Welcome everyone to our week 4 newsletter.

Week 4 has been our first full week with all the children here from Monday to Friday. The children are all settling in well to being back at school. It is a shame that they will not be able to do most of the familiar term 4 activities that usually happen.

COVID Restrictions for term 4

Swimming and Interschool sport

Complying with COVID restrictions means that the children are unable to do swimming or interschool sport this term this year.

Graduation and Prize Giving/Carols

Graduation and Prize Giving/Carols will be completely different than usual.

We will not be able to have parents and family at school to celebrate Year 6 Graduation. We will have a liturgy at school during the day where we will celebrate this year's graduates. We will record the liturgy and send a youtube link, so parents and children can watch it together in the evening. The graduating students will also receive a gift pack.

Prize Giving will take place at school during the school day, but unfortunately, no parents will be allowed on site. Prize Giving will occur via Google Meets so parents can see it. Details will be provided closer to the event. The Carols side of Prize Giving is still on the drawing board. Generally, around this time, the children would be practising Christmas songs for our end of year Carols and Prize Giving. At this stage, students are not allowed to sing or learn new songs. The only song children allowed to sing is Happy Birthday if a classmate has a birthday. We are trying to find a way that the children can present Christmas Carols without singing as this does not meet the COVID safe requirements at the moment.

As there is now no sharing of food at school, the classes having an end of the year shared lunch and class party won't be able to happen. We will be addressing modifications to these activities so children can enjoy the end of the year in a COVID safe way. o

School Photos

On a positive note, we are now allowed to have school photos this term. There are COVID guidelines for school photos. As you would understand wearing a mask, distancing, and limiting physical contact, makes the task of setting up group extremely difficult.

Each student will have an individual photo taken and these photos will also be digitally transformed into a class photo board.

Photos will be taken in the following groups.

Prep

Year 1/2

Year 3/4

Year 5

Year 6

Please note when purchasing photographs that there may be a 5 week wait at best, and at worst photos will not be ready until 2021.

More details about School Photo Day to follow.

Key priorities

Last week I put in the three key priorities, and I have put them also in this week's newsletter. I think it is essential to keep focused on what is important at this time of transitioning back to school.

Priority 1 – Mental Health and Wellbeing

The highest priority is the mental health and wellbeing of each student and member of staff. Encouraging and sustaining motivation for learning, re-engaging students and families where needed, and supporting the social and emotional learning of children and young people alongside curriculum-based learning is crucial.

Priority 2 – Learning and Excellence

Some students have been better able to progress in their learning in the remote and flexible learning environment, others have maintained their rate of progress, and some have, despite their best efforts and those of their families and teachers, fallen behind.

Our priority is to ensure those who have fallen behind can catch up, and those who have progressed significantly can continue to be extended and stretched in their learning. Student voice will inform how we provide continuity of education and support for every student in this environment.

Literacy and numeracy across the curriculum remain a focus, with the school also adapting their teaching and learning program in term 4 to be responsive to student needs.

Priority 3 - Transition

Term 4 is a critical period, particularly for the children moving from kindergarten into Prep and from Grade 6 into Year 7. Students in other year levels will also prepare for the transition to the next year level at the end of term 4.

Prep enrolments for 2021 are open! If you have a child or know of someone with a school-aged child who would like to attend our school, please email me at principal@hfdoveton.catholic.edu.au.

Also if your child is not returning to Holy Family in 2021 could you please let me know.

I hope everyone has had a great start to the term.Welcome everyone to our week 4 newsletter.

God Bless

Steve Twomey

Principal

Child Safety

Keeping children safe in cars.