Dear Parents and Carers,
As many of you will have seen, the last fortnight has brought with it a number of positive COVID cases throughout the school, leading to individuals, and sometimes whole classes, being sent home for testing before returning the following day, if all clear. The response from the school community has been incredible, with families quickly arranging for the collection of students and all COVID protocols being respected while on site. This has enabled the school to continue focussing on delivering high quality teaching and learning in classrooms each day and is very much appreciated by everyone at Glengarry PS.
I would like to remind all families that the best way to inform the school about positive PCR or RAT tests is via an email to glengarry.ps@education.wa.edu.au. It is important that within this email you provide the child’s name, which class they are in, whether they are a household close contact or a positive case, and when they tested positive (either via RAT or PCR). There have been some questions raised by families about the idea of a ‘day zero’ within the required isolation period. Essentially, day zero is the day that the individual tests positive eg. Positive test on Sunday at 3pm means that isolation ends on the following Sunday at 3pm. This information doesn’t appear to be readily available on the Department of Health’s website, however, is documented within the guidelines provided by the Department of Education.
Some of you will have read about the changes planned for how WA schools manage COVID from Term 2. I have received detailed communication from the Department of Education and will work closely with Glengarry PS over the coming days to review these changes and consider the most appropriate way to apply them within our context. You can expect communication of such changes prior to the end of Term 1.
We continue to communicate regularly with you via Skoolbag and Connect to ensure important information is shared in a timely manner. For those of you using Skoolbag who have been receiving notices about classrooms that your child is no longer associated with, follow the steps outlined below to update your profile and prevent you receiving unnecessary communication.
We are fast approaching the Term 1 school holiday period which will provide our students and staff with a well-earned break. This term has been a productive one for the Glengarry Primary School community. We have seen a new cohort of Kindergarten students commence their formal schooling, our Pre-primary students have become accustomed to full time school, and our Year 6 cohort have stepped into the role of school leaders incredibly well. The ongoing support that members of the Glengarry Primary School community provide for our students is outstanding and something to be very proud of. We have acted as a united front during what has been an unpredictable time for schools in Western Australia and are appreciative of the overwhelmingly positive feedback. Our students have worked with focus, determination and a desire to improve. They have demonstrated resilience and agility, quickly adjusting to changes in daily school processes. We look forward to seeing them back on site in Term 2 and wish you and your extended family a happy and safe holiday period.
Matt Pinkard
Principal
