Dear parents/caregivers,

The start of the 2022 school year has been adjusted to help minimise the peak of COVID-19 cases in South Australia.

Arrangements for Students of Essential Workers (31 January and 1 February)

Monday 31 January and Tuesday 1 February will be used by our staff to prepare for remote learning and the change to the start of term 1.

If you are required to work and do not have appropriate supervision for your child, you can choose to send them to school to be supervised on these days. No formal learning programs will be provided.

On Monday and Tuesday, students will enter the school grounds via Edward Beck Drive (OSHC gate) or Bathbank Ct. A staff member will be on duty at each entrance to direct students to their meeting point.

  • Reception and year 1 students will meet at the Terrace Playground (adjacent to the Front Office). We remind parents of children in Reception and year 1 that one parent is permitted to walk their child to the playground.
  • Students in years 2 and 3 will meet in the Hall.
  • Students in years 4-6 will meet in the Atrium.

Before and After Out of School Hours Care will continue as normal including Monday 31 January.

Woodend Children’s Centre Access

Parents who have children at the Woodend Children’s Centre, and for whom the only other option is the long walk around, may walk directly through the school grounds from Edward Beck Drive to the WCC, in order to drop children off or collect them at the end of a session. Socially distancing and mask wearing will be mandatory. If this needs to be updated, we will let you know.

Loan Device and Resource Pack Collection

Loan devices will be available to collect from the Front Office on Monday 31 January 12-3.30pm and Tuesday 1 February 8.30am-3.30pm. If you require a loan device and did not indicate this on the return to school survey, please contact the office via email. dl.1056.info@schools.sa.edu.au

Your child’s teacher will provide information about the collection of hard copies of resources to support remote learning programs. Please ensure you have joined Seesaw for Families to receive this information directly.

Building Connections Conversations

Parents/carers of Reception children will have received an email detailing the alternative arrangements for Building Connections Conversations (BCC) in Week 1(Monday 31/1 – Friday 4/1/22). The conversations continue as scheduled in the form of a Zoom or phone call.  Parents have received a survey to submit their preferred choice and if a Zoom call has been requested, parents are to check their email to receive the link for the Zoom meeting. The classroom teacher will call or Zoom the parent/s at their scheduled time.

Reminder: all Reception children go home at 12.30pm during Week 1 (Wednesday 31/1, Thursday 1/2 and Friday 2/2/22) so that these BCC’s can take place.

Important dates for the start of Term 1:

  • Monday 31 January – preparation day
  • Tuesday 1 February – preparation day
  • Wednesday 2 February – school is back
    • Face to face learning for: Reception and Year 1
    • Remote learning for: Years 2 to 6 students
  • Monday 14 February – planned return of face-to-face learning for all year levels.

There will be a staged return to school and preschool over the first two weeks of term that balances every child’s learning entitlement with safety and risk management concerns. Face-to-face learning has been prioritised for our youngest learners and for specific year levels that are transitioning.

Face-to-face learning:

Will be provided for Reception and Year 1 students, starting Wednesday 2 January.

If you choose to keep your Reception or Year 1 child at home, or if they are required to isolate, a school based remote learning program will not be offered.

However, the Department for Education has developed online learning for reception to year 6 students that your child can access online. These resources are available at https://www.education.sa.gov.au/our-learning-sa

Remote learning provided for:

Years 2 to 6 students, starting on Wednesday 2 February.

If you are required to attend your workplace and do not have any other appropriate supervision for your children, they can come to school. We will supervise them as they complete their remote learning program.

Minimising the spread of COVID-19

To ensure that our students and staff are as safe as possible at school, we will be implementing the following measures as advised by the Department for Education and SA Health:

  • Please keep your child home if they are unwell, even mildly
  • Masks are required for all school staff when indoors (except if it’s impeding our staff’s ability to communicate while teaching)
  • Masks are strongly recommended for children in years 3 to 6 when indoors
  • Natural ventilation will be maximised by leaving doors/windows open, continued use of air conditioning (set to fresh air intake where available) and fans where possible
  • Outdoor learning where appropriate
  • Physical distancing where possible
  • Minimise student intermingling indoors, for example across class groups
  • Limit non-essential visitors on site. We will work with parents of students who are starting preschool or school to make sure you are able to come on site to be part of your child’s transition (in a COVID safe way).
  • Parents will be asked to drop and collect their child(ren) from outside of the school grounds. We ask that adults maintain the 1.5m distance from each other during this time. (Unless otherwise advised by the school).
  • Parents coming on to the school grounds to get to the school office must wear a properly fitted mask at all times.
  • An extra daily site clean (funded by the department)
  • Temporary postponement of the following activities (until at least week 5 of term):
    • camps, excursions and incursions
    • interschool sport trials and competitions
    • large gatherings such as assemblies, events and concerts.

We are doing our best to plan for a smooth start to the 2022 school year.  Further details will be provided as they come available via the Blog Post or your child’s class Seesaw journal.

We look forward to seeing your child face-to-face or online to start the school year.

 

Kind Regards,

Steve Freeman
Principal