Principal's Message

Principal's Message

Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends,

 

Well........ congratulations to you all after surviving two weeks of remote learning. Thank you to our families for helping to ensure our community stays safe. 

 

Staff have been seeking your feedback as to how it is working via email. As a very new way of teaching it has been very challenging for our staff. We are also concerned with staying in touch with our families so staff have been asked to make contact with each family by the end of next week to check on student wellbeing.

 

One area we have recognised as lacking within our remote learning has been  video conferencing. With so many changes so quickly we have wanted to ensure that when this commences it is provided in a safe and secure environment for all. The ability for staff to work one on one with students, with small groups of students or with large groups in real time interaction is important for learning and wellbeing. We will require a CareMonkey to be signed so as to allow this interaction to occur within strict guidelines so all conferences are recorded and only happen when under teacher direction. 

 

I feel it is also important to acknowledge that whatever you are doing at home, it will be good enough. This is a totally untried method of teaching and learning thrust upon us and we are all rising to the challenge. Professor John Hattie shared outcomes of school aged children following the Christchurch Earthquakes and discovered that missing months of school didn’t effect results , in fact they went up. Children embraced the organic learning environment around them and simply learned in ‘different ways’. Here is an article  for parents / schools to read related to this.

 

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-17/will-missing-school-due-to-covid-19-matter-for-school-students/12154266?pfmredir=sm&fbclid=IwAR1nJyz2F8TIaF-m4F09lxhIZbTofRGVve_pInyB91LQikJ-OpoNC7vpKnc

 

We have just completed a very simple Anzac Day liturgy with those present at school today.  It will be shared with our community through Seesaw.  Below is a prayer related to both the memory of our Anzacs and the situation our world is in at the moment. 

 

We are not people of fear:

we are people of courage.

We are not people who protect our own safety:

we are people who protect our neighbours’ safety.

We are not people of greed:

we are people of generosity.

We are your people God,

giving and loving, wherever we are, whatever it costs

For as long as it takes wherever you call us.

Amen.

 

A reminder again that we are very aware of how stressful this time is for many families regarding health and financial circumstances. As a school community we will continue to do our best to support your family in ensuring an ongoing education for our students. Please let us know if there is something we may be able to do to support you. 

 

God is with us - let your light shine!

 

God Bless

 

Rod

School Attendance and Unexplained Absence

Please ensure you contact the school before 9:30am if your child is going to be absent or late  by leaving a message on 9786 4736 and press #1.

If you are running late (after  9:00 am ) please attend the office to sign your child into school. 

 

As per our policy this will be our morning routine for absences:

 

Parents will be contacted as soon as practicable on the morning a student is absent via a phone call or text message.

If parent does not reply or is unreachable the emergency contacts will be contacted by the school.

If there is still no response, and the school feels that the child is in danger, the police will be contacted.

 

Ongoing unexplained absences or lack of cooperation regarding student attendance will result in

a formal conference being organized. Unresolved attendance issues will be referred to D.H.H.S.

     

This is a legal requirement.