Scarborough Primary School Newsletter - The Link

• 1 June: WA Day Public Holiday

Dear Community,

Firstly, a big thank you to the large proportion of the community who have helped to make the start to this term as smooth as possible. We have come back to school at a time when life both in the general community and at a school level are far from normal.

Secondly, I will take this opportunity to reiterate some messages that have been communicated through the Skoolbag app recently.

• Drop off and pick up arrangements, in line with Government directives, are that from 8:35am, parents need to drop students at external school gates. Unfortunately, they are not permitted onto school grounds, including the oval. PP students will be met by EAs at the Hinderwell St gate near the demountable. Kindy students will be met at the gate on Deanmore Rd.  Rm 6 PPs will be met at the gate near admin. Please adhere to social distancing measures of 1.5 meters when dropping your children off. All other students will enter the school grounds at their point of convenience and head straight to their classes. From Thursday, we hope to have some of our senior students available to help escort some of our younger students to their classes where required. There should be no students at school before 8:35 – We understand that people are going to work but there were 6 students at school at about 8.15 am today – this is too early!
• In regards to pick-ups, please ensure that your children know where to find you after school. Whilst our K and PP students will be handed over by a staff member as usual, for our junior primary students in particular, could you please ensure they are clear about where to meet you. If you would like an older sibling to collect a younger sibling from their class after school, could you please let both teachers know to expect this.
• Parents are asked to please phone or email in the first instance if they need to contact the school, and only to come into the school, including the office, with an appointment if required.
• We will have a cleaner on site throughout the school day and Robyn, our wonderful MCS, is working with our cleaning team and has developed a cleaning schedule. This schedule is likely to change over the course of the first 2 weeks as we continue to work through the practicalities of the situation. Outdoor play equipment will be cleaned thoroughly 3 times a day, the undercover area will be cleaned at the end of each day, desks, chairs, light switches, computers, all class room surfaces and other high traffic area across the school will be cleaned throughout the day. The school has been given an extra 40 hours a week of cleaning time but as I’m sure you can appreciate, those hours very quickly disappear when so many extra items and spaces need cleaning.

A couple of other points to keep in mind include the following;

• The government has made clear that there is no need to enforce the 1.5-meter social distancing between children at school, especially within classrooms. This would not be practical or even possible in our situation. However, practical distancing will be encouraged where possible and your children will notice changes to their regular routines, procedures and set-ups at school. This may include things like the way classrooms, desks and mat sessions are structured, as well as eating arrangements and a range of 'encouraged' and 'discouraged' play activities.
• However, as a school we are expected to adhere to the 1.5-meter rule between adults on site. It is advised that this extends to distances between teachers and students where possible. This means that there may be some changes to the way teachers interact with students in regards to marking and providing feedback on work. This is something we are all going to need some time to get used to over the next few weeks.
• There will be sports equipment available for students to play with at recess and lunch times, however, contact games like soccer, AFL and some tag games will be discouraged.
• It is imperative that children are kept home if they are even mildly sick, particularly with any sort of runny nose, cough or other cold/flu symptoms. The school will be calling parents to pick up students who present at school unwell.
• The state government will be reviewing its position around schooling during Week 3 of this term with adjustments to be made for the start of week 4 if required.
• Over the holidays there was a great deal of work done on the internal look of the school. Ceilings were fixed, carpets and linoleum laid in learning areas and hallways and coats of paint administered to the majority of the internal walls. This work was as a result of funding from the Government to allow us to do much needed maintenance to our school buildings. Hopefully you will notice the differences once you are allowed back on site.
• Drink bottles – Please ensure all children are sent to school with a full drink bottle. Directives from the Education Department state that no drink fountains should be being used so as a result, all of the school’s drink fountains are closed until further notice. There are some taps where the children can fill their drink bottles during the day if need be. This is a personal hygiene issue and therefore something that we will continue to have in place until further notice.
• Attendance –  It is a legal requirement that your child engages with school, whether that be learning at home or being on site at Scarborough PS. Those who are working from home will be marked as an E (educational activity) which counts as a form of engagement and hence attendance. Starting in Week 2, teachers will be in communication with students who are working from home and/or their parents at least once a week. This communication may be through email, phone or video conferencing as appropriate. During this communication, teachers need to be satisfied that the students are undertaking work at home. If it appears that they are not, the student will be marked as an unexplained absence from school and parents will be contacted by administration to discuss how we can best support you in engaging your child in learning at home.  Alternatively, if your child is sick, please notify the school or your child’s teacher and they will ensure that the attendance records reflect this.

Thanks again everybody for your patience and understanding to date. With your continued support of the necessary changes that we have made, I hope term 2 will continue be a positive adventure for us all!

Sarah Dawson

Address: 60 Hinderwell Street, Scarborough WA 

Phone: 08) 9222 9200   

Email: scarborough.ps@education.wa.edu.au

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