Principal Report
Dear families,
I hope this message finds you all well. I am sure like the whole of Melbourne we are all wondering how we are going to welcome our children back to schools next week and beyond.
It is a little tricky situation, but we think we have organised our different return dates in a logical way, that will give you, your children and our staff the confidence that they will be returning to a safe and inviting environment. As always we have put the needs of our children first.
Roadmap:
At this point, I am sure you have heard there is a road map back to school with a staggered start for different year levels. Our aim is to try to give students a normal day-to-day experience at school. This is with all their teachers, including their specialists.
A roadmap refresher:
Week 3
Monday 18th October – Prep return in school -
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (until 5th November)
Thursday 21st October – Grade 1 and 2 return in school – Thursday and Friday. (Until 5th November)
Week 4
Tuesday 26th October - Grade 3 and 4 return in school – Tuesday and Wednesday. (Until 5th November)
Thursday 28th October - Grade 5 and 6 return in school – Thursday and Friday. (Until 5th November)
Week 5
Monday 1st November is just Preps and the permitted students.
Tuesday 2nd November is Cup Day. No school.
On Friday 5th November, all students are planned to return.
What do you need to know?
Hot topic! Face Masks: It was announced late last week that students in Years 3-6 who are on-site now must wear a fitted facemask when at school, and students in Foundation-Year 2 while not mandated, are advised to wear one.
We understand that this change will be challenging for some students as well as some parents. Staff on-site will support students on how to correctly wear their masks. This will be during lessons; it will not be required at recess and lunch when outside. Please know that we will be doing our absolute best to ensure children feel at ease at school.
The disposable facemasks do not last long but can be decorated or there are some great designs on special at Cotton On. (You can guess what we were doing as a family last weekend).
For those children who find wearing masks restrictive and breathing challenging when wearing a mask, or who have a medical reason, please contact your doctor and obtain an exemption letter.
Week 3 Return to School:
Starting in Week 3 we will welcome our Junior Students (Prep, G1/2) back ‘in school’ part time.
We have made the decision that when students are in school over Weeks 3-5, they will receive as ‘normal’ a week as possible. The days at school will be made up of literacy, numeracy, inquiry, and a full offering of specialist lessons.
Students in school will have a slightly earlier recess and lunch while at school.
Permitted students in week 3:
During Weeks 3-5 students who are on site in the @ school program will continue to work in the OSH building and rooms 10/11 (portables). This will help us keep those that are returning to school physically distanced from those who are in the @ school program.
Looking forwards: Our school leadership team have reviewed the Operational Guide set out by the Department of Education and have considered their advice and matched it to our context. Below is a range of details which will outline how Rolling Hills PS will operate until restrictions ease at school.
Drop off and Pick up for week 3 to 5:
All student will access school during our normal school hours (8:45-3:30). As we have previously seen we are able to have students arriving from 8:35am in a way that is adhering to physical distancing requirements.
We will meet and greet Prep and Grade 1 students at the rear car park gate.
We will not be running kiss and go at the rear. We ask that you park nearby, walk your child to the school, hand over to the class teacher and say goodbye. All teachers will be there to meet the children. At the end of the day the teachers will walk the students up to you. Parents will not access school but are welcome to gather 1.5m apart in the car park. We will deal with rain if it happens!
Our students in Years 2, Grade 3/4, and 5/6 will use the front entrance near the disabled bays/gym. We will be encouraging kiss and go for these year levels. If you choose to park and walk your child over to school, please note we would prefer that you don't access the school grounds during weeks 3-5. This will be reviewed when we return. We will have staff there to meet you and we will have signage.
Permitted students and OSH students:
Our students who are accessing our @ school program will sign in at the desk at the front and go to the portables, continuing what you have already been doing.
Adults on site:
Adults are permitted on site but are not permitted inside buildings. We are asking you to consider the need to come into school grounds. We are aiming to open and stay open for business. If you need to come into the admin building you will need to check-in via the QR code, wear a face mask, and physically distance. Our preference would be for you to place a phone call to the school office.
Play times:
In week 3 students will have access to the new large play equipment on the BIG hill.
From week 4 we will be splitting the playground into two areas.Students in Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 will be playing in the top section of the school which includes the quad and the new smaller play equipment. These students will access toilets in the Boorai.
Our students in Years 3-6 will be playing in the bottom section of the schools which includes the Basketball Court, the big hill, and new larger play equipment. These students will access toilets in the main building.
At recess and lunch students will be able to use the toilets in their area of the school and during class time the nearest.
Staff on site:
The Department of Education and Victorian Government has mandated that all staff on site must be vaccinated. All staff must have had their first vaccine by October 18th (or have a booked appointment by October 25th) and be fully vaccinated by November 29th. There has been no instructions for parents or children under 12 at this point hence our desire to limit parents on site.
Unwell students:
Students that are unwell will need to be collected asap. If you wake to an unwell child, please work with us and arrange care for them for a day or two until they feel better. It is going to be a balancing act to get it right. If we call you to collect your child it is because we have a concern for your child and their health. If your child has hay fever, please ensure they take their medicine daily or as required. It will help them stay on top of symptoms. There will be two first aid bays, one for the usual scrapes and falls, and one for those students with temperatures and cold like symptoms. This will be the first office at the front of the office area. If we are told a child may have symptoms then we are required to wear PPE equipment. We will do our very best to make this look normal.
Onsite activities:
Currently no on-site activities are able to take place other than the usual teaching and learning program. We are not able to run assemblies, library, music lessons, buddies, multi-year level activities, excursions, incursions, camp etc.
We are so sorry that the 3/4 camp will not happen. The team are looking at other ways to excite the students.
We can run the canteen but only through the online orders, no cash orders.
Students are not able to use the school library (outlined in the operational guide), however they will attend specialist classes. Over the part time return students will visit the library (one class each day) to borrow books for their reading boxes in the classroom to maintain books at their reading level to support our literacy program).
We will try and think outside the box....similar to the P&F group with their upcoming online family friendly Trivia Via Kahootz on Saturday 23rd October. See Compass for the details.
I know there will be door prizes and a winning prize as well as a Silent Auction. Please get involved and link back in with us!
Parent Volunteers:
Currently we are not planning to request parent volunteers at school. I do want to highlight that once we are able to have parent volunteers on site it has been mandated by the Department of Education that any adult who will be working with students, in either a paid or voluntary capacity must be fully vaccinated. I would point out that this is not a school-based decision and is a directive from DET and the State Government. This is a similar approach to Working with Children Checks and as a school we will be required to sight your digital certificate, or hard copy certificate, before permitting you to work or volunteer on site.
Transition and Graduation: Both events are extremely important in the school year. We will be working with our incoming Prep students on a remote transition program until we are able to welcome them on site.
For our Year 6 students and families:
We will hold a graduation ceremony in some capacity. Fortunately, this date is still a few months away and we have some time to see where the restrictions sit. We have a plan A, B and C that all enable our students to have a relatively normal graduation ceremony. We will keep you updated as the term goes by.
At this stage this information provides families with the most important pieces of information to help children return to school. I have probably missed something but over this week and the next few weeks we will continue to provide updates to families as we move through the various stages of Remote Learning/Part Time in School.
We know that for families there are mixed feelings about returning to school. The relief and joy at seeing your children return to a more normal schooling environment and being able to have more social interaction is mixed with concerns about the Covid situation. This is to be expected.
As a school we will be doing everything we can to keep your child safe at school and we are aiming to keep school open for the rest of the term.
There will be additional cleaning of the school each day as well as the setup of our school day to help limit our footprints in school.
I know every teacher, staff member and family will be working together to help support everyone to reconnect, to support each other’s mental health and to support our collective wellbeing.
If your child is feeling overly worried about returning to school one important strategy will be letting their teacher know this ahead of time and we can share a social story. This way everyone is working together to support your child in their return to school.
Hats and sun screen:
Usually at this time my biggest news is that it is term 4 and we need hats and sunscreen daily. I am looking forward to getting back to my usual announcements ; )
We look forward to seeing those lovely faces return to school over the coming week.
Thanks Craig and the RHPS Team