Dear parents,
It has been wonderful to welcome our Year 3 and 4 students back onsite this week and I look forward to seeing the Year 5 and 6 on Thursday and Friday.
Performing Arts – Outdoor Education
I have had difficulty filling the performing arts this year. We have had no less than three teachers in the role this year so far and our most recent appointment, Tom Foster, has also needed to step away so for the remainder of the year. As a result, I have decided to shift the focus in the session to outdoor education in Middle Gully. My hope for the remainder of the year is for us to maximise the time students spend outside learning in nature. The weekly specialist session where the students would usually spend time in performing arts will now predominantly be taught outdoors in Middle Gully with the Eco shed being a wet weather teaching space. John Ewels, local teacher and former Macedon principal, is going to run the program and he will include bush arts and craft, caring for the environment and Middle Gully, camping skills such as putting up tents, making camp fires and general nature play and appreciation. John has a long history and passion with this style of teaching, and I look as this as an opportunity for us to do something a little different for the remainder of the year.
Face Mask Mandate
It has been fantastic to see the strong uptake of the face masks in the F-2 and the 3-4 classrooms this week. With the mandate coming into effect on Monday 18 October, we are in a good place to support our 3-6 students to wear their masks inside. Please see the info graphic provided for more information and familiarise yourself with our process for our Year 3-6 student and those in F-2 who are wearing a mask.
1. Face masks are required for students in Year 3 – 6, only when indoors on school premises unless an exemption applies.
a. Please ensure you have an adequate supply of labelled face masks.
2. Before entering the school building, students sanitise their hands.
3. Upon entering the school building, students don a clean face mask.
4. Where possible, outdoor classrooms and eating time will be a preferred option.
5. When removing a face mask to eat or go outside, students place it in a labelled snap lock bag in their locker.
6. Broken mask must be placed in the bin by the user. Masks are not to be thrown on the ground.
7. After a student removes their mask, they will sanitise their hands.
8. Students are not required to wear masks outside.
9. Masks are not mandated for students under 12 years of age when leaving the school grounds.
10. Fabric masks are to be washed, disposable masks are replaced, and a new clean mask is packed for the following day.
Foundation 2022 Transition
The current Foundation teachers, Tracy Tadd and Millie Strong, have started developing plans for the transition of our Foundation students for 2022. The team will be making a visit to the local kinder to meet our new cohort of students. There will also be several opportunities for the students to visit the school site in the coming months to familiarise themselves with the environment and the teachers. More information about this process with be sent to families who have children starting next year.
COVIDsafe procedures
We have had several primary schools in the local area close due to exposure to a positive COVID case. I thought it was worth sharing the process if that were to happen at our school, so you have some idea of what to expect if we find ourselves in that situation.
More information can be found here.
https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/school-site-closures-due-coronavirus-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR36hsE8dUyjvz5a2b3DjF3wVszPvABOMicmHpxcP2GIZwRZeLttw7IbMD0
Sampai jumpa (until next time)
Matt Forrest
matthew.forrest@education.vic.gov.au
