SKiPPS Newsletter

A message from the Principal

Returning to school

As I am sure you are more than aware, students in Foundation and Years 1 and 2 will be returning to school on a part-time basis next week. 

 

The week after will see our Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 students back onsite.

 

We cannot wait to welcome everyone back to onsite learning and the staff here at SKiPPS are thrilled to be getting back to what we love doing.

 

For the next three weeks, school will be a mixture of onsite learning and a continuation of remote learning. A full-time return to onsite learning for all year levels is currently expected to take place from Friday 5th November.

 

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.

 

Below I will explain how SKiPPS will approach this exciting transition back to face to face learning in a Covid Safe way;

 

As when students have returned from remote learning previously, our first priority is the wellbeing, relationships and connections for each child. We know that learning happens best when students are happy, connected and calm and so we will be striving to ease any anxieties, re-establish routines and relationships and put a smile on every face. 

 

Covid symptoms

 

  • Above all else as we return to face to face learning If your child or another member of your family are showing any Covid symptoms, they must not attend school. They must remain home and obtain a covid test as soon as possible.

 

  • If a student displays any Covid-like symptoms whilst at school, the Education Department policy is that they must be isolated as soon as possible and the family be contacted to come and collect them immediately. We will be following this direction very closely to try and minimise an outbreak happening at the school.

 

  • All teachers and school staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to be onsite and work with your children this term.

Return to school dates & our learning program

 

  • Students in Foundation will resume school on Monday 18th October and then attend school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until we return full-time. On Thursdays and Fridays they will stay from home and our remote and flexible learning program will continue.

 

  • Students in Year 1/2 will return next Thursday (21st October) and then attend school on Thursdays and Fridays until we return full-time. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays they will stay from home and our remote and flexible learning program will continue.

 

  • Year 3/4 classes will return on Tuesday 26th October and then attend school on Tuesday and Wednesdays until we return full-time. On Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays they will stay from home and our remote and flexible learning program will continue.

 

  • Students in Year 5/6 will return to onsite schooling on Thursday 28th October and then attend school on Thursdays and Fridays until we return full-time. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays they will stay from home and our remote and flexible learning program will continue.

 

 

 

  • All students are expected to attend school for their ‘onsite’ days. Remote learning will not continue on these days unless children need to be absent for an extended period of time due to agreed health or medical reasons. For those families, please contact us so we can make an appropriate plan.

 

  • Whilst onsite, our teachers’ priorities will be to reconnect children with their peers and school and then to spend the majority of their time focusing on core literacy and numeracy learning.

 

  • During the remote learning section of the week, students will carry on this literacy and numeracy focus with the same structure of two live lessons per day on Google Meet at 9am and 11:30am. They will also continue to have an online ‘specialist day’ of learning tasks in Art, Italian, Performing Arts and Library.

 

  • Please note, the school will continue to provide a program of onsite supervision for all children of authorised workers (working outside of the home and with a current permit) and those children deemed vulnerable. 

 

  • Before and after school care (provided by TheirCare) will be open for children attending school on the relevant day for the year level AND other children eligible for onsite supervision.

 

Start and finish times

 

  • With this staggered approach to different levels returning to school on different days, there will obviously be far fewer students and parents at the school each day and so we feel congestion will not be a big issue. This means that, for these three weeks, our normal school start and finish times (9:00am and 3:30pm) will remain in place.

 

  • Once all year levels return full-time (currently set for the 5th November), we will be implementing staggered start and finish times to reduce the number of students, parents and carers congregating at peak times.

 

  • Students in years Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 will continue to start school at 9am and finish at 3:30pm each day.

 

  • Our Year 3-6 students will start school ten minutes earlier each day at 8:50am and also finish ten minutes earlier at 3:20pm.

 

Drop-off and pick-up arrangements

 

  • School staff will open the gates and provide supervision from 8:45am and no students should be at school before this time (unless attending TheirCare). Students are asked to arrive as close to their start time as possible rather than arriving early and socialising.

 

  • Similarly, after school, students and families are encouraged to go straight home rather than congregate outside the school gates.

 

  • To allow for greater social distancing, we ask that Foundation and Year 5/6 children enter and leave the school through the back gates (near the pencil fence) and Year 1/2 & 3/4 children through the front and side gates near the oval and car park.

 

  • Parents are requested to respect social distancing protocols at busy times and spread out on the oval or in the park to avoid congestion. Face masks must be worn by all parents and carers at these times.

 

  • Parents and other visitors are encouraged not to come onto our school site (unless this is completely essential). If your child is comfortable doing so, we ask you to say goodbye on the oval/park and allow them to come into the school on their own. We understand that, for the first few days, some younger children might need a parent to walk them to their line as they get back into normal routines. This is ok whilst they get used to being back at school but we will ask you to minimise your time onsite and ensure you are wearing a facemask at all time.

 

  • Teachers will take their classes out of the school onto the oval (Year 1/2 classes) and through the back gates into the park near the pencil fence (Foundation children) at the end of their school day and children will be dismissed to parents from here.

 

Break times

 

  • As we have the luxury of so much available outdoor space, we will not be running staggered break times at this point. We will however take the precaution of timetabling our different levels to a particular zone where they will play for both break times in a day in their year level 'bubbles'.

 

  • Levels will rotate around these zones during the week. This measure will help allow for greater distancing and avoid large scale mixing between different cohorts of students.

 

Ventilation and face masks

 

  • The school will be closely following the Education Department CovidSafe plan, and this will include maximising airflow and ventilation of learning spaces. Windows and doors will remain open where possible. We are awaiting delivery of air purifiers provided by the Education Department and these will be placed in learning areas to increase air quality. Please note that this extra ventilation will make our learning spaces colder than usual and so we recommend that you pack additional layers and a jumper for your child each day. 

 

  • Once they return to school, students in years 3-6 will be required to wear a fitted facemask at all times when inside classrooms and school buildings. 

 

  • This is not a requirement for younger children in Foundation – Year 2. However, the Department of Health advice is that children of this age are still ‘strongly recommended’ to wear a mask in the classroom to reduce the risk of Covid transmission. 

 

Contacting & coming into school

 

  • If parents/carers need to speak to the school office, myself, Michelle or their child's teacher, we ask that you do this by phone or email wherever possible to help protect our staff and reduce congestion inside the school. Any longer meetings will be arranged remotely using video-conferencing technology.

 

  • If coming into the school office is unavoidable, we ask that you check in using our QR code system, wear a facemask and socially distance. Please minimise your time in the school buildings.

 

Extra-curricular activities

 

  • In-person school assemblies, excursions, camps, graduations and other non-essential large gatherings are all prohibited by the DET for the time being. Instead we will continue with our Friday video assemblies led by our Year 6 Leaders.

 

  • As non-essential adults or visitors are not permitted on the school site, basketball training sessions and orchestra rehearsals will not be permitted on school grounds for the time being. We regret having to take this decision as we understand the importance of these activities.

 

  • We will closely monitor these guidelines as restrictions hopefully relax over the coming months.

 

To support the health and wellbeing of all our students and staff, our school will continue an enhanced cleaning routine during and after each day and will ensure frequent hand washing/sanitising. 

   

More information about the return to school and coronavirus (COVID-19) can be found on the Department’s website, which will continue to be updated:

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/coronavirus.aspx

 

On a non-covid related note, as we are now into term 4, your child will require a wide-brimmed hat in order to play and learn outside.

 

Thank you for your continued support and patience during this time. We look forward to welcoming our students back to the classroom.

 

Neil Scott

Principal