A return to school
We can't wait to see you!
Following advice from the Chief Health Officer, the Victorian Government has advised that schools can begin a phased return to on-site schooling.
In the first stage, Year 11 and 12 VCAL and VCE students will return to school from Tuesday 26 May.
Year 10 students undertaking VCE studies should also attend school, for those classes only. See the attached A-Z document for details about this.
To support all school staff to prepare for this transition, Monday 25 May will be a student-free day.
In the second stage of our return to on-site schooling, all Years 7-10 will return to school from Tuesday 9 June.
For those students who cannot be supervised at home and vulnerable children, the existing model of on-site supervision will remain in place during the two-week period from Tuesday 26 May to Tuesday 9 June. The current process that we are using to enable parents and carers to indicate the days or part-days for which on-site schooling is required will continue for this two-week period.
All other students in these grades and year levels will continue remote learning
until Tuesday 9 June.
Once a year level has returned, all students will be expected to attend school as normal. This means if you choose to keep your child/children home after their year level has returned to on-site schooling, we can no longer support their learning from home.
This does not apply to children who need to be absent for health or medical reasons. For those families, please contact Katie Archibald, Assistant Principal, so we can make an appropriate plan. Parents of students in Years 11-12 will need to do this by 10am, Monday 25 May. Please see further details regarding this in the attached A-Z guide.
This same approach is being taken by all government schools in Victoria.
To support the health and wellbeing of all our students and staff, our school will continue an enhanced cleaning routine and will encourage frequent hand washing and sanitation.
If your child is ill or is feeling unwell, they must not attend school. They must remain home and seek medical advice.
While the Chief Health Officer has advised that students will not be required to maintain physical distancing at school, there will be a number of important changes to our school operations, consistent with health advice to all schools. This will apply until further notice. Full details are outlined in the attached A-Z guide, and more will be explained to students on their return to school. Key points include:
- no drop-off or pick up access to the school circular driveway;
- restrictions on access to the school site for anyone other than immediate school staff and students;
- adjusted Tram Stop queuing arrangements
- adjusted locker, canteen and corridor (traffic flow) arrangements;
- rooming changes, including room allocation and classroom set-up;
- staggered break and finish times: early lunch for students in Years 7&10; early finish by 10 minutes each day for students in Years 8,9 &11;
- Year 11&12 students who have late starts or early finishes are strongly encouraged to spend this time at home rather than at school to aid the staggered arrivals and departures.
Please take some time to read the details of these key points in the A-Z reference guide, which will also be placed on myNorthcoteHigh.
We understand that some families may feel anxious about this move back to classroom teaching and learning. I can assure you that this decision has been taken on the basis of the best health advice available to our state. We will be working with our students and staff to ensure that everyone's health and wellbeing is cared for, and that all students are supported in the transition back to school.
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
Thank you for your continued support and patience during this time. We look forward to welcoming our students back to the classroom.