Principal's Report

From Christian's desk....

National Sorry Day: 26th May, National Reconciliation Week: 27 May – 3 June and Mabo Day 3 June.

Croydon Hills Primary School proudly acknowledges that it is located on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.

As shared last week, over the past nine days our nation has acknowledged our traditional land owners. This began National Sorry Day last Tuesday, May 26th. National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.

National Sorry Day is the precursor to National Reconciliation Week: 27 May – 3 June. This culminated yesterday with Mabo Day. Mabo Day commemorates the 1992 High Court of Australia rejection of terra nullius and recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have rights to the land. This decision by the High Court is also known as the Mabo decision. The day and term Mabo honours Eddie Mabo, an Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights.

On Monday June 1st, our school had a whole school focus on what this means. Students worked through age appropriate learning engagements on how historical events, actions and behaviours bred a divisive Australian culture. Those discussions will then support students in developing an understanding of why reconciliation is so important.

COVID-19 Re-entry Plan: Stage Three - Transitioning Middle and Senior School Students to on-site learning.

The third iteration of the school’s COVID-19 Re-entry Plan is now available. Alterations and adjustments to our school’s plan are viewable on the above link and are as follows:

School entry protocols (Refer to Map below):
- Students arriving at OSHC are met by OSHC staff at the gym door. The line up area has clearly marked entry and exit points for parents/carers.
- Students:
Who do not require parent support are able to enter through Gate 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14 or 15 at any time between 8:30am - 9:00am (identified as ‘Easy In’). This includes students who:
Walk to school on Campaspe Drive or through Yarrunga Reserve.
Are dropped off at the drop-off zone via Access Point A
Are dropped off on the western curb side of Campaspe Drive
Students who require adult support to enter the school are to:
- Prearrange support with their classroom teacher.
- Approach their nominated gate at 8:50am where their classroom teacher or an Education Support staff member will be waiting. Specifically at:
  - Gate 2 - PCF, JTA, JJO,
  - Gate 3 - PEC, PKS
  - Gate 4 - PRT, JKF, JPB, JAW
  - Gate 6 - PCB, PJT, JLC, JKB, JTC, JCF,
  - Senior and Middle students are to arrange specific gate with their teacher.
School exit protocols (Refer to Map below):
- All students attending Out of School Hours Care will be dismissed from class at 3:30pm. Prep - 2 students will be supervised by staff as they walk to OSHC through the Senior School building. Students will be collected in the evening with parents adhering to social distancing guidelines.
- Students that do not require adult support will exit through Gate 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14 or 15 at 3:30pm. They will then follow their family’s exit arrangements. This may include heading to a meeting point along the Campaspe Drive boundary near the school’s exterior playgrounds, ovals or towards Yarrunga Reserve (identified as ‘Easy Out’).
- To support siblings (or family arranged groups of children) moving out of the school together the school encourages families to make pre-arranged plans with their children and their teachers. This may include:
Older siblings leaving the classroom at 3:27pm to walk to the youngest sibling’s classroom.
Siblings meeting at a designated point in the school grounds before exiting the same internal school gate together.
Students who require adult support to exit the school are to:
- Prearrange support with their classroom teacher.
- Approach their nominated gate at 3:27pm where their classroom teacher or an Education Support staff member will accompany the child/ren to the gate at 3:30. Specifically:
- Gate 2 - PCF, JTA, JJO,
- Gate 3 - PEC, PKS
- Gate 4 - PRT, JKF, JPB, JAW
- Gate 6 - PCB, PJT, JLC, JKB, JTC, JCF
- Senior and Middle students are to arrange specific gate with their teacher.

Prep Information Evening

At 7:30pm on Wednesdays June 24th and July 15th, we will be hosting a ‘Virtual Prep Information Evening’. The evening, dedicated to those who have either submitted an enrolment or are committed to enrolling at Croydon Hills in 2021, will involve a detailed presentation of the 2021 Prep School year followed by a Q&A session.

If you would like to register to be invited to the evening or submit questions prior please complete the enquiry form on the Enrolments page of our school website

Christian Holdsworth - Principal