVID-19) and will continue to meet student needs as we look towards the end of the 2020 school year and ahead to 2021.
School Sunsmart Policy
A reminder that all students are to wear hats when they are outside during terms 1 and 4.
World Teachers Day
Australia will celebrate and thank the teaching profession on World Teachers’ Day - Friday 30 October.
Teachers (with support from parents and carers) have ensured education continues across the country this year, despite major challenges. It’s reinforced the significant role teachers play in the lives of children and students, their families and communities.
On Friday 30 October, say a big thank you to teachers and celebrate the bright future of teaching. Post a photo in your sunglasses on social media, either on your own or with family or friends. Use these tags on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn: #thankteachers #brightfuture @aitsl
We as a community are fortunate to have an amazing group of teachers at Newlands.
A Further Covid-19 Update
What wonderful news it was to hear on Monday. However this does not change any conditions applying to schools as yet. We must maintain social distancing, wearing masks, and not congregating in groups at drop off or pick up.
We are asking all parents and carers to comply to guidelines and not congregate near the school gate and leave the grounds after dropping off their child.
Reminder - Face mask disposal protocol
This is a serious message. As we are all in difficult Covid times wearing masks we need to consider the little creatures. The disposable masks we are now seeing littering our streets, for a range of reasons. So environmentally we need to break the elastic cord that goes over the ears so the little creatures won't get caught in the elastic after the mask has been disposed of in a BIN!
Congratulations to all Year 12 Students
In December 2014 we said farewell to our grade 6 students for that year and sent them off on their journey of Secondary School Education.
Today those students and their peers celebrate their last day of school.
Every Year 12 student in Victoria has been affected in different ways. We would like to acknowledge the efforts of all year 12 students, their families, school and wider support systems for their amazing efforts this year.
Pitsa Binnion from McKinnon Secondary College expressed it very well in a recent ABC report. She has enormous confidence in this year's graduates.
"If ever you want to see resilient young people who are thoughtful, and considerate, and have absolutely risen to the challenge of dealing with their VCE, then this is the cohort to look at," she said.