Welcome back

Welcome back to Term 4, we hope our students were able to enjoy some of the sunshine over the holidays.

We have planned for our term of learning, with staff having prepared both remote and onsite programs prior to the holidays.

We are looking forward to seeing all of our students back onsite this term.

Return to onsite learning

Everything we put in place for our return to onsite learning is with an aim to do the following:

focus on core student learning in literacy and numeracy
supporting students to reconnect with their friends
reduce the risk of COVID-19 and providing as safe as possible an environment for our students and in turn for our staff in their working environment

We will be learning, playing and working in mini bubbles, to ensure any impact of a COVID-19 case reduces the risk of the school having to close. We will be asking our families to support student entry into the school via specific gates via grade level.

We are using different entry gates to reduce congestion and also avoid different start and finishing times for students. Gates have been allocated closest to classrooms, again to avoid the mixing of student bubbles.

Foundation & Grade 1-2s - Gate 1 Almond Street and top oval gates which will be opened on to the oval.
Grade 3-4s - the gates on the basketball courts will be opened for their entry.
Grade 5-6s - gates on Ruth Street

We know some families will come to school together, with big brothers and sisters bringing their siblings. If this is the case enter via the gate of the youngest child in the family so they can be dropped at their class first. The older students will then walk to their gate.

Our students should not arrive at school before 8.45 a.m., they will move from their entry gate directly into their classrooms.

If you need your child to be at school before 8.45 a.m. please book them into OSHClub - see their page in the newsletter for details of how to do this if you have not used the service before.

Parents are asked to drop their children at the gates and they are asked to not enter the property, just as we did on the return of the first period of lockdown in 2020.

If you need assistance then call the office and we will enable someone to answer your query, collect your child and bring them to the front of the school if they need to leave early.

The only people entering the buildings will be our students, those who work with them and anyone required to undertake essential work in the school or with students. If for any reason you are asked to come on site it is essential you sign in using the QR code, this will be an exception and is likely only if your child is very unwell. Again you will need to call the school office

By reducing movement in the school and reducing those on site we aim to provide a safe environment for our students and staff.

This last two weeks I have spent time learning about processes, checklists, spreadsheets and the steps required if we are notified of a positive case in someone who has been onsite.

It will be essential to maintain the privacy of anyone who has tested positive, and we will work to support all in the community.

It is important to know as a Government school we are not able to send out communications to the community regarding a school closure until they are approved by the Department of Education and Training.

The staged return to onsite learning is set out below. Please add the days to your calendar. Whilst students start to return onsite we will still provide onsite learning to the children of authorised workers.

Foundation students attend onsite starting next week:

Monday October 18th
Tuesday October 19th
Wednesday October 20th

Year 1/2 students attend onsite starting next week:

Thursday October 21st
Friday October 22nd

From Monday October 25th

Foundation students continue to attend onsite as follows:

Monday October 25th
Tuesday October 26th
Wednesday October 27th

Year 1/2 students continue to onsite starting as follows:

Thursday October 28th
Friday October 29th

Year 3/4 students attend onsite:

Tuesday October 26th
Wednesday October 27th

Year 5/6 students attend onsite:

Thursday October 28th
Friday October 29th

From November 1st

Monday November 1st is a Pupil Free Day

Tuesday November 2nd is the Melbourne Cup Day public holiday.

Foundation and Year 3/4 students attend onsite:

Wednesday November 3rd

Year 1/2 and Year 5/6 students attend onsite:

Thursday November 4th

All students return onsite on Friday November 5th

Thank you for your patience, ongoing support and understanding around our procedures for getting our students back onsite for their learning.

Parent Payment for 2022

The Department of Education and Training has provided more details about parent payments for 2022.

As part of the changes the school is not allowed to provide individual book packs for sale. However to support our community we will be purchasing all items in bulk. This will mean student books and stationary will be in their classrooms ready for the start of the year.

Parent contributions enable Boroondara Park PS to provide the outstanding learning programs and environment it is known for.

We will be providing each family with a letter and form on November 22nd related to each learning level for 2022. Payments will be made via Sentral and BPay from January 3rd 2022. Alternately the school office opens from January 24th for payments to be made.

We have been instructed that no payments can be made prior to 2022.

Curriculum News

As we head towards the end of the school year our teams will be focusing on literacy and numeracy. Our students will undertake assessment tasks to support us to build learning programs to meet their needs for the rest of the school year.

Thunderstorm Asthma Season

The grass pollen season from October 1st to December 31st can mean people notice an increase in hay fever and asthma. This season also brings the chance of epidemic thunderstorm asthma.

From the Vic Emergency website:

Thunderstorm asthma is thought to be triggered by a unique combination of high amounts of grass pollen in the air and a certain type of thunderstorm. For people who have asthma or hay fever this can trigger severe asthma symptoms.

When a large number of people develop asthma symptoms over a short period of time, related to high grass pollen and a certain type of thunderstorm, it is known as epidemic thunderstorm asthma.

Preparing for Thunderstorm Asthma

Everyone in the community should know the signs and symptoms of asthma, and know the four steps of asthma first aid so they know what to do if they or someone is having an asthma attack.

Thunderstorm asthma can affect those with asthma or hay fever - especially people who experience wheezing or coughing with their hay fever.

All people at increased risk of thunderstorm asthma should:

learn about epidemic thunderstorm asthma and what you can do to help protect yourself and those in your care during the grass pollen season
check the epidemic thunderstorm asthma risk forecast daily
where possible, avoid being outside during thunderstorms from October through December – especially in the wind gusts that come before the storm. Go inside and close your doors and windows, and if you have your air conditioner on, turn it to recirculate
have an asthma action plan (if you have asthma) and have practical knowledge of the four steps of asthma first aid
have reliever medication appropriately available in grass pollen season and be aware of how to use it (ideally with a spacer)
be alert to and act on the development of asthma symptoms as explained in your asthma action plan (if you have one), or if you don’t, use asthma first aid.
If you have asthma symptoms see your doctor for advice

More information about protecting yourself if you have asthma can be found on the Better Health Channel

The Vic Emergency website can provide you with up to date information throughout the Thunderstorm Asthma season.

The Vic Emergency app enables you to create a ‘watch zone’ for epidemic thunderstorm asthma advice and warnings.

School Grounds open

It has been wonderful to see our community using the playground space again, riding bikes, using the basketball courts and playing on the equipment. A reminder to use the QR code when you enter the school grounds.

Supporting local

Much of our time in the last almost two years has found many of us supporting local - making sure we support local shops, restaurants and businesses. This will be part of our lives as we work together on supporting our community.

There are lots of houses in our neighbourhood up for sale or being demolished with new residences being built.

If you have a house near you which has been recently sold or is being developed drop us a line, we will pop a flyer about our fabulous school in their letterbox.

We are always looking for those in our community to come to BPPS.

Susanne Lowe

Principal

Canteen