Welcome
What a great joy to see the children back at school. Children’s attendance in most classes are close to capacity, and this is great to see. I hope that your children have had a good start and reconnected once again with their teachers and peers. I am anticipating that, with the close contact isolation rules relaxing in South Australia, we will have a less disrupted term. Let us hope that it will be the case.
Teachers have spent two Staff Preparation Days to prepare in case we need a class to switch to online learning quickly if required. As part of our COVID Outbreak Management Plan, if we have an outbreak in any one class, we will be asked by SA Health to quickly switch to online learning to create a circuit break for that class. With the support of the whole community being careful not to send children to school if they are displaying symptoms and with regular testing, I hope we do not have to take that action.
COVID has been a regular obstacle in the last two years for many events that connect any community. As we continue to live with this ever-changing virus, we hope to find ways to reconnect as a school community. One way we are hoping to do this is to recommence Monday morning Community Prayer (weather permitting) next week. For parents and family members who are new to our school community, children and parents who are able to stay, gather in the courtyard for Monday morning school prayer. This prayer time is a special part of our Catholic identity as a school, and one that we have missed over the last two years.
It was a pleasure to hear that approximately 40 Reception parents gathered at the end of last term at Pirate Life and I thank Lina Sotiropoulos for initiating this get-to-know-you event.
Building Update
Thank you for your ongoing patience during this first Stage of the building project. The building process is going well, and I thank our Architect, Lisa Martin from Detail Studio, and builders from Mossop Construction for their work thus far. During the April school holidays two aspects of the building project were attended to that needed to be conducted while our community was away. The first was the demolition of the toilets and stairs along the side of the Irene McCormack Building and the second was the waterpipe required by the Fire Department for new fire hydrants for the school. These were both complex jobs.
Learning Conversations
Next week we begin our first round of Learning Conversations. I ask all parents to ensure you book a time. I thank you for wearing a mask during these learning conversations to keep all as safe as possible. I encourage you to have your children present so they can be part of the conversation about their learning. There may be a need for a more private conversation with your children’s teachers and we ask that you make a separate time for these conversations.
Volunteers
As we return to more excursions, I am keen to have as many registered volunteers as possible on our list that we can call upon to help our teachers, not only on excursions but also sporting carnivals, coaching, canteen and LAP to name a few. I ask parents and extended family members to renew their Working with Children Check or consider applying for one. These are valid for five years. Currently, registered volunteers also need to show evidence of double vaccination. Please see Anna Mattiazzo or Julie Bileckyj at the front office to guide you through the process.
I look forward to catching up with you in the school yard.
Kind regards
Frank Congedi
