Dear parent/caregiver,

The Premier today announced that schools and preschools will reopen to all students on Monday 23 November.

As a result our school will be open and operating as normal and all Woodend students are expected to be at school, unless they show any symptoms of illness, in which case they do need to remain home until totally well.

We will not be offering an alternative home-based learning program.

While OSHC is able to operate as usual, families should check with our OSHC service whether it is operating a full service on Monday.

The school canteen will resume providing lunches to students.

As the Chief Public Health Officer said, just because the hard lockdown is being lifted does not mean that the risks associated with COVID-19 have passed. As a result we will minimise the number of people coming and going from our site. Wherever possible, please drop and collect your child at the school gate and maintain the appropriate physical distance from other adults.

To clarify that last point, please ensure that, for year 3-7 children, if you are dropping before school or collecting after school, that you do so from outside of the school gate. For children who are in R-2, where possible, please do the same.  If absolutely necessary, then R-2 children can be dropped and collected from directly outside of their classroom by one parent/caregiver.

Regardless of the year level, no adults are to be on school grounds prior to 3:05pm to collect their child(ren). Please wait outside the fence and only enter when the bell sounds, to collect your child, and then leave promptly. No children are to use play equipment before or after school.

We will continue to manage staff communication with parents/caregivers via phone, email, Zoom or the school’s social media channels (including Facebook, Team App, Seesaw). For the time being, there will be limited face to face communication in order to keep our most vulnerable community members safe.

The only exception will be where a visitor needs to come to the front office, eg to collect a sick child or to sign in a late arrival, where there are signs indicating where to stand. Please do not approach the front desk until asked.

SA Health ask that while waiting, social distancing is maintained between adults.

More information on excursions, events and sporting activities, and use of masks will be available soon. Please note that we are still having to make accomodations as per restrictions put in place pre-lockdown.

Thank you very much for your support over the last couple of days. We look forward to having your child back at school on Monday. Teachers and other school staff are very pleased that it is now possible to resume normal school teaching and learning programs much earlier than anticipated.

I also thank you for your ongoing support in ensuring that our own arrangements for access to the school are followed and complied with.  We do appreciate your efforts during this difficult time. Please note that we will continue to review our COVID-19 management strategies and will keep you updated if they change.

Regards,

Steve Freeman
Principal