Principal's Report
Dear Parents and Carers,
ALL students will return to school on Monday; we are not doing a staggered return. As we prepare to return to school next week there are some things we will need to do as a community. Below are some of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) guidelines, which aim to establish, where reasonably possible, best practice in relation to health and hygiene at schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The full document can be found here:
- If your child is sick, they must not come to school. Please keep them at home until they are fully recovered. If your child presents to sick bay with cold or flu-like symptoms, parents will be notified to collect their child immediately.
- I ask that you do not come onto the school grounds. We are required to minimise the number of adults coming onto the premises to reduce the possible risk of COVID-19 transmission.
- There will be no face-to-face meetings with teachers this term. Please telephone or use email as the preferred method of contact with your child’s teacher or staff member.
- At this stage, there will be no assemblies or large gatherings of students for the remainder of this term. An exception to this is any evacuation or emergency procedure that may be required. (Fire alarm etc.)
- The front door near the office will be locked. Please call ahead if you need to visit the office on 6249 8869.
- Download the COVIDSafe app.
- The flu vaccination for your child might be another precaution to consider.
- Please provide your child with a packet of disinfectant wipes. Teachers will remind students to wipe their hands at different intervals throughout the day. There will be provision of extra hand sanitiser across the school.
- The play equipment will be closed for the time being.
- The bubblers will be closed. Students must have their own water bottle.
- Extra cleaning will take place. This will include the wiping down of tables and high touch areas of the school. Bathrooms will have antibacterial soap and children will also be reminded to wipe their hands with their wipes upon returning to the classroom.
- Frequent reminders to ensure children are practising good personal hygiene will take place. This means, covering mouths and noses when coughing and sneezing, frequent hand washing, not sharing food or drinks and minimising physical contact
- If your child, family member or other close contacts are tested for COVID-19, your child is not to attend school until the results of those tests are known and are negative. Please advise the school if this situation occurs.
- After 18 May, if a situation arises where it is deemed not safe by health authorities for students or staff to be onsite, we will move back to our comprehensive remote learning program as required.
PICK UP AND DROP OFF ARRANGEMENTS
Students can be dropped off from 8:20am. All children are to please be dropped at the top gate. The front office entry will be locked. Please do not come onto school grounds.
Afternoon pick up is from the usual spot. Please wave to your child or the teacher on duty from the top gate and the staff member will call your child/ren to meet you. Supervision will be available until 3:30pm.
Social distancing for adults is the key to the success of these procedures. Thank you in advance for your ongoing support and commitment to the above recommendations from Health Authorities and Catholic Education in order to help keep our community safe and healthy.
Remote Learning
As of May 18, there will be no remote learning available to students. We are open for face-to-face teaching. If your child is home sick, there will be no remote learning. As is normally the case (pre COVID-19) it’s a time for your child to rest and recover.
Uniform
For those students returning to school, a reminder that Winter uniform must be worn. Items can be purchased from Lowes Queanbeyan or Chilada at Majura Park, or through the secondhand clothing pool. Navy beanies and gloves are permitted in Winter. Please be advised, due to COVID-19, we are not accepting any donations to the second hand clothing pool until further notice.
YWCA
YWCA will be back to their usual capacity from Monday. If you cancelled your enrolment, you will need to contact “accounts” to re-register. It will not automatically start up again.
Kindergarten Health Checks
Act Health have advised; " Due to the redeployment of Registered Nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic response and the closure of schools, the 2020 physical component of the Kindergarten Health Check has been cancelled. The Academic Unit of General Practice questionnaire data, completed by parents at the beginning of the 2020 school year, has been collected as usual. The results of the questionnaire will be sent to the GP if consent has been given to do so. If parents have concerns regarding the physical check we recommend they see their GP for assessment. For more information please contact the School Health Team on 5124 1585."
Julie Wiley
Principal