Phased Return to Classroom Learning

 Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers

The Victorian State Government has announced that Victorian school students will begin a phased return to classrooms. Monday, 25 May 2020, will be a pupil free day to support all school staff to prepare and complete the necessary planning for a successful transition back to school.

This means that from Tuesday, 26 May 2020, all Foundation (Prep), Grade 1 and Grade 2 students will return to on-site learning.

Students in Grades 3 to 6 will continue Remote Schooling at home until Tuesday, 9 June 2020, except for:

• children of parents who cannot work from home;
• children who are not able to be supervised at home and no other arrangements can be made; and 
• vulnerable children.

On Tuesday, 9 June 2020, all students will return to face to face classroom learning and will be expected to attend school as normal. 

This decision has been made to give staff, schools to and families time to prepare for the return to classrooms and will give the Victorian Government and the Chief Health Officer time to monitor and evaluate the effects that the phased return to school has on the increased movement of people and transmission within the community.

I wish to reassure you that the safety and wellbeing of our school community will remain our highest priority with physical distancing provisions being made for the safety of students and staff.

I appreciate that Remote Schooling has been a challenging time for all and I thank all our parents, guardians, carers and the wider school community for their hard work and support during this time.

Further information is currently being prepared to facilitate the return to classroom learning and will be provided to you as soon as possible. 

If you require assistance or additional support, please contact the school on 51743295.

Congratulations to Mrs Hanrahan and the School Captains for their efforts in putting together our “remote” Mum and Me night. From all reports lots of fun was had by all, and our  mums were left feeling very pampered.

Thank you and the students for organising such a fun night. It was so nicely presented and we really enjoyed all the activities. Candice made me a beautiful bottle filled with lots of love. Our favourite part was the dance offs and we sure got lots of exercise. Thanks again for all your effort, it is very much appreciated.

Mother’s day this year has been extra special for three of our teachers as they prepare to welcome new babies into their families this year. Mrs Wyers has been tucked up safely in her home since term one and is getting closer to welcoming her new baby. Mrs Celima has stepped up into that grade in a fulltime capacity. Ms Arber will be leaving us next week to start her maternity leave and we welcome Mrs Nicole Leeder to the St Michaels family. This week we will also start advertising for a replacement for Mrs Clarke who will begin her leave in term three.  An exciting time for our growing St Michael’s family!

In other news, School Photos were scheduled to be held this term but like many other things have had to be postponed. We have been in contact with the photographer and once we know more about when we are returning we will book a new date and let you all know.

Don’t forget the parent webinar on “Raising children in a digital world” is on this Thursday 14 May, 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm. An email outlining how to access this webinar was sent out last week. The webinar focuses on cyber issues including: managing devices in the home, keeping safe online, unsafe apps and social media.

The leadership team at St Michaels Traralgon will provide a care and supervision program for some students. These students must meet one of the below criteria:

• The child’s parents/carers are classified as essential worker/s and cannot work from home during school hours
• The child is in statutory (court ordered) out of home care
• The child may be at an immediate risk of harm

It would be expected that this would only be necessary during the days you are at work, if you are working part- time then the days you are at home your child would be learning at home with you. We know that we will have families who meet one of these criteria and whilst the majority of staff will be working from home, we will have staff available to provide supervision during this time. To ensure we have adequate numbers please fill in the intention form each week.  

Victoria's Chief Health Officer, Doctor Brett Sutton has amended the current stay at home directions to provide further clarity about childcare arrangements. You can have another person come to your house to look after your child if you need to go out for one of the four listed reasons (food and supplies, medical care and care giving, exercise, and work or education), or if you are working or studying at home. You may also drop your child at another person’s house to be looked after, while you are out, if it is for one of the four listed reasons. This may help some families who have concerns about how they will manage their work commitments during this time.

The intention form for week 6 is due by Thursday 14th May by email to principal@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au

The Office team will also be working remotely for Term 2 therefore the office will be unmanned.

• If you need to contact the Office please email office@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au or call the school mobile on 0455 952 026 and they will pass on messages via email to staff.
• If you have any questions regarding remote learning please contact your child's classroom teacher via email.
• Please refrain from contacting all staff via personal mobiles/email or social media.

As per the fee letter sent to families on 6th April 2020, Important Message about School Fees, there will not be an automatic reduction in school fees for term 2. 

School fees are an essential portion of resources for the operation of our school and assist our leaders and staff to enhance curriculum and teaching programs.  Therefore, we are asking, for those who can, to continue to support the school financially.

If you have concerns about your financial situation, please contact Maria Churton, School Administration Officer at office@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au so that we can explore confidential financial support arrangements to enable your child(ren)’s education at our school to continue.

2020 Camp Fees

At this stage all camps are still proceeding and therefore camp fees have not been removed from fee accounts.

Grade 4 camp - September, due 07/08/20

Grade 3 camp - October, due 30/10/20

Grade 6 camp - November, due 30/10/20 (this fee is not due in term 2 as shown on fee statements)

We will keep you updated on any activities that are cancelled such as  camps and swimming and where no alternative is available those fees will be removed and not payable.

Thank you for your understanding.

Answer from last week:

36 829 + 48 293 = 85 122 (Germany and Argentina supporters)
96 239 – 85 122 = 11 117 (Neutral supporters)
There were 11 117 neutral supporters in the stadium.

Welcome to the 2020 Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge.

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and St. Michael’s Primary School is excited to be participating. A new application is being used this year that offers a range of exciting features including: 

• access to a library catalogue (including book images and blurbs)
• a modern user-friendly interface
• rewarding  students with badges as challenge milestones are achieved
• the option for students to mark books as a favourite, give them a star rating or complete a book review 

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 4 September 2020. 

Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books. 

All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers. 

To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklists and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit:www.education.vic.gov.au/prc 

As you know, reading helps ensure children develop important foundational skills –
setting them up for school and for life. Just as importantly, reading also helps our kids imagine, explore and learn more about the world around them.
This year, everyone who completes the Challenge will receive a Certificate of
Achievement – and with more than 12,000 titles on the Challenge’s reading list, there really is a book for everyone.
For children not yet at school, the Challenge invites parents and carers to experience
40 books with their child. For students from Prep to Year 2, the Challenge is to read or experience 30 books and for students in Years 3 to 10, the Challenge is to read 15 books.
I also encourage you to visit the Challenge Facebook page: facebook.com.au/VicPRC
There you can join the community of avid readers to share stories, stay informed and
recommend books.