Thank you for your support with the mandate that came out on Friday regarding grade 3 - 6 children being required to wear masks. They are only needed for the time they are inside the classroom; when outside at recess and lunchtime and during sport lessons the mask is not required. Whilst not mandatory, it is strongly recommended that students in Foundation to Grade 2 also wear a face mask indoors at school. Please ensure you provide a mask for your child. 

There are a number of lawful reasons for not wearing a face mask, including for staff and students who are unable to wear a face mask due to the nature of their disability, medical or a mental health condition. Please contact me if this applies to your child.

With COVID still present in our community please be assured we are doing all we can to keep your children safe during this time. Whilst on site, we are keeping things as normal as possible so that the familiarity of school is reassuring to them. Hand sanitising and cleaning occurs throughout the day and where possible we are limiting the movement of adults to their specific areas. 

Please monitor your child for any COVID symptoms and keep them home if they are unwell. The symptoms to watch out for are:

• fever
• chills or sweats
• cough
• sore throat
• shortness of breath
• runny nose
• loss or change in sense of smell or taste. 

Some people may also experience headache, muscle soreness, stuffy nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Please understand that if your child becomes unwell with these symptoms during the day you will be contacted to collect them from school, and will be moved away from others whilst waiting to be collected. Thank you for your understanding of this.

Whilst you are able to come into the school grounds at the end of the day to collect your child, please maintain social distancing and wear a mask unless there is an exemption for doing so. We also ask that you refrain from gathering together and having social “catch ups”, and that you please leave the school premises as soon as possible. 

As a school we have had to make the tough decision to postpone our school production until next year. With the number of people allowed for gatherings uncertain we would rather hold off until next year so that the children get the chance to perform in front of an audience. 

In other news, at lunchtime last Friday we observed some Foundation children playing “Squid Games” and whilst they were innocently playing a children’s game which was from the show, the knowledge that they had somehow heard of this series was alarming as the themes and messages in Squid Game are not appropriate for primary school aged children. ‘Safe on Social Media’ is a facebook page that provides tips for adults about keeping safe on social media. They posted an article on 9.10.21 that explains the concerns about the themes and violent nature of this series for those who have not heard of it. 

If you have a child/ren in Grade 3-6 and are an essential worker or meet the criteria for onsite supervision as previously defined you will need to fill in the below form/s ASAP:

Onsite Intention Form Grade 3/4 18th, 21st & 22nd October 2021

Onsite Intention Form Grade 5/6 18th, 19th & 20th October 2021

Stay safe and well!

Kind regards

Jodie.