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- School Closure Day - Monday 25th May
- Thank You
- Conversations with Young People
- Staged Return to School for All Students
- Construction Competition - Entries Close Tomorrow @ 3.00pm!
- The Resilience Project
- Increased Cleaning Arrangements
- Arriving at and Leaving School
- Each Child is to have a Drink Bottle with their Name Clearly Labelled
- Semester One Reports
- Aunty Miss March
- Message from Extend
School Closure Day - Monday 25th May
Monday 25th May is a School Closure Day.
Please note that the school is closed to ALL students on this day.
I would like to use this forum to thank you all for your support of the school during the past term. Thank you for enabling the students to continue to learn. Thank you for your recognition of the enormity of the work of the classroom staff. Thank you for filling in our surveys so we could refine what we were offering. Thank you for entering the Spirit of OLOL competitions. Thank you for your understanding of the limitations of the supervision offered by the school. Thank you for not entering the school except by appointment. Thank you for reading all the communications.
I thank parents and family members (that includes grandparents!) for your encouragement, feedback, patience, and willingness to engage with us to support your child’s ongoing wellbeing and learning.
I also thank the children for all they have achieved and all they have contributed – they should be proud of their efforts, even in the challenging moments. I thank the staff that has come in and worked ensuring that the school just continues to hum along and those who supervised the students when they would have much preferred working from the safety of their homes. Its just one big bubble of THANKS!
Now, pray that it all settles down and we don't have a second wave and have to go remote again.
THANK YOU
Francine
Conversations with Young People
We are all aware that some people in our school communities have heightened levels of concern and anxiety regarding the many impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. These thoughts and feelings are normal and understandable.
Most adults and children will be able to manage these feelings by being resilient and practising positive coping skills.
However, some may feel overwhelmed and unable to adequately express their concerns. This may result in escalated levels of distress or worry.
Conversations with children and young people
Families and caregivers of children and young people should discuss the virus with those in their care in an open and honest way.
Try to relate the facts without causing alarm, and in a way that is appropriate for their age and temperament.
It is important to listen to any questions they may have and to let them know that they are safe and that it’s normal to feel concerned.
Let them know the school has put lots of actions in place to make it as safe as possible for their return.
Let them know how much everybody is looking forward to seeing them - that is especially true of the Principal!
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ATTEND OUR ONLINE RESILIENCE SESSION NEXT WEEK -
This is more important now than ever before in supporting parents to support their children.
Staged Return to School for All Students
• Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students onsite from Tuesday 26 May 2020
• Students in Years 3 to 6 continued remote and flexible learning program
• Students in Years 3 to 6 for whom no other appropriate arrangements can be made, and students who are vulnerable, being supervised onsite with continued remote and flexible learning program.
OLOL's school program reflects the advice above.
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) has advised that a ‘venue density rule’ of no more than one person per four square metres is not appropriate or practical in classrooms or corridors, nor is maintaining 1.5 metres between students during classroom activities. Therefore, the previously established ratio of 10 students per class is no longer required in schools.
All students in the year levels returning to onsite learning are expected to attend school. Schools are not expected to provide a home-based learning program for students in these year levels, where parents elect to keep these students at home.
To support all school staff to prepare for the transition, Monday 25 May 2020 will be a student-free day, both onsite and in remote and flexible mode. This is important to enable the planning necessary to ensure the successful transition back to school can be completed.
It is important to support students to return to normal routines, acknowledging the situation, providing developmentally suitable information about what is occurring, as well as providing a safe space for students to raise their concerns and feelings.
Construction Competition - Entries Close Tomorrow @ 3.00pm!
A reminder that all entries must to be received by Mr. Mac strictly no later than 3.00pm tomorrow, Friday 22nd May!
We are very pleased to announce we have booked an
Online Parent Information Session with Hugh
on Wednesday 27th May at 7.00pm
Join Zoom Meeting :
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID : 874 3369 6138
Our programs are based on the following strategies:
Gratitude - Appreciating what you have, not begrudging what you don’t.
Empathy - Thinking of the needs of others/kindness.
Mindfulness - Being present in the moment, not becoming distracted by unhelpful or negative thoughts.
During this presentation, Hugh will share his experiences and combine them with practical strategies that can be implemented everyday to improve our overall wellbeing.
Increased Cleaning Arrangements
All students are to have their own water bottle for use at school. They should not drink directly from water fountains. Taps may be used to refill water bottles. For any child where you feel having their own drink bottle may prove difficult, please make sure they are provided with a drink bottle.
Arriving at and Leaving School
- All staff/students to use hand sanitiser when entering/exiting the school.
- Temperature checks have not been recommended by CECV and therefore will not be carrying these out as previously mentioned.
- Parents are not to enter the school except by appointment.
- Parents are asked to minimise time spent in or around the school grounds not to socialise when picking up or dropping off students but rather collect their child/ren and leave the school grounds immediately.
- Both Wynnstay Rd (front) and A’beckett St (back) entrances/exits will be open to limit congestion.
- Speedy pick and drop off will still be available with some slight changes to the process. Students are to get in and out of their cars by themselves. Mr McAlister will be at the front gate to assist any students struggling to get in and out of their cars. All parents are to remain in their cars.
- Learning Support Officers will be present at the front and back gate in the mornings to assist with any students who may be feeling anxious about returning to school. LSO will accompany students who feel anxious up to their classrooms.
Each Child is to have a Drink Bottle with their Name Clearly Labelled
There is to be NO sharing of drink bottles.
Drink Bottles MUST have student's name clearly marked on it. Please check this because if you wrote this on a drink bottle at the start of the year it could well have worn off.
They should not drink directly from water fountains.
Taps may be used to refill water bottles.
This semester's report will reflect what we know from Term One and what evidence we have from Term Two. By law, we also have to offer some form of parent-teacher interview with the semester one reports. As we still cannot meet for a face to face meeting we will offer a phone conversation between you and your teacher. Having said that - I actually ask that you don't take up the offer at this time. The teachers as you know have had an exhausting term and at the moment you have a very good idea about both your child's academic progress and their work habits. We need to ask for your input into what we do with this situation. If you feel you would absolutely need to schedule a phone call with your classroom teacher, please complete the form below. We will use this feedback to guide our next steps.
Extend Before and After Care
recommences on Tuesday 26th May
As school returns across Australia, Extend is excited to be able to again fully support our communities.
While restrictions are being lifted, we still need to remain vigilant with hygiene and social distancing practices.
We have expanded our usual safety procedures to incorporate national recommendations regarding COVID-19 prevention.
- Additional training in the last two weeks:
- All Extend Educators, Operational management and Executive management at Extend have completed the Australian Government’s COVID-19 Infection Control Training, in conjunction with Aspen Medical.
- All Extend Educators have completed the Department of Health and Human Services nationally recognised food handling safety course DoFoodSafely.
-
Drop off and pick up procedures: Parents are asked not to enter the service past the sign in desk unless absolutely necessary.
- Social distancing measures for adults: Parents/guardians who do need to enter the service are asked to remain four (4) metres away from the nearest child, and 1.5 metres away from the nearest Educator. Please avoid prolonged interactions with our Educators or other adults in the service and do not move past the sign in desk when collecting your child.
- Social distancing measures for children: With consistent messaging from parents and Educators, we are able to implement 1.5 metre social distancing between children and Educators and between children and children in our services.
- Hand hygiene: Diligent hand hygiene is always part of our daily routine. Liquid hand soap is available in multiple locations in each service. Children continue to be encouraged to wash their hands even more regularly throughout the service, as demonstrated by our Educators.
- Surface disinfectant: All hard surfaces, including tables, benches and door handles are regularly disinfected. This includes, but is not limited to, prior to the service starting and before and after food preparation
- Signing in and out of the service: It is important to remain at the sign in desk when collecting your child rather than moving around in the service. Please adhere to the hygiene instructions for signing in and out at your service.
- Outdoor school playgrounds: As per current government restrictions, all playground equipment will remain off limits until we are advised it is safe to use this equipment.
- Play: There are no group activities where close proximity is required. This includes group sports. We are constantly designing activities, and giving children a say in the activities, to ensure children remain engaged and connected to their Educator and each other, while remaining at a safe physical distance.
- Food: Breakfast is provided before school and afternoon tea is provided after school each day as usual. Should parents still wish to provide all food for their child we will continue to support this choice. But please be rest assured our services are hygienic and food is prepared with tongs, so it is safe to eat the food prepared at the service.
- Illness: Keep your child at home if they are sick. Based on health advice we are unable to accept your child into the service if they have any signs of infection. If your child is unwell at the service, even with minor symptoms, they will sit away from other children until a parent or guardian can collect them.
Everyone at every Extend service can expect to be safe and it is a shared responsibility to ensure we keep all children and adults safe at our services. We continue to be updated with the most recent health advice to ensure our processes are always the most current health and safety processes.
This information can be found on our website here.
With sincere thanks,
Extend Team