We Are Back!

Only three more sleeps until we welcome back all students to Warrandyte Primary School. It has been a long and patient process, but because of the great work of our communities, fingers crossed that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Staff are super excited by students return. They have been working and planning hard to ensure that all students have a smooth transition back into the classroom. No doubt students are also super excited to see staff and of course their peers-bring it on!

The Department of Education has worked hard to ensure that schools are covid-safe environments. There are a number of guidelines that we must adhere to ensure the safety of students and staff.

I have shared some of these through our compass feed and I will also include them in todays newsletter. We ask for your support. Please follow the guidelines provided and ensure that we maintain a safe environment for our school community.

A-K surname families will arrive at 9.00am and be picked up at 3.15pm
L-Z surname families will arrive at 9.15am and be picked up at 3.30pm
Students will be dropped off by car in Brackenbury Street. Please enter Brackenbury Street via Anderson Street. (NOT FORBES Street)
Students will be met at their cars by staff and taken into school to sanitise their hands. A staff member will be available to support any students who may be feeling a little anxious.
We ask that all parents stay in their cars so that traffic can continue to flow.
Students walking to school, riding their bikes or catching the bus are to enter the school via Forbes Street entrance where they will be greeted by a staff member.
No parents are to park in Brackenbury Street or Forbes Street.
Students will need to bring a drink bottle (or two) from home as student drinking taps will not be in use. They also are required to bring a SunSmart hat.
Unfortunately, we are still not permitted to allow parents on site or congregate at school gates, therefore if parents would like to talk to a staff member, we ask that they phone or email the school. Staff members will not be available at pick up or drop off as they will be supervising students to ensure their safety.

We thank you in advance for supporting us in ensuring that our school is a safe place for our students and staff. We look forward to working with all our school community throughout the remainder of the year and welcoming parents and families back onsite very soon.

Virtual Camping

Who would have thought that the year 2020 would have been the year of the virtual camp? And what a wonderful experience it turned out to be. It has been truly amazing to see the number of school families throwing themselves into setting up camps at home. Tents were erected, marshmallows were cooked over open fires, songs were sung around the campfire and good times were had by all. I even threw a line into one of my fish ponds at home and strangely enough all I caught was a cold!

Thank you for your involvement and enthusiasm for making this a truly memorable experience. I would like to sincerely thank staff for the time and effort they put in to organsing the camp, much of the work completed over the holiday break. To our camp coordinators Rick and Katie and all staff we say a big thank you. Be sure to have a look at the photos on the Student News page

Return to School

Throughout the remainder of 2020, Warrandyte Primary School will focus on three key areas.

Priority 1 – Mental health and wellbeing

Our highest priority is the mental health, safety and wellbeing of every student and member of staff.
This means encouraging and sustaining motivation for learning and supporting the development of personal and social capabilities of students as part of the curriculum.
It includes re-engaging students and families where needed and implementing targeted strategies for at-risk cohorts.

Priority 2 – Learning

Some students have been able to more quickly 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 will be 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 and student agency should inform how we provide continuity of learning and support for every student in this environment.
Literacy and numeracy across the curriculum remain a focus, with schools also adapting their teaching and learning program in Term 4 to be responsive to the needs of their students.

Priority 3 – Transitions

Term 4 is a critical period, particularly for the children moving from kindergarten into Prep, from Grade 6 into Year 7, and those in Year 12 moving into employment or further education and training.
Students in other year levels will also prepare for a change of teachers and new classmates.
A key focus of Term 4 will be to make every effort to ensure each of these end-of-year and beginning-of-year transitions occurs as successfully as possible. This includes finding contextually appropriate ways to conduct orientations and end-of-year celebrations and ensuring transition information captures additional details as necessary.

I have totally been blown away from some of the work that students have produced during remote learning. Another wonderful example is the showcase of student art work captured so brilliantly by our Art teacher Eliza. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see the student pieces of work please do yourself a favour (I’ve got a feeling someone else says that!) and go to our website and look for our virtual gallery. You won’t be disappointed.

2021 Planning

Planning is well underway for 2021. To assist with our planning, we ask that any families who will not be returning next year to Warrandyte Primary School please email the school warrandyte.ps@education.vic.gov.au let us know as soon as possible.

If there are any current families who have not enrolled their child, who will be starting prep next year, could you please complete an enrolment form as soon as possible.

And finally, I saw this joke doing the social media rounds during the week and thought you might get a laugh out of it.

What is the difference between the Eiffel Tower and a tick?

Nothing, they are both Paris Sites!

Have a great weekend

Craig Crouch 😊

Principal

Dates to Remember