29-Oct-2021
Dear Families
The wild and woolly weather over the last 24 hours has not missed us at school – with a few fences and a number of trees coming down on our property and in the surrounding streets. The clean up has begun and this will continue over the weekend.
This week’s School Operations update has given the green light to ease some of the restrictions currently in place in schools as ALL students can finally return to face to face learning from Monday November 1.
There are some very positive steps in amongst the changes, as well as some settings that have not changed, in an effort to keep our community safe.
The following information provided in the attachment offers a brief snapshot of some of the adjustments to school operations that commence from Monday November 1. A couple of key dot points are provided below
- We can welcome parents back onto school grounds for drop off or pick up without scanning our QR code. All parents and visitors who enter school buildings are required to scan our QR code
- Friday afternoon assemblies exclusive to staff and students can resume – unfortunately no parents at this stage
- Staggered drop off and pick up times and use of multiple entry and exit points will remain in place for the time being to prevent concentrations of students and minimise parents onsite. School, gates open at 8:40 am and will be closed again at 9:05 am approx. Gates will re-open at 3:15 pm.
- Fun Run, Tabloid Sports, Camps Incursions can all resume – subject to public gathering limits and density requirements
- Year 6-7 transition, kinder transitions and school tours are all good to go as well
We do respectfully ask that every member of our community helps us to stay safe by following the Health advice and Chief Health Officer’s decisions and orders. This could include limiting time spent on-site, wearing masks and resisting the temptation to greet friends we haven’t seen for awhile with a hug 🙂
Together we can keep our community safe and our school open.
World Teachers’ Day
On Friday 29 October, our school will celebrate World Teachers’ Day and recognise the incredible contributions our teachers make to our community.
On this day, we will recognise the passion our teachers have, and how teaching has extended beyond the classroom to maintain connections through remote learning.
I am exceptionally proud of the efforts of our teaching staff. This year has not been one we had hoped or planned for. The way our teachers have adapted their learning environments and supported our students and school community has been incredible. This year, our teachers have continued to show their resilience, leadership and adaptability throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
World Teachers’ Day 2021 is an opportunity to celebrate the teachers who are making, or have made, an impact on our lives. If you are able to find a few moments in your schedule and can send a not of thanks to a teacher today, I am sure they’d appreciate the acknowledgement
‘A teacher affects eternity: they can never tell where their influence stops.’ –Henry Adams
Being Resilient in Challenging Times
The attachment authored by Steve Francis from Happy Schools might be worth a read.
Being_Resilient_in_Challenging_Times
Our staff have worked with Steve this year and here he talks about how overcoming challenges lead to our greatest successes. “The moments in life that made you better, that make you swell with pride when you think about them, from
career achievements to education to parenting, did not come easy. These successes were the result of overcoming the challenges that were put in front of us.”
Student free day
With the easing of restrictions upon us and the chance to travel this ‘long’ weekend, we anticipate a number of families taking the opportunity to get away to Regional Victoria.
If this is the case for you, we respectfully ask that you send through a note to indicate your child’s absence on Monday. School will be open as usual to welcome students from ALL year levels
Further confirmation that we have rescheduled our proposed Student Free Day from Monday November 1 and pushed it back to December 16. Pleasingly this decision to defer the date has been encourage by the DET.
For other important dates please visit our school website https://www.edithvaleps.vic.edu.au/ and head to the PARENTS section to see the Calendar
Class Placements in 2022
We recognise and understand the importance of fostering and maintaining friendship groups, as well as developing new ones. We also understand that it is equally important for students to mix and learn with peers who have different interests. Information about 2022 class structures and student friendship requests is included in the attachment. Please take the time to read this to help us make the best decisions for your child and our school.
Our staff will use their expert professional judgement to place students with teachers and their peers, in classes that we firmly believe will help create a successful learning environment. Your support with this is greatly appreciated.
Sunsmart
We are a Sunsmart school! Despite our unpredictable and extreme weather conditions, the UV levels are still high so please remember to use sun protection each day during the sun protection times – not just on hot or sunny days. Hats are required to be worn outside throughout Term 1 and the beginning of Term 2
Information for families is available from http://www.sunsmart.com.au/communities/parents
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club is back up and running! It has been wonderful seeing a mix of familiar and new faces joining us for breakfast. We are open to ALL children from 8.15 till 8.45, entrance is through the middle gate (near the crossing) on Edithvale Road, into the STEM centre.
There are no weekly overviews attached this week in light of the return to face to face learning on Monday.
Finally, and importantly, our students have handled the changes to their schedules incredibly well. Their ability and willingness to slide straight back into the school environment, reconnect with friends and engage with the learning is something we can all be very proud of.
“Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the “hero” within us is revealed.”
Take care and have a great weekend.
James Whitla