Newsletter #30 October 21
Principal News
Dear St Paul's families,
Welcome to this week's news.
The Deputy Premier announced today that Mildura will end the lockdown as of 11.59pm tonight and will fall in line with the rest of Regional Victoria. Foundation to Grade 6 children can return to school tomorrow Friday 22nd October, excluding those children who are currently required to isolate at home.
Return to School Arrangements - Minimising Risk to Our Community
As students start returning to school we know that many students, parents and staff may feel anxious due to the current situation in Mildura. It is a certainty that Coronavirus will still be present in the community, but as a school, we all need to be fully committed to doing all we can to protect the safety and wellbeing of all in our community. Below we have some important points that we hope provides some reassurance to staff, students & families:
Supporting Primary School Children Return to Onsite Learning
Do you have questions about the safety and logistics of a COVID-safe return to school? This webinar from the Royal Children’s Hospital looks at how we can support students returning to school from lockdown. The panel features experts in COVID-safe practices for children, mental health and educational development. To watch this video please click on the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1DizMUOeng
Borrowed Chromebooks
Please return all borrowed Chromebooks AND chargers tomorrow, Friday 22nd. Your child can take it to the classroom with them in the morning and hand it to their teacher.
Facemasks
Masks for students in Years 3-6 are now mandated in indoor settings, in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID as on-site learning recommences over the coming weeks. We have a limited supply of masks. Students are expected to bring their own mask with their name clearly written on it. Masks are strongly recommended for students in Foundation – Year 2 in indoor settings, but will not be mandatory.
Face masks, along with other preventative measures, improve the safety of the school environment and contribute to reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission within the school community and the wider community. To be effective, a face mask must be worn correctly, covering the nose and mouth. Face shields, scarves or bandanas do not meet these requirements.
School staff must always wear a face mask indoors and outdoors at school, unless a lawful exception applies.
School staff must wear face masks while teaching wherever practicable, except where removal of a face mask is necessary for effective communication.
Staff and students who are unable to wear a face mask due to the nature of their disability, medical or mental health condition may be exempt from wearing a mask. Further details are available on the Victorian Government Coronavirus website:
www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/face-masks-when-wear-face-mask
We ask that those students from Year 3-6 who are exempt provide a letter to the school. It can be emailed to principal@spmildura.catholic.edu.au If the school does not have any evidence of medical reasons on file eg Asthma Management Plan etc, the school may follow up with parent requesting documentation from a health practitioner.
Remote learning will cease tomorrow as all children return to onsite learning. However, the exception will be if your child is required to isolate at home the school will continue to support them with remote learning for the period.
Parents Accessing School Grounds
Parents are able to enter the school grounds to drop off and collect students. It is a requirement that visitors wear masks and socially distance themselves from others, but we strongly advise against parents gathering outside classrooms for more than 15 minutes. Unfortunately, parents are not able to enter any area of the school other than Reception. If parents enter Reception they are required to check in via the QR codes provided at front door.
Hygiene and Cleaning
All staff, students and visitors to the school should undertake regular hand hygiene, particularly on arrival at school, before and after eating, after blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing or using the toilet. Staff are reminding students of this regularly. COVIDSafe routine cleaning arrangements continue to be in place; in particular regular cleaning and disinfecting of high touch surfaces, and the inclusion of some elements that were not included prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Medical Vulnerabilities
As per the advice of the Victorian Chief Health Officer, COVIDSafe measures have been put in place to ensure our school is safe for all children including those that are medically vulnerable. If a student has a higher risk for severe outcomes or complications of COVID-19 (for example, those with chronic medical conditions) advice from the child’s medical practitioner regarding onsite school attendance should be sought. In most cases, the presence of common conditions such as asthma or diabetes, should not preclude a student from attending face-to-face learning.
Parent Helpers
As we need to minimise the risk of transmission, parent helpers are not able to be at school under current guidelines. When this changes they will be required to follow the same requirements of staff and be fully vaccinated. Evidence would have to be provided to the school. We are currently working with Passtab to have processes for this information to be collected.
Supervision of Students
Please note that when school is open for on-site learning, remote learning will not be facilitated. Students who do not attend in-person will be supported as per the school’s normal procedures for students who are absent from school. We would encourage parents to talk to their child’s teacher who may be able to give suggestions for learning that could occur at home, but their priority will be with the students attending school.
Parents who are hesitant in sending their children to school are encouraged to watch the video from the RCH above, discuss measures we are putting in place to protect the community or seek medical advice.
Communication
If a student becomes a primary contact or is a confirmed COVID-19 case parents are required to let the school know ASAP. This will allow the school to be proactive and not wait for confirmation from DHHS. This can sometimes take some time after a person is a confirmed case.
2022 Classes
In preparation for next year, our classroom structures for the 2022 school year will be as follows: Foundation-2 classes, Grades 1 & 2- 4 classes, Grades 3 & 4- 4 classes and Grades 5 & 6 -4 classes. If any parents have any information they wish to share regarding their child's classroom placement for 2022, please advise via email to principal@spmildura.catholic.edu.au no later than Friday 29th October. When planning classes for the following year staff consider :academic levels, gender balance, individual social/emotional/behavioural needs and peer relationships. Other practical factors to impact on the placement will include teacher recommendations, class size, groupings available, and a range of abilities in each class group. This is a very detailed process that involves staff, students and parent feedback.
If your child will not be returning to St Paul's in 2022 we ask that you please notify Reception ASAP as this will impact the class groupings.
As always,
Keep the Faith and Welcome Back!
Vince Muscatello
Foundation Unit News
It has been an unusually quiet week due to the Foundation Unit being the only Unit onsite until Wednesday. It was lovely to welcome them back to onsite learning this week. We have begun the week by getting right back into our learning. The children were keen to get back into some normality. This week in reading we have been reading "Lily O'Lee." Below are some pictures of the children taking part in their reading group activities.
ADMINISTRATION NEWS
**2022 School Fees**
The 2022 School Fee Commitment (green) form will be sent home with the oldest child in each family tomorrow, Friday 22nd October. We are sending home printed copies to ensure that all families have access to them to complete and return ASAP or no later than Friday 29th October 2021. We would appreciate it if they could be returned in the plastic pocket.
Once we receive the form a member of the Admin staff will follow up with each family to ensure that all the applicable allowances, discounts etc are applied, claim forms are completed etc.
If you have any queries don’t hesitate to contact the office.
Library News
Hello from our Library,
We have our Book Fair starting on Monday 25th October. Unfortunately parents are unable to come into the school however Students will be able to purchase books before school, at lunch time and after school.
Payment can be made by EFTPOS @ reception or over phone, online order at Scholastic or with cash. Books your child selects will be kept at school in the office until they are paid for.
All money raised from the book fair benefits students from our school. Money we have raised from previous book fairs has enabled us to buy lots of new items for our school including sets of decodable readers.
We have a flyer coming home with your child and a colouring in competition. Winners from each unit will recieve a $20.00 voucher to spend at the fair. Please make sure your child's name and class is on the back of the competition.
Thanks for your support,
Kind regards Marg Pongrac