Blaxland Public School

Term 4

Week 1

Learning from Home

Tuesday, 5 October

• First Day of Term 4

For all notes sent home please see either the School Website or SkoolBag.

Term 3 has certainly been a very different term for all of us and I know that we are all looking forward to a well-deserved break from remote teaching and learning. I hope that everyone has the chance to take a break, enjoy the spring weather and spend time outside with your families over the next two weeks.

As you are aware the NSW DoE roadmap to return to school starts on Monday 25th October with a staggered return to school. At this stage, we are working on what this will look like for Blaxland PS. There will be strict COVID safe guidelines in place at school to ensure that we can all return safely. Once students return to school all staff will be required to wear masks both indoors and outdoors and it is recommended that all students wear masks as well. Once we have our plans in place, I will communicate these with the school community. Our ultimate aim is to ensure that all students and staff are safe.

Staged return (Level 3 plus)

When stay-at-home rules are still in place but other community vaccination and transmission conditions are met, students will return to school in a staged way. This is a staggered return for prioritised cohorts, with no mingling or on-site activities.

Students will return to face-to-face learning with NSW Health-approved COVID-safe settings on school sites in the following order:

• from 25 October – Kindergarten and Year 1
• from 1 November – Years 2, 6 and 11
• from 8 November – Years 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

We will continue Remote learning home using the Google classroom platform and or Take-Home packs from Tuesday 5th October until Friday 22nd October. We will also continue Virtual assemblies next term as we will not be permitted to have face to face assemblies. Unfortunately, the Stage 3 camp had to be cancelled and we will not be permitted to have excursions or visitors onsite.

Playground equipment

I am pleased to announce that we have some good news. We were successful in applying for a Metrorenewal grant from the NSW DoE to update our playground equipment and install shade sails. The construction of this has started and will hopefully be completed for the return of our students after October 25th. The school has contributed 50% of the costs and the NSW DoE has matched this cost. It will be so lovely  for our students to return to something new and exciting. We will share construction updates on a school FB page.

When Unwell

Staff and students must not attend work or school if unwell, even with mild symptoms of COVID-19. Any person with any COVID-19 symptoms must be sent home and not return to school unless:

• they have isolated for 10 days, when no medical certificate is available
• they have a negative COVID-19 test result and are symptom free.

In circumstances where children or staff have other medical reasons for recurrent symptoms, a letter from their GP is sufficient to negate the requirement for a negative test.

School Activities on hold

Until further notice all school activities are on hold, including band, assemblies, dance, scripture, excursions, school camps and P&C meetings onsite. All community user of facilities are also on hold.

Congratulations to everyone for surviving Term 3 - we made it!

The P&C wants to acknowledge all the teachers, staff, parents and carers for all their hard work and support in a really challenging time and wish you a relaxing break. 

The P&C particularly wants to give a shout out to all those parents and carers who for a range of reasons need to send their children to school. We know that this period has been difficult and stressful for everyone, whatever your situation, and we support all of you. If you need to send your child to school please reach out to your child’s teacher.

The P&C meeting on Tuesday night was hugely informative. Parents who attended really appreciated hearing from Mrs Ellis about the plans for Term 4 and the work the school is doing to prepare for our kids to return. We’ll be holding another Zoom meeting on October 12 and would really encourage parents and carers to attend, it’s a great opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns with Mrs Ellis. Look out for the Zoom details on Skoolbag and the Blaxland Public School Families Facebook group next term.

The P&C would also like to acknowledge the huge amount of work required to prepare the school for our kids to return, and thank all the teachers and staff for their incredible work.

The uniform shop is closed until further notice. 

Student banking is closed until further notice.