| Pupil Free | Tuesday 9 June | |
| Show Day School Closure | Friday 4 September | |
| Pupil Free | Monday 7 September | |
| Pupil Free | Friday 30 October |
Dear families and caregivers
We have had a busy start to Term 2 as teachers and students adjusted to online learning, whether they were on site or learning from home. I am pleased to report that attendance on-site has been consistently strong each day and school life is beginning to feel a little more normal! Now in week 2, 90% of students have returned with some classes having full attendance and others only a few off site.
As you would be aware, South Australia has now recorded twelve days without any new cases of COVID-19. As a community we should be very proud of our contribution to the common good. This state-wide improvement in COVID -19 management has brought improvement more rapidly than what was expected at the end of last term, which is so supportive for the learning and working conditions for our staff and students. We continue to follow the health advice of government agencies, specifically the updated advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and SA Chief Medical officer Doctor Nicola Spurrier.
Parents of students who are learning from home will need to continue advising the school of their child’s absence by a phone call or SMS as they usually would. Please note that whilst teachers will endeavour to assist those students who are learning remotely from home, given the high number of students which have returned to face-to-face learning, they will not be in a position to respond to emails/seesaw messages as easily as before, whilst having a full class load to attend to. From next week we will be allowing select essential service providers (speech pathology/psychology/OT) to visit the site under strict social distancing and hygiene practices for the benefit of student learning.
Staff will continue to work with students to manage the transition back to ‘face-to-face’ learning as a goal for the immediate future. All families and students operating from home are expected to be fully engaging in the Home Learning tasks and materials or recording an absence with explanation. New materials to keep students engaged will be released by teachers next week. These will not always mirror the class learning program as we are now returning to the normal face to face model for 90% or more of students.
Unfortunately we will not be offering a Mother’s Day stall this year however it is great news that we can celebrate the special day with family observing all the guidelines. Playgrounds are now more available to families. We will continue to move children off-site after school and look to parents to support supervised playground visits at a later time following expected social distancing guides and observing group numbers.
I will continue to monitor the situation; however, the following activities remain suspended at this stage:
- All major events, excursions and co-curricular activities
- All after school and weekend sports competitions.
Please remember the need for social distancing at the gates during school pick up and drop off. There has been some “crowding” of parents around the gates making entry and exit difficult for students. To preserve our State’s excellent COVID-19 case record, please keep your distance.
It's time to move on
It is with mixed emotions that I inform you of winning a new role as Principal of Glenelg Primary School. This role will commence at the beginning of term 3.
I have enjoyed 16 years working with this wonderful community and I will be sad to say farewell. A process has already been actioned to source a new Principal for Henley Beach Primary. Governing Council and staff will be involved in this process with more information available in the coming weeks.
The current team are very skilled and highly committed to the ongoing learning development of every child at Henley. Your children are in excellent hands now and into the future.
Staffing update:
- Welcome Mark Beech - new finance officer.
- Miss Megan on leave - Kylie to teach class term 2.
- Miss Lu on leave - Nikol to teach class term 2 until Miss Lu returns.
