PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Welcome to our new First Aid officer, Michelle Ford, who joined us this week. Michelle works from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm each day. Hopefully your child won’t need to get to know Michelle too well! Plenty Parklands doesn’t receive any targeted or additional funding to provide first aid support, but we recognise the importance of catering for our students’ health needs appropriately. We are delighted to have Michelle as part of our community.

We would like to congratulate Ryan Doherty who has left to take up a position with Ambulance Victoria.

We also said farewell to Mrs Sharon Kandell last week, celebrating her career which spanned 31 years. Many students and families will have fond memories of Mrs Kandell; her laugh which sometimes went out of control, and her creative spirit which saw her come up with great ideas for student learning and for celebrations of all kinds. Sharon was always one of the first to think of a fun way to engage students or make the day fly by. Sharon’s legacy includes our Maths Garden which was her idea from the start. She designed it to provide hands on, real life opportunities to experience maths beyond the classroom. Sharon was also pivotal in designing and securing funding for our new Inclusive area around the Ruang. Her vision was to provide a space for students who may, at times, be overwhelmed at recess and lunchtime and need a quieter place to chill out. We are all beneficiaries of these areas. We wish Sharon well as she finds new and creative ways to inspire and support others. 

We are seeing and hearing signs of heightened emotions and stress all around us; in the workplace, in the home and at school. That is natural as the impact of COVID-19 restrictions continue. I encourage us all to stop and take a breath before we speak or act; we need to show some care and kindness to others in tough times. Don’t forget to include yourself in there too. 

 We have included a poster about talking to your child about COVID-19 with some keys points. Read more about these on the poster. 

• Stick to a routine over the next holidays
• Don’t be afraid to discuss coronavirus (COVID-19) with your children
• Reassure your child
• Look for signs your child is worried
• Remember to look after yourself

Take care,

Claire McInerney

Principal