Four schools in Victoria will be closed today after two students and two teachers tested positive to Covid-19 over the weekend.
It comes as that state records a double-digit increase in cases for the fifth day in a row and Premier Daniel Andrews extended Victoria’s state of emergency until July 19.
This only reinforces our need not to become complacent with any of the measures that we currently have in place, even though we do consider ourselves a lucky State given that we don’t currently have community transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Our restrictions at our school are designed to minimise the possible chance of any transmission, should anybody be positive and at this stage be unaware that they are.
As is being promoted, complacency is something that we don’t want to experience, which then may lead to a further outbreak. It would be a significant setback for so many small businesses who are struggling to reopen and need to rebuild financially. We know that a number of our families are in this situation, and we certainly wish them all the best during this tough time.
It would also lead to a resumption of online learning and that is not our preferred option.
Thank you especially to all parents and visitors who continue to follow the guidelines of no adults being in the classroom areas or in the Atrium area. I do know that it is tempting to just enter quickly to drop off your child, but we really do appreciate that you remain outside. If you are coming into the front office area, could you please ensure that you wait at the sign rather than coming directly to Kerri. She will speak with you when she is ready to assist. This will help us in maintaining a safe working environment for all of our people.
No doubt there will be some further changes between now and the beginning of next term, and any new information will be shared on a News Blog sent out at the very beginning of the first week next term.
One of the unintended plusses to come out of the COVID-19, is that young children who have had to make their own way into the classrooms, unpack their own bags and prepare for their classroom time in the morning, have demonstrated an increasing resilience and confidence both at this time and during general class time. Many of you have commented on this as one of the positive benefits of our experiences with COVID-19.
I remind everybody that Monday 20 July (day one of Term 3) is a pupil free day, which is the same for all schools within the Marion Coast Partnership, where we are working on deeper learning around Numeracy. This will be a shared activity which will be via videoconferencing or small groups with the required physical distancing in place.
Our Sports Day has been rescheduled for October 30th. This is in Term 4, and further details will come out closer to the date, with updated information from SA health, giving us the much-needed information about how we might manage having parents present (or not!). Obviously this will depend on not having a second wave of Covid-19.
At this stage it looks like Bike Ed will go ahead on 22, 29 October, 5, 12, 19, 26 November 2020, for all year 5 students. This is great news and we trust that it will be able to proceed when we do get to these dates.
We did think that Wakirri might happen later this year, however we have heard that all live performances have since been cancelled. We will explore what might happen here at school in the meantime, and those children who are involved will be informed.
Reports are due to come home in the last week of school, and while the COVID-19 has had an impact for some children, and the reports may reflect this, others will contain further information about what the children have learnt. There will however, be less information available about actual growth in learning, which will be reported on in greater detail at the end of the year.
Governing Council met last week and approved the remaining pupil free days and the school closure scheduled for 2020.
These are;
Monday 20–7 –2020. Pupil Free Day;
Friday 4–9 –2020 School Closure;
Monday 2 – 11 –2020 Pupil Free Day.
Out of School Hours Care will be operating on each of these days.
Kind regards,
Steve Freeman
Principal
