Dear Parents and Caregivers,

From next week Monday, the 17th May, the school day will extend to 3.00pm.  All our Term 3 Covid Safe practices will remain in place - please see below for a detailed explanation. Teachers and students have done a fine job in implementing our Covid-safe behaviours and practices and are commended for this. ISOS staff have been engaged to come to the school to give awareness sessions and reminders to students regarding Covid Safe behaviours - more information on this to come. The school is also investigating the possibility of issuing smart badges to students to assist in contract tracing in the event of a positive case. 

Parents and carers are encouraged to take note of the following as we resume school for full days:

• Please do not send your child to school if they are sick or display any signs of cold and flu.

Drop off and pick up:

• Townsite / Marahun children are not to arrive at the school before 7.50am.
  
• Children being dropped off from a vehicle are required to remain in the vehicle in the school carpark until the school gate is open for temperature checks.
• Students are to be collected at 3.00pm sharp and Kindy students at 12.15pm sharp.

Kindy Reopening:

• The Kindy reopended on Wednesday this week and will resume normal hours of operation from Monday the 17th May.

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any further queries or questions.

Regards,

Mr Neville

Parents will be advised when afternoon activities recommence. We thank you for your understanding.

It is imperative that parents and carers do not send their children to school if they are sick or showing any symptoms of a cold or flu. If your child is sick, please keep your child home and seek appropriate medical attention. Children who display any signs of sickness will be isolated under supervision in the school's sick bay and parents called to come and collect them.

1.  A comprehensive deep clean of the school will be undertaken by Nayal LTD, prior to school resumption on May 3rd.

2. Entrance to school for students and parents / carers will be via the Aginas Oval gate only, which will open at 7.50am. Students who arrive before this (which is discouraged) are to social distance and  wait in the carpark undercover area until 7.50am. Students should be at school by 8.10am, ready to start the day at 8.15am.

3. All students will be greeted at the gate by a teacher, where they will be temperature checked. They will then wash their hands at the wash station and then proceed to their classroom.  Parents and carers will not be permitted to escort their children to classrooms, If parents need to go to the office, they will be permitted to proceed to the wash station and are then to make their way straight to the school office. Students will not be permitted to return home during the day to collect their morning snack or forgotten items such as books, etc. 

4. Several wash stations are installed around the school (see pics below) and hand sanitiser is available in all classrooms. Students will be required to wash their hands in the mornings before school, before and after recess/lunch and before leaving school in the afternoons. Educational videos and ISOS personnel will be utilised to support education in hand washing and general hygiene.

5. All desks, door handles, playground equipment and other high contact equipment will be sanitised twice daily or after use by cleaning staff.

6. There will be no play time.

7. Social distancing measure of 1.5 metres will be employed in classrooms through desk arrangements. Social distancing markings have been painted on cement areas where students line up and in the undercover area for recess/lunch eating times. The school will implement staggered recess breaks between the primary and high school to reduce the number of children using toilets etc.

8. Students will be issued with a reusable washable mask. Students will be need to wear these masks for travel to and from school and during all activities at school.

9. The school canteen will be closed for the duration on term 2. Students will need to bring a packed recess snack and lunch each day - there is to be no dropping off of food by parents, siblings or haus meris. Students are also asked to bring a water bottle to school that they will refill instead of drinking from the bubblers.

10. In term 2 there will be no after-school activities, sports carnivals or team sports and we ask that students are collected promptly at 3.00pm (12.15pm Kindy).

11. Term 2 will not have traditional assemblies at school. Virtual assemblies will continue throughout the term, with the assembly link to be published in the weekly Toksave for parents to view.

12. Reduced movement of high school students will be implemented.

Monday 19 April to Thursday 17 June

Monday 12 July to Wednesday 15 September

Tuesday 5 October to Thursday 2 December

Curriculum News

NAPLAN Tests

This week, students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sat the Australian NAPLAN tests in Literacy and Numeracy. Students are to be commended for the effort they put in when completing the various tests. We look forward to the results towards the end of next term. Parents will receive a report that identifies their students literacy and numeracy results in comparison to the Australian average.

NAPLAN gives us the opportunity to see how our students are performing in Literacy and Numeracy and helps us consider how we can further support our students. It is also another opportunity for our students to sit external exams and develop skills necessary for our Year 8 and Year 10 National Exams. NAPLAN tests do not impact on your child’s academic results.

Year 10 National Exams – Written Expression

In Week 7 of this term, Thursday the 3rd June, our Year 10 students will sit the Written Expression examination component of the Year 10 National Exams. Ms Yip has been working hard with the Year 10 students and we thank her for her dedication and effort with preparing our Year 10s so they are ready for this assessment. In Week 6, students will complete a mock Written Expression exam under the direction and supervision of Ms Yip.

Year 8 and Year 10 mock exams

Students in Year 8 and Year 10 will complete their second series of mock exams at the end of the term, after assessment tasks have been completed.

Returning to full-time learning

Teachers are very pleased that we are able to return to full-time learning next week and will be working hard to consolidate learning from the past weeks. For the rest of the term there will be no Music, Arts lesson or PE and this time will be used for other key learning areas, particularly English (literacy) and Maths (numeracy). We ask that parents continue to monitor student learning at home as the next three weeks will be very busy, particularly in the high school with assignments and exams. High school form teachers, Mrs Laien and Ms Yip, will email parents a copy of their year level's term 2 assessment schedule next week. This will also be given to students.

In the primary school, we have made further adjustments to the curriculum to ensure that we have enough time to focus on key curriculum areas over the coming weeks. Early Years classes will be studying either HASS or Science and either Health or Technology for the remainder of this term.

We appreciate the effort parents have made over the past weeks to support your child's learning. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher.

Kind regards,

Ms Langusch

This week the School to Mine Campus continued to open up more normally as we welcomed back our teachers Jeffrey Tore and Edwina Jason and said goodbye to Joseph Takaundo as he goes on a break.

Our Work Ready Program commenced its second week and the new students have started well, displaying much potential and confidence. We look forward to seeing them continue to progress over the coming weeks.

Our FODE students continue to work hard with our students from last year completing their final exams.

STMC are in the final stages of confirming and planning lecturers from Divine Word University to come to our campus to deliver the first 2 subjects of the Primary Education Bachelor Upgrade to local Lihirian Teachers. We look forward to welcoming Dr Lynus Yamuna and Mr Kelaki Peter for the delivery of the first semester of this 2 year program.

On Wednesday this week, the Kisim Save Library reopened after being closed during the recent COVID related restrictions. Please note the library will continue to open every Wednesday evening from 6:00 – 7:00pm. It is open to all Townsite Residents and Newcrest Employees. It is also accessible on Saturdays by appointment. Please email kevin.collins@newcrest.com.au .

Regards,

Mr. Kevin Collins