Returning to School

Like most of you, over the last few weeks I have closely followed the daily announcements regarding new COVID-19 infections in Victoria and have been greatly encouraged by the continuing low numbers of new cases and the highly successful 'flattening of the curve' that has taken place so far.

Whilst no-one is claiming that the battle is won and the risks have disappeared, these hugely positive numbers have brought us to the point that many aspects of normal life which were put on hold in late-March can start to be gently reintroduced.

This of course includes schools and last week's news that we would re-start face-to-face teaching much sooner than the original Government announcement did not come as a surprise.

Whilst we welcome the public health situation that allows for such an re-opening to be considered, the decision brings with it a number of anxieties on all sides and a whole range of new procedures and arrangments which will take some getting used to.

Later in the newsletter, we share a range of measures we are focussing on to support the wellbeing of students as they transition back to on-site schooling. We recognise that this will be difficult for them and our main priority is to support them emotionally throughout this process. We understand that, for many, this will be a really challenging step as they may feel anxious to be leaving home, going into a world that might feel unsafe and learning in a school which works a little bit differently.

In terms of how we will be operating, there are a range of new steps which we will be taking to provide safe teaching and learning environments for staff and students as we transition back to on-site schooling.

The Victorian Chief Health Officer and the Education Department have provided the school with clear guidelines to best manage this transition. I will summarise these measure below;

Back to school dates

Students in Years Foundation, 1 and 2 will return to on-site schooling this Tuesday (26th May) at 9am.
Students in Years 3-6 will return on Tuesday 9th June. Remote learning will continue for these students until this date and the expectation remains that, if these children can learn at home, they must learn from home.
All students in the year levels returning to onsite schooling are expected to attend school. We will not be able to provide remote learning where parents elect to keep their children at home, except where this is based on medical advice.
on-site supervision will continue to be available for any children of essential workers who have absolutely no way of supervising their child at home.
Once on-site schooling re-starts, it is vital that any students who are at all unwell remain at home. Please do not risk the health of others by sending your child to school with any symptoms of ilness.

Start and finish times and drop-off logistics

Whilst schools have been encouraged to consider staggered start and finish times to reduce the number of parents and carers congregating at peak times, as we are lucky to have so much open space around the school we will not be running a staggered start for the first two weeks back (meaning that F and 1/2 students will start at 9am and finish at 3:30pm)
To allow for greater social distancing, we ask that Foundation children enter and leave the school through the back gates (near the pencil fence) and Year 1/2 children through the front and side gates near the oval and car park.
Parents and other visitors will not be allowed onto our school site (unless this is completely essential). Students will say goodbye to their parents on the oval/park and they will come into the school alone.
School staff will open the gates and provide supervision from 8:45am and no students should be at school before this time. Students are asked to arrive as close to 9am as possible rather than arriving early and socialising.
Teachers will take their classes out of the school onto the oval (Year 1/2 classes) and through the back gates into the park (Foundation children) at the end of the school day and children will be dismissed to parents from here.
Parents are requested to respect social distancing protocols at these busy times and spread out on the oval or in the park.
Once the older year levels return to school on June 9th, it is likely that we will introduce staggered start and finish times due to the far greater numbers of children and parents involved. Further information will be provided in the coming weeks.

Other arrangements

If parents/carers need to speak to the school office, myself, Michelle or their child's teacher, we ask that you do this by phone or email wherever possible to help protect our staff. Any longer meetings will be arranged remotely using video-conferencing technology.
In-person school assemblies, excursions, camps and other non-essential large gatherings will all be postponed for the time being. Instead we will continue with our Friday video assemblies.
As non-essential adults or visitors are not permitted on the school site, basketball training sessions will not be permitted on school grounds for the remainder of term 2. We regret having to take this decision as we understand the importance of the interactions and exercise that sports provide.

Additional cleaning and hygiene precautions

We will provide plenty of opportunities for hand washing with soap and water throughout the day and work with the children to understand the importance of this.
Hand sanitiser will be available in all spaces in the school and children will be encouraged to use this regularly.
Students will avoid using shared equipment wherever possible at this time. Students will be given and manage their own pencils, scissors, etc rather than using communal pots. If equipment has to be shared, strict hand hygiene will be followed before and after use.
Extended and increased cleaning arrangements have been introduced and will continue. This involves progressive cleaning throughout the day to ensure that risks of transmission are reduced for high-touch surfaces.
Playground equipment will continue to be used. However, students will be directed to practise hand hygiene before and after use. Playgrounds will be wiped down as part of the enhanced cleaning program.
Students should bring their own water bottle for use at school as students should not drink directly from drinking fountains at this time. Taps may be used to refill water bottles.

We are not going to pretend that the above steps will be easy and having to keep our wonderful parent community at a physical distance instead of welcoming them into school as we normally do, will be one of the biggest challenges.

The changes around drop-off and pick-up may be the hardest for students to get used to as many younger children would be used to their parents walking them to the line each day. We encourage you to discuss these changes with your child before next week in order for them to get used to the idea.

I want to thank our amazing SKiPPS families for their incredible positivity, support and kindness throughout this pandemic and look forward to this continuing as we head into the next phase of what has already been a trying and tiring time.

We can't wait to see your children playing and learning at school again.

Neil Scott, Principal

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