From Christian's desk....

Whole School Assembly tomorrow at 2:45pm

Tomorrow the School Captains will be hosting a Whole School Assembly at 2:45pm. Please tune in with your microphone muted and screen off. The link and password will be circulated on Compass.

Drive Thru Lunch Orders

Yesterday the amazing Karen and her sidekick Sophie set about bringing a taste of school back to the kids learning at home, with ‘Drive Thru Lunch Orders’. The idea was an overwhelming success. The service will be offered again tomorrow and each Wednesday and Friday during lockdown. Please see the dedicated Compass post and then head to FlexiSchools if you’d like to order.

NB: This service is compliant with COVID-Safe practices. A reminder that COVID-19 restrictions prevent community members travelling more than 5km from home.

Fun Friyay – Mindful or Mindblown!

On Friyay 27th August the whole school will engage in Fun Friyay!

The theme for the day will be ‘Mindful or Mindblown’.

We’re winding the clock back to when we were all kids, with students given the option to engage in all the things that kept our younger selves happy, healthy, and intrigued. Activities will be posted on Google Classroom.

Basketball Ring Installation

The six junior sized basketball rings have been installed on the Prep/Junior synthetic field. This joint CHAPS fundraising and JSC Leadership project will give our students endless amounts of fun, exercise and enjoyment.

Well done to all involved!

Thank-you David and Welcome Tim!

Last week David Beglan, the school’s digital technician, informed me that he has gained an alternate position as a ‘roaming technician’ with the DET. David has been with the school for five years and has been instrumental in rebuilding many of our servers and networks. Tim Silvey, who has been a casual technician in the school since the start of the year, will increase his hours and take over the role as our school’s main technician.

Farewell Ben

At the beginning of the term Ben Burch informed me of his decision to resign from his role as a teacher at Croydon Hills Primary School. In typical Ben fashion his desire was to quietly exit the school without fanfare. Ben and I have reflected on the positive impact he has had on students and programs at the school, particularly in environment and sustainability.

Remote Learning Extended – Onsite Attendance

On Monday tighter restrictions related to Metro Melbourne's COVID-19 lockdown were announced by Premier Daniel Andrews. With that comes much tighter regulations around who schools can accept on-site to complete Remote Learning. This news was challenging to hear, nonetheless for our staff. There's nothing more we'd love than to have all students back at school! We have prided ourselves on the support we've given our community over the last 18 months and know full well that enforcing these restrictions is going to cause stress and be emotionally challenging for all involved. We thank you in advance for your support and dialogue in coming to a fair arrangement for your family. Parents and carers will only be able to request on-site supervision for their child/ren in the below categories:

A) Children where both parents and/or carers are considered authorised workers who cannot work from home, work for an authorised provider and where no other supervision arrangements can be made:

• Where there are two parents/carers, both must be authorised workers, working outside the home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site provision

• For single parents/carers, the authorised worker must be working outside the home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site provision.

An authorised worker permit is required for parents requesting on-site supervision for their child/ren under Category A as an authorised worker.

Please email Workers Permit for Category A submissions (authorised providers and authorised workers) to jennifer.culshaw@education.vic.gov.au or send a hardcopy with your child to hand in at the office.

In rare circumstances, a parent/carer does not need a worker permit. This includes law enforcement, emergency services or health care workers who carry employer-issued photographic identification. More information is available at Authorised provider and authorised worker permit.

B) Children experiencing vulnerability, including:

• in out-of-home care

• deemed vulnerable by a government agency, funded family or family violence service, and assessed as requiring education and care outside the family home

• identified by a school or early childhood service as vulnerable, (including via referral from a government agency, or funded family or family violence service, homeless or youth justice service or mental health or other health service)

• Where a parent/carer indicates that a student with a disability is vulnerable because they cannot learn from home, and/or informs the school the student is vulnerable due to family stress, the school must provide on-site supervision for that student. This may apply to students enrolled in specialist schools and students with a disability enrolled in mainstream schools.

An authorised worker permit is not required for accessing on-site supervision under Category B.

Carol Wyatt (Assistant Principal - Wellbeing) is overseeing the school's identification of children deemed ‘vulnerable’. If you have not spoken with Carol this week, please contact her on 0448 325 021 or via email carol.wyatt@education.vic.gov.au to discuss arrangements, prior to completing this form.

Applications for onsite supervision for Friday 20th – Friday 27th August can be made here.

Thank you again for your ongoing support as we all navigate the ever-changing parameters of our COVID world.

Christian Holdsworth - Principal

For Our Students

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