Dear Parents,

We have definately entered a time that is unprecedented in the world as we know it and this has had a major impact on the delivery of education during this time. Our school provides an essential service to the community, and we will continue to support the learning and well being of our children. The Government has taken advice from the Chief Health Officers. Their advice is clear - schools will continue to operate. Our NSW Premier has encouraged families who are able to keep children at home to do so and many of our families have taken this advice. The staff at school have put together a comprehensive learning package for each child for the last 3 weeks of Term 1. If parents have not yet collected these packages, please let us know. They can be picked up from the front office or we can post them out to families.

I have requested that all teachers make phone contact with every child in their class, hopefully twice a week, whilst our school remains operational. This phone call will be not only to support children but to also speak with parents and support them with the work packages, explanation of tasks if needed and supporting families during this difficult time. The school has purchased a number of mobile phones in the past few days and teachers will begin these calls soon. I have asked teachers to leave a message if the calls go to message bank.

Staying connected to our children and parents is vitally important to us. Therefore, we have also set up stage closed facebook groups for parents and children to join. Parents will need to request access to each applicable stage their child is involved in. Once you are accepted by an administrator, you will then be able to access our online support. These facebook closed groups follow our school facebook/ media terms of engagement (which is on our School Facebook site) and any negative or non related messages will be deleted. Our intention is for each teacher on the stage to live stream into these groups each school day. Teachers will talk about work, revise some of the work previously taught and read a story each day. The times allocated for each stage group are;

Kinder - 10.00am each school day - please ask to join - Bathurst Public School Kindergarten

Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2) - 10.45am each school day - please ask to join - Bathurst Public School Years 1 and 2

Stage 2 (Year 3 and 4) - 12.15pm each school day - please ask to join - Bathurst Public School Years 3 and 4

Stage 3 (Year 5 and 6) - 1.00pm each school day - please ask to join - Bathurst Public School Years 5 and 6

Support classes - 2.15pm each school day - please ask to join - Bathurst Public School Support

Our Parent Portal is operational and we will continue pushing information out through this communication tool to parents. Mrs Cafe is overseeing the parent portal. If parents need support with logging on, passwords etc, please contact Mrs Cafe at school. The direct link is:

https://bathurstps.sentral.com.au/portal2/#!/login

I continue to thank parents for their messages of support and encouragement of the changes we are putting in place to get us all through this extremely difficult time. At any stage if you need any additional support, please contact the school and speak with your child's classroom teacher, an Assistant Principal or myself. We are all in this together, and more then ever, we need to support one another.

A reminder of the procedures we have in place to ensure a safe working environment are;

Requesting sick staff and children to remain at home. If children become sick during the day we will contact parents for them to be collected and taken home. Likewise, if staff become unwell throughout the day, they will go home immediately. If parents are unwell, we ask you not to come near the school or enter the school grounds.
Hand sanitiser is in every classroom and soap is in all bathrooms. Children and staff are washing hands or using sanitiser before eating, when coming in from the playground or when using the bathrooms. Soap is in the soap dispensers in all of the bathrooms. Children and staff are washing their hands for about 20 seconds regularly throughout the day.
Alcohol wipes have been given to each classroom, office and workroom so keyboards, phones, tables etc can be cleaned regularly throughout the day.
Tissues are in every room. Once tissues are used, they should be disposed of and children and staff should rewash/use sanitiser on hands.
The protocols for washing hands and coughing etiquette from NSW Health are clearly located in every classroom, bathroom and offices around the school.

We would ask that parents limit entering the school grounds as much as possible to ensure the safety, health and well-being of all children and staff. If possible, parents are requested to drop their child/children at the gate each morning and wait outside the gates to collect them in the afternoon. Parents are reminded to present at the office if they need to attend the school.

Our School Canteen is closed until further notice. No lunch orders are available.

Our Breakfast club is closed until further notice.

Teacher tables, student tables, any benches and classroom furniture, workroom and staffroom tables and areas in offices are cleared each day so these area can be wiped thoroughly with disinfectant. Everything is also lifted off the floor so a thorough vacuum can occur daily.

Please follow us on Facebook. Please remember that the Facebook page is to celebrate our wonderful school and our student’s achievements. If you have questions in regards to things like bus passes, excursions, uniform, absences, or any other enquiry, please contact the office on 6331 3923.

If any parent has any concerns regarding any aspect of school life, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please take care everyone, stay safe and look after one another.

Kate White

Principal

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