Principal's message
The journey that schools have been on since Term 2 has been adventurous, courageous and flexible. Our teachers have endeavoured to monitor and adapt their teaching to suit the changing circumstances we find ourselves in and I feel that we have been able to support our students’ wellbeing over this period.
For much of Term 3 the school has been a quite shell. Carol and I are no longer making our speedy morning visits to the VCE classes during period 1 to take their temperatures or to hand out masks when they became compulsory. Those were some pretty serious steps we were clocking up on those mornings!
In the first week of Term 4 (5 to 9 October), schools will continue to deliver the remote and flexible learning. The GAT will take place on Wednesday 7 October. In the second week of school (12 – 16 October) students in Prep to Grade 2 return to full-time on-site schooling in metropolitan Melbourne, Year 11 and 12 students will attend on-site schooling full-time, and Year 10 students enrolled in a VCE or VCAL program will attend on-site for these classes.
Remote and flexible learning will continue for all students in Grade 3 to Year 10, with on-site supervision available for eligible students consistent with DET guidelines. I am awaiting the release of advice from DET which will outline the information that I will be able to share with families. Hopefully this will arrive this week.
The return date for students in Years 3 to 10 in metropolitan Melbourne is subject to health advice. They will continue with remote and flexible learning until further notice. A date for the return of these year levels to on-site learning will be subject to further health advice.
In the absence of our students being here the STEAM Project has continued on but with some delays because of the restrictions to the number of tradesmen permitted on building sites at any one time.
Rather than list the many activities that have been happening online with students both inside and outside of class (which you would have been reading about in the fortnightly newsletter), I simply want to acknowledge the sustained positive energy of our staff and the student leaders who provided the fuel that has kept us all together. That perpetual motion continues to bind our students to each other so that they still feel connected to their friends by their form group, their year level and as a whole school.
Finally, I would like to thank you all for your condolences and support over the past month following the sudden loss of my husband, Alex Njoo. Whether it was in email messages, cards, texts, flowers or plants I felt your genuine concern for me and my family, and I very much appreciated this. I cannot thank Rachael Angus, our wonderful School Council President, enough for walking beside me through this challenging time and for taking on the role of Celebrant at the funeral service. My thanks are also extended to Carol who stepped up to the role of Acting Principal with ease and to Kelly who ensured that the financial and administrative commitments of the school were also carried out.
I wish you all the safest of holiday breaks and hope that you enjoy getting out into the spring weather.
With thanks and appreciation,
Kind regards
Linda Brown