Week 3, Term 2 2020

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I think we, parents, staff and students all deserve to be congratulated for the incredible learning, patience and care shown by all over the past few weeks during this pandemic whether we are working from home, at work or at school.   

Thank you to all our teachers and staff who are working tirelessly for our students and families.

Thank you to all our school officers for their incredible supervision of the students attending school.

Thank you to the mums, dads, and other family members supporting the students at home with remote learning. 

Thank you to the mums and dads who are our essential workers, keeping our community alive and functioning.

Thank you to Kristie-Lee for her tireless efforts of maintaining the highest hygiene and cleaning standards in our school. 

We are certainly in awe of all these wonderful people who make our community a pleasure to be a part of each everyday. 

Prep and Year 1 students return to school May 11th

We are excited to welcome back all Prep and Year 1 students to school this coming Monday, 11th May. 

Children of essential workers and vulnerable children will continue to be able to attend school for supervision.  If you have other circumstances that mean you would like your child to attend school, please contact us to discuss this.

For students in Years 2 – 10, the current home-based learning arrangements will remain in place.  If low COVID-19 transmission rates continue, students in Years 2 – 10 will be able to return to school from Monday 25 May, 2020. Confirmation of this step will be made by 15 May 2020. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THE STAGED RETURN OF STUDENTS TO SCHOOL:

Schools are identified as safe places for students and present low risk in relation to the spread of COVID-19.

The following measures will be in place in our school as of Monday May 11th:

• students and staff who are unwell must not attend school
• physical distancing of 1.5 metres is required by all adults
• adults must not gather in and around school grounds, car parks, school gates and outside classrooms
• Parents are to drop students in Years 1 - 6 at Lawrence St entrance rather than walking their children into school.  Staff will be on duty from 8:10a.m. to greet them and direct them to before school locations. 
• Prep parents are to drop students to the Prep playground from the Perth St entrance only. Staff will be on duty from 8:10a.m. to greet them and supervise. Parents are not to linger and speak with each other. 
• Pickup of Years 1- 6 students from Lawrence St or Perth St only. Parents we ask that you remain in your cars at all times.

  Pick-up of Prep students: 

  1/  Prep students collected from Prep playground by parents at 2:50 p.m. as normal

  2/  Older siblings can collect Prep students and walk out to Perth and Lawrence St as normal.

  3/ No parents are to visit or enter classrooms during this time 

  4/ Staff members from Prep will walk out remaining prep students to Lawrence Street at 3.05p.m.

  No parents are to visit or enter classrooms during this time.
• All communication to the school is to be directed either via phone or email to the school reception.
• All communication from parents to teachers is to be via email or phone. 
• Parents needing to visit the school office are asked to phone the reception on 46371000 where a member of staff will deem whether it is necessary to enter the school grounds or if we can assist at the Lawrence St entrance. 
• Students will continue to engage in regular effective handwashing and hygiene protocols, including regularly washing hands with soap and water or using hand sanitiser and covering coughs and sneezes
• increased cleaning frequencies of high-touch surfaces such as light switches door handles, toilet facilities and playground climbing equipment is in place.
• The use of technology such as video conferencing used for gatherings, meetings and assemblies will continue.
• all excursions, camps, trips and interschool activities are postponed at this time.

2021 Prep Interviews

Over the past three weeks members of the Leadership team have interviewed our prospective 2021 prep students with their families.  It is truly such a priviledge and  absolute pleasure to speak with each child and family and begin our partnership with these families.  Parents have shared with us their family story and what they are wanting for their child's education.  Many parents, both current and new commented on what St Saviour's Primary School offers is exactly what they want for their child.  A familiar theme was the community spirit and that special feeling of 'welcome' when they walk through the doors of our school that this is the school for their child.  As you know we don't take this lightly and it is a true indication of the incredible people (students, staff, parents and parish) that make up our community that creates this sense of community, hospitality and care.  

Our numbers for Prep 2021 are high and I urge any families in our community that are yet to submit the enrolment application to do so, as we don't want you to miss out on a spot for your child.  

Wishing all our mothers, mother figures and grandmothers an enjoyable day this coming Sunday.  May you be blessed with sharing some special memories with your children.  I can't wait to spend the day with my mum (the real Mrs Sleba) for the first time in a long time. She is my inspiration and has given me so much love and wisdom throughout my life.  Thank you mums for all that you do for us and your children.  You are truly appreciated. 

Enjoy the weekend.  Thanks for reading.

Madonna Sleba

Dear Parents & Carers,

This week, I'm sharing with you some photos of the students who have been at school during this period of mostly remote learning.

As you can see, the students at school have also been completing majority of their work online.

It has been amazing to see both the teachers and students adapt so well to the largely unfamiliar circumstances.

Congratulations to all teachers, students and parents over the fantasic work at the start of Term 2.

In the next newsletter, I would like to include some photos of the students working at home.  Please email all photos of your child working at home to ssps@twb.catholic.edu.au and I will try and include as many as I can in the next newsletter.

Sam Hannant

Dear Parents and Carers,                                                    

I hope you are all coping with the changes to routine, structure and family & work balance. It has been quite different at SSPS over the last couple of weeks, with a number of students here, while many are still learning remotely. We of course have had changes to timetables, split break times, teachers and students learning new ways, including hand washing overload and LOTS of screen time. In the post corona-virus age, while all our technology skills will have improved, perhaps we will be turning to more "device-free" options...I know I will!!

A positive for me is the increased time to stay at home however my husband would not say the same as he has always liked to get out and about at least once a day.

Changes are afoot again, this time for the better and sign of "more-normal" with the Preps and Year Ones all allowed to come back. Teachers here are VERY excitied about this! And I think that many parents might be quietly happy as well. 

Before this we have a special day this weekend, (well-timed) for our Mums, Grandmothers and everyone taking the role of mother!

Some of our students have been thinking about their Mums, why they are sooo special and how they are planning on doing something to help make Mum's Day special for her.

The Preppies said that they would...

Some Year 3 boys were happy to share

Year 2s said...

  

From Year 6 (Evie) So, for Mother’s Day my family and I are going to make Mum breakfast in bed and make her, her favourite tea, some toast and something sweet for her. Then, I am going to show her my stop motion video that I have been making as her present. I am also going to make her a card and I am going to give that to her in the morning as soon as she wakes up from her long sleep in. After the morning has past, my brother and I are going to do the washing up, the laundry and pack our lunches for Monday morning. 

(Jamilia) I am making my Mum breakfast in bed and doing all the jobs she usually does so she can catch up on her University assessments. I think Mother’s Day is about celebrating your mum for all the things she does for us. Mum cooks, she cleans, she keeps the house in order and in this time some Mums are also home schooling kids as well. Mother's Day is a day to pamper your Mother, so that she can have some "me time" because right now she might not have been able to have any time. So, pamper your mum this Mother’s Day!

To all our Mums, I hope you have the best possible day! With two of my 3 sons interstate, I have just asked for a chance to "see" all 3 on the screen together so we can all have a catch up that way. If you have all your children under the one roof, count your blessings!!

Though we are physically apart, we are still together.

Judy

Keeping Safe Online
During this time of online learning, our children are spending more time on the internet than usual. In order for our children to safely enjoy the benefits of the internet, it is important for parents and caregivers to be aware of its associated risks. Unsupervised access to the internet increases your child’s risk of exposure to inappropriate material, sites that are not child friendly, or expose them to situations that could cause harm. To protect your child from risk, here are some simple steps to follow:

• Discuss with your child the rules for technology use (i.e. what internet sites are appropriate; limit after hours use)
• Use parent controls (found within the settings on your device) to block specific sites and manage time online
• Check your privacy settings on all devices to keep your personal information safe
• Ensure your child can be easily monitored while online (i.e. only accessing the internet in a central room in the house or in line of sight)
• Intermittently check the search history
• And limit screen time, where possible.

For more information related to keeping safe online please access the resources listed below.
Resources for parents and carers to support safe online learning:

• Think U Know - https://www.thinkuknow.org.au/for-parents-and-carers
• Online safety kit for parents and carers - https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/blog/covid-19-online-safety-kit-parents-and-carers
• Taming the Technology - https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/skills-advice/taming-technology
• Parentline 1300 30 1300 - https://parentline.com.au/

Free online webinars created by the eSafety Commissioner:

• My House, My Rules (suitable for parents/carers and primary aged children to participate together). Sessions: 8^th May 11.30-12.00 pm; 12^th May 11.30-12.00 pm; 14^th May 11.30-12.00 pm. Registration link - https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/2707460927900082190
• Keeping Safe and Healthy Online (suitable for children ages 7-12 years old). Session: 6^th May 10.30-11.00 am. Registration link - https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/4010253563954144270
• Keeping Your Sanity and Supporting Your Kids Online (suitable for parents and carers). Sessions: 4^th May 1.00 pm-1.30 pm; 6^th May 8.30 – 9.00 pm; 12^th May 8.30 – 9.00 pm. Registration link – https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/9112745080346428942

For Prep and Grade 1 Families
We are looking forward to welcoming our Preps and 1s back on campus next week! While some children may welcome this change, others may find it a little more difficult. If you are looking for some hints and tips on how to support your child with this transition, you’ll find some relevant resources on School Counsellor Connect. Similarly, if you and your child are needing a little extra support please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Anne Woodcroft-Brown

School Counsellor

PE in Term Two

PE will be offered via remote learning this term utilizing Microsoft Teams. Students will have access to an array of different activities including dancing, yoga, juggling, locomotive and gross motor skills. All activities are accessible through your child’s class on Microsoft Teams under the channel ‘PE with Mr Luck’.

Prep – Year Two

Students in Prep and Year Two are being offered dancing, yoga, locomotive and gross motor skills such as jumping, skipping, throwing, catching, balancing and other exciting activities. To access these activities simple open the ‘PE with Mr Luck’ channel in your child’s class on Microsoft Teams and access the PowerPoint for the corresponding week of the term. There are also links to videos that explain different activities in more detail. Any question, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au.

Year Three – Six

Students from Year Three to Year Six are being offered dancing, juggling, locomotive and gross motor skills such as bouncing, throwing, catching, fitness sessions, skipping and many other exciting activities. Each class has a ‘trick shots’ file in the PE channel for students to upload videos of trick shots they have created around the house (MUST BE SAFE). These could be created using any equipment such as a basketball and hoop to a pencil and cup. The videos will be judged to pick the top three trick shots. The more creative, the better. There have been over 30 entries so far so keep at it. To access the PE activities simple open the ‘PE with Mr Luck’ channel in your child’s class on Microsoft Teams and access the PowerPoint for the corresponding week of the term. There are also links to videos that explain different activities in more detail. Any question, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au.

Kind Regards

Brendan Luck

PE Teacher

TERM 2 SCHOOL FEES:

Term 2 School Fees will be emailed home at the end of Week 4 (next week)

CAREMONKEY:

Please ensure that your details are kept up to date via Caremonkey.  In particular any changes to your email/phone or home address.  

SKOOLDAYZ UNIFORM SHOP:

Please contact Dan Eagleson for any uniform requirements.  The uniform shop will only be operating via appointment only.  Please contact Dan on 0481 318 398 to arrange a suitable time during business hours.  Winter stock is now available to purchase.

SCHOOL PHONE NUMBER:

Just a reminder to update your phone with our new school PHONE NUMBER:

4637 1700

Bookclub for Term 2:

Bookclub ordering for Term 2 can be done via the virtual book club catalogue. 

The link to access is https://scholastic.com.au/book-club/virtual-catalogue-1/

Please note that the ordering proces remains the same.  Books will be delivered to school as normal.

The cut off day for ordering is Monday, May 11.

Regards,

Michelle Standing

Book Club Coordinator.

Dear All,

We pray that you are all well and coping as best you can during these times. 

The SSPS Parent's and Friend's Executive have made a donation of $2260 towards the provision of Reading Eggs online program for all students.  The teachers were very appreciative of this assistance and report that the children are continuing to enjoy the love of reading through this program.  

The Colour Run has been postponed and hopefully when restrictions allow for larger gatherings we will be able to host this event for the children in the future.  This may be Term 3 or Term 4.  So watch this space for updates. 

Take care.

SSPS Parents and Friends.

Tuckshop will continue to operate on WEDNESDAYS and FRIDAYS.

Ordering will be via FLEXISCHOOLS.  Thank you for your ongoing support of our school Tuckshop.

Mrs Biggar and Mrs Standing