Welcome back!

Welcome back to all students and staff and I trust that everyone had a restful and relaxing break after a longer than usual Term 1. It has been very positive to see both students and staff arriving back at school with smiles on their faces and looking quite re-energised. I hope that the COVID-19 scenario in your own homes did not flare up during the break and if it did that no one was seriously affected by the virus. As you will be aware new rules have come into effect and I will speak about these later in my report.

We have a rather busy term ahead of us with two year level camps occurring (Years 8 and 12), two public holidays (one of which was ANZAC Day) and two curriculum days (one of which was this Thursday). We also have a number of excursions and events occurring.

Following on from last term’s very successful Open Night, we will be conducting tours throughout this term for prospective families. We welcome all prospective students, parents and guardians who are interested in finding out more about our school. Further information can be found on the School Webpage at https://www.heathmont.vic.edu.au/enrolment/tours-and-information/ under the Enrolments tab.

Building works

As many of you would be aware, construction works have begun for the next stage of the college redevelopment plan. Fencing and signage has gone up around the areas where works are occurring. The builders have started with the carpark area across the front of the school and the corner of Waters Grove and Marlborough Street. Things are looking a little messy there at the moment with a number of trees having been removed and significant earthworks occurring. With additional works occurring in Marlborough Street, I urge families to be extra careful while travelling through this area.

The work on the carpark will provide additional car parking capacity for the college as well as address some of the traffic flow issues that we are seeing at the moment, particularly at drop off and pick up times.

Please note also that the trees that have been removed as part of these works were all identified as ones that needed to come out by the arborist as they pose a risk to student safety. We will be replanting this area though, once the works are completed, to ensure that the bush setting feel of the campus is maintained and its street appeal reset.

The Member for Bayswater came out to the college this week for the first ‘sod turn’ of the new build and to celebrate this important project getting started.

Heathmont College School Review

This term, the college is being reviewed as part of the Department’s regular four-year review cycle. This process involves external reviewers, provided by the Department, coming into the school over a number of days to work with the school to identify how it has performed against its improvement targets over the past four years and to then set new goals and targets for the next four years.

An important part of this process involves getting feedback and information from parents and students about their experiences of the college so as to inform this work. This feedback comes through focus groups that run during the review period. We will be including both student and parent focus groups as part of our review and all parents and students are invited to express interest in being part of these. The Student focus groups will occur during the school day and students will be withdrawn from classes to attend. The parent focus groups also occur during the day and we can be flexible with times to try to accommodate as many parents as are interested in being part of these.

Students who wish to be part of a focus group, can express interest using this form.

Parents who would like to be / are able to take part in parent focus groups are able to express their interest using this form.

Parent and student feedback is a very important part of the review process and I encourage you to take part if you are able to.

COVID-19 UPDATE

Face masks: From 11:59pm Friday 22 April, face masks, while recommended, are not required in any school setting. Any student or staff member who wishes to wear a mask may do so, including those who are medically at-risk.

Screening requirements: Students and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19, and have completed their 7-day isolation period, now do not need to undertake rapid antigen test (RAT) screening for 12 weeks after their release from isolation. This was previously 8 weeks.

Household contacts: Students and staff who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are no longer required to quarantine. They can return to school as long as they undertake rapid antigen tests (RAT)each morning before they attend school and wear face masks indoors if they are aged 8 and above unless they have a valid exemption. If any household contact returns a positive RAT result during this period, they must isolate for 7 days and not attend school.

Vaccination requirements for visitors to schools: Parents, carers and other adult visitors (not performing work) are no longer required to show evidence of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

Community use of school facilities: Schools will no longer need to request evidence of vaccination of staff or workers from external community groups who use premises outside the school’s normal operating hours.

RAT screening program extension reminder: The supply of RATs will continue for the first 4 weeks of this term. The screening recommendations remain the same. We will be distributing RA Test kits through mentor groups as we have done previously.

Student Spotlight - Zak S