Hallett Cove East Primary School

ALL STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO RETURN TO SCHOOL FROM WEEK 3.

 Should you continue to keep your child at home, please ring the front office team on 8322 3677.

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

CORONAVIRUS IMPACT UPDATE

Update on Learning – Weeks 1 and 2

This week we have reached 80% attendance at school. This has meant that students have returned to normal class groups and rooms, normal timetables are in operation and most students are present in each room. While we continue to understand and respect the decision of families to keep their children home throughout this pandemic, the need to revert to normal timetables where teachers no longer have release time to do the direct home communications means it is no longer feasible to provide online learning.

Students Learning at School

From Week 3, the focus of the learning will be on face-to-face learners at school where normal programs will be in place.

Students Learning at Home

For students who continue to learn at home:

·         Teachers will continue to supply learning activities/tasks with resources being sent via Skoolbag or in a hard copy pack if requested

·         Students are asked to complete tasks and return through Class Dojo, Google Classroom or in hard copy form (depending on how work has been previously submitted or requested)

·         Teachers will mark/comment/give feedback on the work

Not all learning activities and tasks will be able to be supported. As students at school will be undertaking normal programs, teachers will not be expected to set alternative work for at-home learners. Webex sessions and regular/direct communications via Class Dojo, email or phone will no longer be available due to constraints on teacher availability.

Should you wish to continue to keep your child at home, please ring the front office team on 8322 3677.

Current Restrictions and Cleaning Practices

To continue to ensure we maintain a safe environment for all students and staff, our current restrictions have been reduced to:

·         No parents/caregivers permitted on site and we would also encourage parents arriving to drop off or waiting for pick up to undertake social distancing processes while you wait outside the gates

·         No excursions, assemblies or other major gathering events will occur

·         No out of hours activities/groups/clubs/sports

To reassure families of our site hygiene processes, our ongoing cleaning includes:

·         Cleaning each afternoon

·         Additional cleaning throughout the day, focusing on touch surfaces including doors and doorknobs

·         Additional cleaning of playgrounds

·         Hand sanitisers in classrooms and front office for student access

·         Signage located around the site encouraging students to maintain positive hygiene practices.

(Please be aware that social distancing in classrooms is not possible.)

Sick Children

If your child is sick, do not send her/him to school.

If your child presents with symptoms of being unwell, you will be contacted and asked to collect her/him.

Notification of a case of Coronavirus

While there is currently a low likelihood of a case of Coronavirus occurring given recent trends, we cannot assume there won’t be. The school has a process ready to follow in the event of a notification.

Thank You

We thank you for your ongoing support, patience and understanding as we have navigated this unique situation. We also recognise and thank all our teachers and support staff, for the development of innovative online learning opportunities and adapting to an ever-evolving environment.

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or the front office team.

YR 7-8 ENROLMENT FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL PROCESS

Parents/Caregivers of Yr 7 students are reminded to please complete your online application for Yr 8 for your child asap and certainly by May 22nd. If you need any support that the form does not provide, please contact the front office team.

GOOD LUCK

Good luck and best wishes to Hannah Sripada as she starts leave in preparation for the birth of her baby. We thank Hannah for her significant contribution to our 2 Yr 1/2 classes this year.

Our first two weeks have been very busy and challenging for us at school. It has been a joy for me to get to visit classrooms each morning to say “good morning” and have many students talk to me during the day. In many ways next week will have many aspects of our daily school life returning to normal now that our numbers are going to be back to 100% on site in some classes and nearing that in others. However not all aspects will be ‘business as normal’.

Drop Off and Pick Up

 As usual students are expected at school from 8:30 am. We also continue to expect students to be unpacked and ready to settle at 8:40am (the second bell) with everyone ready to learn by the 8:45 bell. As usual students who arrive in their classroom after 8:45am are late to school and need to be recorded as such on the roll. These students need to have this recorded in the front office as the classroom roll, which is recorded at 8:45am, does not have the capacity to record late students. These late arrivals often disrupt the processes and learning of their classmates as well as making their start to the day difficult. If your child arrives at school after the 8:45am bell you need to ring the school and ask a member of the front office to come to the administration/OSHC gate to let them in.

At this stage we are continuing with no unauthorised adults on site which means that parents need to continue to drop off and pick up from the gates. It has been very encouraging to see the growing independence of even our youngest students. It has been an opportunity for each student to display our school values. I, together with the teachers of our younger students, have been at the gate near the junior primary playground each morning and after school. From week three I will be at the Drop Zone gate in the mornings but the teachers of our younger students will continue to be at the gate by the Junior Primary Playground. If your child wishes to walk to the classroom with a teacher I would suggest that you arrive by 8:35am at the latest as some of the teachers will be going to classrooms at this stage.

We have had a message from a member of our school community mentioning that some parents and caregivers are not socially distancing whilst waiting during drop off and pick up.

We have had a phone call from a resident who lives near the school to explain that she had difficulty driving at the end of the school day due to parents in vehicles blocking the roads. We fully understand that the drop off area is busier than usual due to our current restrictions.

We are reminding our school community to please be considerate of others and ensure the safety of all.

The following is an excerpt from the Premier’s Reading Challenge Update.

Due to many schools having students learning from home, we are altering the requirements for completing the Challenge for 2020. Information about this can be found in the “News Flash” section on the PRC website home page.

 Essentially: - Students can read any 12 books they wish, but the preference is still for students to read books from the PRC list as per usual.

To help accommodate this, SA Public Libraries have provided links to their online, free catalogue of e-books that students and families are welcome to access. These links are provided on the PRC website. 

Andrea Hayden

Deputy Principal

It is fantastic to see students returning back to school. I have truly missed seeing their faces. As we return back to some “normality” we need to remember that things are changing all the time. We need to continue to be flexible, supportive and understanding. As we navigate new ways of being and thinking we need to ensure that we take care of our self and others.

COVID-19 continues to be the “hot-topic” around the world. This week, in my wellbeing coordinator role, I have had the opportunity to speak to some classes about COVID-19, germs, hand-washing and emotions.

I have attached a few of the resources that I have been using that you may like to follow-up at home. It is important that young people are aware of what is happening in our world and about the ways to keep safe and well.

After viewing any of the material you may want to ask some questions to continue the discussion? The focus may be on:

· How they are feeling about Coronavirus

· Identifying activities and ways of thinking that keep the mind and body healthy

· Discussing what to do when we are feeling worried

· Identifying those things everyone can do to help slow down the spread of Coronavirus.

Calm Kid Central - COVID-19  

SA Health- COVID-19 Children’s Book

Keep safe and well,

Evie Donoghue

HCEPS Wellbeing Coordinator

I just wanted to write today and give some praise to a few groups of people who have done some excellent work over the last few weeks of our online learning journey.

Teachers – Have had to push themselves into new learnings and uncomfortable places but have risen to the challenge and learned a lot of great new skills moving forward.

Students – Both here at school and those working from home have been flexible and resilient and have gained a level of independence that many of them did not have before.

Parents – Have been asked to become teachers and have risen to that challenge well. Coordinating with teachers to ensure their children get the best learning outcomes possible.

At the start of this journey I said the silver lining would be the increase in digital literacy across the school community and it has been wonderful to see that happen. Both teachers and students have learned many things and will be able to put them to use moving forward.

Due to the unprecedented times, the BOOK FAIR, which was due to be held next week, has been CANCELLED.

In place of the Fair, Scholastic is offering Book Club Issue 3 directly to families, along with home delivery.  They are sending all the parents on our LOOP database a link to the latest Book Club.  You will be able to click-and-go directly to Issue 3 and place your order via LOOP - just as you have before.

Please be aware that Book Club orders will be home delivered with a $5.99 delivery fee.

Thank you for your continued support.

Keep Safe and Keep Reading,

Irene

Resource Centre Officer

Unfortunately due to COVID 19 the second hand uniform shop is closed until further notice.