Michael Gray, Principal

Happy Birthday to children celebrating their birthday this week.

Cooper McDonald, William Furphy, Ruby Koch, Miranda McDowell, Lily Stewart, Zoe Ierodiaconou, Clara Kenna, Indi McLaurin, Jack Parker, Doris Pham, Edward Jeffries and Alexei Khaidurov.

By the Most Reverend Mark Coleridge, Archbishop of Brisbane

Almighty and all-merciful God,
lover of the human race, healer of all our wounds,
in whom there is no shadow of death,
save us in this time of crisis;

Grant wisdom and courage to our leaders;
watch over all medical & teaching people
as they tend the sick and work for a cure and support young people;
stir in us a sense of solidarity beyond all isolation;
if our doors are closed, let our hearts be open.

By the power of your love destroy the virus of fear,
that hope may never die
and the light of Easter, the triumph of life,
may shine upon us and the whole world.

Through Jesus Christ, the Lord risen from the dead,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy Mary, health of the sick, pray for us.
St Joseph, guardian of us all, pray for us.  

To support all school staff to prepare for the transition to onsite schooling, Monday 25th May will be a student-free closure day for all staff. Therefore, there will be no off-site remote program or on-site care and supervision program on this day for students. There will also be no teacher-student home communication on this day.

The school closure day that was previously advertised for Friday 29th May will now be a normal school day with Foundation, Years 1 and 2 onsite for their learning and Years 3-6 studying at home via the remote learning program.

The school closure day previously advertised for Tuesday 23rd June for Parent Teacher Interviews will now be a normal school day for all year levels.

Our school Wellbeing Coordiantor, Maryanne Evans has put together some very helpful wellbeing advice for parents and carers of primary students returning to school.

This contains tips for parents and carers to support their child’s wellbeing and mental health as they transition back and re-adjust to attending primary school in Term 2.

Congratulations to the 36 students who have registered for the Confirmation Sacramental Program. 

The Religious Education Team have put together an informative video in lieu of a parent information meeting. This video is aimed at parents who will be supporting their children with the Confirmation Program.

Confirmation booklets for registered children will be ready for collection from Monday 1 June at the collection table in the school foyer.

Any queries should be directed to Leanne at the Parish on 5562 2231.

National Reconciliation Week  2020 Theme

In 2020 Reconciliation Australia marks twenty years of  shaping Australia’s journey towards a more just, equitable and reconciled nation.

Much has happened since the early days of the people’s movement for reconciliation, including greater acknowledgement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights to land and sea; understanding of the impact of government policies and frontier conflicts; and an embracing of stories of Indigenous success and contribution.

2020 also marks the twentieth anniversary of the reconciliation walks of 2000, when people came together to walk on bridges and roads across the nation and show their support for a more reconciled Australia.

As always, we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and Australians now benefit from the efforts and contributions of people committed to reconciliation in the past.

Today we work together to further that national journey towards a fully reconciled country.

Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians – as individuals, families, communities, organisations and importantly as a nation. At the heart of this journey are relationships between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

We strive towards a more just, equitable nation by championing unity and mutual respect as we come together and connect with one another.

On this journey, Australians are all In This Together; every one of us has a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part we collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories and cultures.

https://www.reconciliation.org.au/national-reconciliation-week/

While the Chief Health Officer has advised that students will not be required to maintain physical distancing at school, there will be a number of important changes to our school operations, consistent with health advice to all schools; especially in relation to movement, gathering and adult social distancing.

The following will apply until further notice.

Getting To School In the Mornings, including Car Drop-off

As we return to full schooling families and students can now resume back to normal arrangements. That is riding, walking and scooting using city paths and school access gates from Queens Road and Bromfield Street. Car dropping students in the Loop. Please note access gates will be open from 8:30am daily with supervision commencing at 8:40am.

A reminder a healthy way to arrive at school in the morning if a car is required is to drop your child/ren at a safe place several blocks away from school. Your child/ren can then walk some distance. This has three benefits; fewer cars around the school, participation in low impact exercise for your child and fresh air for us all to enjoy.

Getting Home from School In the Afternoon including Car Pick-up

With the return to full schooling and the government requirements for school site access, all families travelling home via car will be allocated their student collection location-based on family surname. This procedure has already commenced for the current on-site students.

• A to G, collection from  School Loop
• H to M, collection from Queens Road
• N to Z, collection from  Bromfield Street Tennis Centre

Visitor and Parent General School Access

Restrictions will continue on parent and visitor access to the school site for anyone other than immediate school staff, educational support specialists, allied health staff and the students themselves.

A key issue moving forward in this new COVID-19 reality will be the way parents and school communicate; these are also under review. These arrangements will be shared with everyone once finalised.

We understand that some students, families and staff may feel anxious about this move back to classroom teaching and learning. I can assure you that this decision has been taken on the basis of the best health advice available to our state.

Home learning Materials

A reminder to that all students in Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 are required to bring their home learning packs to school from tomorrow onwards.

Warrnambool Bus Lines have asked us to pass on the following information to families in the school who regularly use school buses.

• The two front rows of seats on the buses will be cordoned off (8 seats) – for separation for the driver.
• Students bring their own sanitizer for before/during and after the bus trip this will enable them to enter/exit the bus without spending time next to the driver sanitizing.
• No food or drink on the school buses- this will avoid cleaners having to handle rubbish/scrap.
• Social distancing – as normal we will pick up all students that present at a bus stop. As we know some services will be at capacity and social distancing will not be possible, where it is we would expect the students to observe social distancing.
• The drivers will not be expected to enforce social distancing on the buses.
• If Drivers are concerned with the health of a student that travels - it will be reported to school either directly or via the relevant co-ordinator.
• Warrnambool Bus Lines has been completing extra cleaning and wiping down of surfaces of the buses and this will continue as required.
• Any Covid related issues relating to symptoms and testing will be followed through.

School Banking has been temporarily paused since 23 March 2020. We’ll advise when the program will recommence.

In the meantime, Start Smart Parent Resources, have been created to assist parents and carers in improving their children’s money management skills. These free, short videos and worksheets, can be accessed from home and are designed to give students the confidence and skills to make smart decisions about money.

From this week onwards our school canteen will resume its usual operating hours from Monday - Friday.