Principal’s Post 15 May 2020
Welcome to the first edition of ‘From The Principal’s Desk’ for Term 2
Hello Parents/Caregivers,
Welcome to the first edition of ‘From The Principal’s Desk’ for Term 2. With all of the videos I’ve been doing regarding updates with the Coronavirus, its been so long since I’ve done a newsletter.
First, the COVID-19 information …
Minister’s Announcement
Today, the State Government announced changes to education based on a review of current arrangements and updated health advice. As of Monday, 18 May 2020 all students are expected to attend school, except for those students medically referred to learn from home. This means students are either:
· at school;
· have a medical referral to learn from home; or
· recorded as absent if they do not attend.
For parents with medical advice that their child should not attend school, we will work with you in partnership with the School of Special Educational Needs: Medical and Mental Health to support your child’s learning from home. If you feel your child is in this category, please contact the school on 9352 2600 by 4 pm Monday 18 May, so that we will work together on the next steps.
If your child does not attend school without a medical reason, they will be marked as absent and will not be provided a learning program.
Drop-Offs/Pick-Ups
Part of the Minister’s announcement was that parents/caregivers are not allowed on school site (past the school gate in her words); this means that drop-offs and pick-ups still have to take place. Starting this Monday there will be a slight change. Let me explain … Firstly drop-offs remain the same. From 8:10am to 8:30am Kindergarten and Pre-Primary must be dropped in the Bus Bay on Anzac Terrace; Staff will be there to meet and greet and walk your child up to the classroom. Years 1 – 3 must be dropped at the Parent Carpark on Culworth Road; again Staff will be there to meet and greet. Year 4 – 6 must be dropped at the climbing frame / Pyramid at the very back of the school on Mickleton Terrace; once again staff will be there to meet and greet. It’s imperative that students are dropped in these locations to ensure that we are meeting the social distancing guidelines for schools.
For pick-ups there is a slight change. For the first three weeks, we were bringing the students to pick up locations at 2:30pm. This will now move to 2:40pm. The reason for the change is so that we disrupt classes as least as possible. Pick-up locations are exactly the same as drop-off.
Kindy/Pre-Primary Bus Bay – Anzac Terrace 2:40pm
Year 1 – 3 Parent Car Park – Culworth Road 2:40pm
Year 4 – 6 Climbing Frame (back of school) – Mickleton Terrace 2:40pm
If you would like your child (Year 1 – 6) to walk to another location for pick-up, please email your child’s teacher directly to arrange this. Please note … this is from Monday 18th May and the other location CANNOT be one of the other pick-up sites. We will not be able to maintain the social distancing guidelines if that were to occur.
Clubs
I am happy to announce that Chess Club, Coding Club and Book Club will be able to start up again. These will start from week 6 (the week of the Public Holiday 1st June). This will give us enough time to work out the logistics of combine students … another COVID-19 stipulation). The staff in charge of these areas will be in contact before the commencement date.
Thank you
My heartfelt thanks to all parents/caregivers for your kind works either in person, email or comments on Facebook. COVID-19 has seen a schooling system that none of us have ever come across before in our lives … it certainly has been a suck-it-and-see approach. But we have come out the other end with smiles on our faces and ready to face the “What Next??” questions head-on.
Cleaning Regime
Thanks to all parents that provided cleaning products or sanitizers … we would not have got through the end of term without you. A special thanks to Michael Sanders for providing the products and sprayers that we use to clean our playgrounds; a very generous donation and greatly appreciated. We now have access to all cleaning products required and have employed a cleaner fulltime to clean during the day.
Thank you
Thank you to the wonderful staff at Anzac Terrace that have gone above and beyond their core business and have looked after your kids and ensured they felt safe in very uncertain times. I could not be more proud of this staff and this school.
Now on to the newsletter …
Retirement
I would like to use this forum to announce the retirement of Barbara McGavin. Barbara only joined us at the beginning of the year but has made a big impact in Room 5. Barbara will be sorely missed at Anzac Terrace PS but we wish her well in her retirement. I am happy to announce the appointment of Madison Johnson for the remainder of the Year.
Car Park
The changes to the parent carpark our now complete. My thanks to the Town of Bassendean and DoE for funding the works. With the new pathway, cracks in the bitumen removed, new line marking and change of direction it is a much safer environment for our students.
Edu Dance
Edu-Dance has started in earnest; the students are absolutely loving it. Payment is due now … Thanks to all that have paid the $35. As I said in the Connect notice, it is not a choice or an elective, it is mandatory for all students from Pre-Primary to Year 6 to participate as part of the curriculum. This was decided by the parent bodies of this school. This is outlined in our contributions and charges information distributed every year. Payment plans are available … please contact me directly.
Toilet Refurbishment
The toilet refurbishment is almost finished, and I must say the toilets across the school look fantastic. We have spent close to $120K on the refurb. $52K was part of the government school’s maintenance plan and the other funding we have squirrelled away over the last four years. Once completed we will post some photos on our website.
School Development Day
Thank to the 142 families that voted in our school development day survey. I am happy to say that a whopping 98% of families were happy for the school development day to change dates. That means it is business as usual on Friday 22nd May and our school development day will now be on the 29th May, making it an extra-long weekend as it backs onto the Monday 1st June public holiday.
Thanks again for all your support.
Stuart Blackwood
Principal