Dear parents and carers,
Bike Education and the Hanging Rock Bike Ride
It is fantastic to see so many bikes at school this week. Being an avid bike rider myself I am really thrilled to see the students travelling to and from school in a healthy and environmentally friendly way. The year five and six bike education program has been running on Tuesday afternoons at school in preparation for the Hanging Rock bike ride excursion this Friday. The bike ride travels up Middle Gully Road through the Macedon regional park and sticks to as many gravel trails as possible between here and Hanging Rock. There will be a support vehicle trailing the students and a number of adult riders to support the group through out the day. It is fantastic day and I wish all the students all the best on Friday. Please note, there will be no lunch orders for 5/6 the students on this day.
Bike Safety Reminder – Students Riding to and from School
With the increase in students riding to school it is timely for me raise the issue of riding safely. There have been some near misses reported to me between cars and students riding. Typically, these near misses arise when students swerve unexpectantly into the road, ride on the wrong side of the road or cross the road without using the supervised crossings. It would be great if the parents of children who are riding unaccompanied to school could run through these basic road rules with their children and do some practice on the local roads together.
Fish Release – Macedon Reservoir
We are looking forward to the fish stocking event at Nursery Reservoir on November 25th in conjunction with the launch of the school new fishing program. Selected students will be supported by the fisheries officers and will be involved in helping release 250 catchable rainbow trout. Travis Dowling the CEO of the Victorian Fisheries Authority will be a special guest at the event.
The fish release links with a recent incursion with Fish Care which focused on sustainable, educational fishing. The students were taught how to identify fish, learnt about size and bag limits, and practiced tying a basic fishing knot. As part of the fish release event, selected students will be given the option to participate in a practical lesson where they could try their hand at fishing.
The school has been gifted a class set of fishing rods from the VFA – the Victorian Fisheries Authority and the teachers look forward to seeing the Grade 6 students in action at their upcoming school camp.
A big thank you must go to Cara Cummings, who has been heavily involved in setting up the fish release and involving school in the process. I look forward to joining the students on Thursday morning at the res.
COVID reminders
Visitors Onsite
From the 1st of November, parents and visitors will be allowed back on site at school. All parents who enter the school building are required to wear a facemask and check in using the QR codes and visitor’s book. Facemasks do not need to be worn outside, however people must adhere to physical distancing requirements.
Vaccination Requirements for Parent Helpers
There may be activities later in the term where we seek parent helpers, these can go ahead from now. Any visitor or volunteer performing work in schools are required to be fully vaccinated by 29 November (unless a medical exemption applies) to attend on site.
Under the COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination (Specified Facilities) directions issued by the Victorian Chief Health Officer, schools must ensure that all visitors and volunteers who attend the school comply with vaccination requirements.
Parents that wish to volunteer on camp, excursions or school activities must supply vaccination information to the school indicating their vaccination status. This can be in the form of the following;
· a letter from a medical practitioner confirming the person’s vaccination status or confirming a person is medically exempt.
· A certificate of immunisation
· An immunisation history statement obtained from the Australian Immunisation Register.
The school will maintain a vaccination register for visitors and volunteers.
A visitor or volunteer attending a school site as a parent or carer for the purposes of collecting or dropping off children is not considered to be attending for work purposes and will be subject to the same requirements as all other parents collecting and dropping off children.
Masks
Face masks will still be required for staff, visitors and Year 3 to 6 students in an indoor space at school.
The wearing of masks remains recommended for Prep to Grade 2 students and in circumstances where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
Finally, we ask that if your child is not well, please do not send them to school. If your child is unwell at school, you will be contacted to collect them.
Kind regards and Sampai jumpa (until next time)
Matt Forrest
Principal