The Randwick Buzz

Term 4, Week 1 2021

From the Principal

Term 4 has started smoothly, no doubt assisted by the beautiful weather we have been enjoying.

Our student cohort numbers are understandably a little higher as parents begin to work away from home again. The increase in traffic density certainly attests to that.

We are looking forward to the earlier return to school for students and staff are planning ways in which children can be settled back to school routines and quality instruction in literacy and numeracy.  Teachers are also planning activities to encourage socialisation and resilience.  Remember if you express your confidence in your child to adapt and resettle with friends, that's the model they will follow. We have been particularly impressed with the great job parents have done with the Learning from Home programs.

I know there is some hesitancy in our community about the return so I will outline some of our safety measures:

  • Good ventilation- windows and doors will be open and teachers are encouraged to take children for a quick exercise break outdoors each hour to let the air refresh. It's funny, but this is a normal practice in Finland regardless of viruses so a good one to emulate.
  • In the classrooms children will be spaced out as far as is possible and rigorous hand washing will be maintained.
  • Playground spaces will be allocated by grade to minimise cross infection should a positive case occur in the school.
  • Children MUST remain at home and be COVID tested for even the mildest of symptoms. It's up to everyone to keep the school site safe.
  • All school staff are fully vaccinated before resuming work and must wear masks indoors and out.
  • Children are encouraged to wear a mask indoors. Please ensure it is clearly labelled with a name.
  • Pick up will be staggered to avoid congestion. Please wear a mask, move away from the site quickly, use Kiss and Go or have children meet you a little away from the school (Alison Park). Please be respectful of others and do not congregate on the footpath after pick up.

At this stage all schools in Greater Sydney will return under Level 3 plus restrictions. This means that no external provider programs can run, no excursions and no entry on to the site for non school staff. We are awaiting advice regarding our Canteen. If they are able to start it will be for orders only. OOSH will continue to operate.

We are thrilled to welcome welcome our students back earlier than previously advised as announced this morning. Kindergarten and Year 1 will return on Monday 18th October with all other grades returning on Monday 25th October. Thank you to all parents through a very long period of Learning from Home. Your assistance in keeping to these dates is appreciated where you are available to supervise students at home. As each grade returns support for at home learning will reduce accordingly.

While I understand some parents may be hesitant to return children, we anticipate that the majority of our students will return and all teachers will be required on site for face to face teaching. In accord with the current DOE advice, packages for learning at home/online activities will be available. Teachers will not be available to conduct Zooms but will respond to online questions and marking as available.

I know that your family, like all of us, will be keen to gain some more normality and structure to our lives. The school will look at a range of ways to build in some special COVID safe activities to finish the year in a joyful manner especially for our Year 6 students.

As your children return, the must remember to BRING and WEAR A HAT!

​KINDERGARTEN 2022 ENROLMENTS CLOSING. If you know of a local enrolment or have a sibling, please enrol online or contact the office for advice. Out of area enrolments have now closed.​

Regards

Susan Allen, Principal

Our new website

Have you seen our new website? As part of a Department of Education project, all schools are transitioning to a School Website Service. We were lucky enough to be one of the first schools to transition over and as our website was already so wonderful and filled with information, the transition was very smooth.

Our new website can be found at: Home - Randwick Public School (nsw.gov.au) however you will continue to be redirected if you use the old URL for the remainder of this year.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the students whose film Big News Co. COVID-19 Special has been included in the 2021 Film by the City Festival to be held as an online event on Tuesday 19th October.

The Showcase will premiere on the Film by the City YouTube Channel at 2:00pm promptly. The link to this will be shared closer to the date. All students involved in any film for this year's festival are encouraged to celebrate their success with family and friends. This year has been a year like no other and the resilience, creativity, and success of all the films entered in this year’s festival are to be commended. They had over 60 entrants into the festival.

A People’s Choice award can be voted on at the closing of the showcase, get your smart device out and vote for your favourite film. That film will then be showcased online as the 2021 People’s Choice Film. So, make sure to vote! Voting will be open for 1 week from the Premiere Date. 

Revised Mask Wearing

COVID 19 NSW Fact sheet

These factsheets have helpful advice and information from the Department of Health if you or a family member is recovering from COVID, are identified as a close contact or household close contact.

Positive case

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/recovery.aspx

Close contacts

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/advice-for-contacts.aspx

Household close contact

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/household-contacts.aspx

Wellbeing Week 11th - 15th October

Date and Time

From Monday, October. 11th to Friday, October. 15th

Information

The Department's Wellbeing Week is 11-15 October 2021 and features a great line-up of special events for students of all ages, parents and carers from some of Australia's best mental health and wellbeing providers. These free, live events are all open for registration.

Monday 11 October

eSafety's parent guide to online gaming

 

Youth Mental Health Forum at the University of Sydney's Matilda Centre

 

Be an eSafe Kid: Online Boundaries - It's ok to say 'no'

Tuesday 12 October

Building resilience and wellbeing in the home - with Smiling Mind

 

Be Kind to Your Mind

Wednesday 13 October

Managing Emotions

Thursday 14 October

GetActive@Home

Friday 15 October

All Systems Go

https://education.nsw.gov.au/student-wellbeing/wellbeing-week-11-15-october-2021/online-events#Sessions0

Sharing Year 4 Work

Please provide your feedback by clicking on yellow banner link. We will direct the feedback to the appropriate people and/or share it in the newsletter! So that we can get in touch with you, support you or gather more information, it is greatly appreciated if you could provide your contact details if you would like.

Thank you!

From the P&C

Calling bookkeepers, accountants, treasurers

As you will have heard by now the P&C AGM is approaching and a few people are coming off the Executive Committee.  So we are looking for the next generation of Committee members.

Among other things, we are keen to have someone with bookkeeping, accounting or similar experience join the Committee to replace our current treasurer Naomi. The P&C is responsible for the good governance and management of the funds raised by the community to ensure it is properly accounted for, managed and audited.  A full induction and handover will be provided.

We are also looking for other members – any and all skill sets welcome. The main criteria is a commitment to do your bit for RPS!

If you would like to know more email Randwick.pc.secretary@gmail.com and we’ll get in touch.

Ventilation in Schools - Expression of Interest for a parent working group

We know this is an issue of concern to a number of parents. If you have been following the issue in the media you will be aware that the Department of Education has been considering the question of ventilation and filtration in schools across NSW. As of 5 October, the school understands that ventilation at RPS has been deemed suitable and that we will therefore not receive additional funding or equipment. It is worth stating, for those parents newer to the school, that Randwick is in a relatively good position due the very recent Beehive build and having just had air-conditioning installed in a number of classrooms as part of the ‘Cooler Schools’ program.

The P&C is inviting parents with an interest in this issue to join a working group to explore what we already have, what deficits exist (understanding that this will likely vary classroom by classroom), what solution/s might be appropriate, what is available in an appropriate timeframe, what it would cost, installation considerations. The question of funding the solution can then be considered.

The working group will be chaired by the P&C President and comprise a minimum of 3 and maximum of 5 other members. Members should have knowledge or expertise in this issue. Members will be required to participate in remote meetings outside working hours, use Microsoft Teams for sharing and collaborating on documents and undertake delegated tasks which may include research, liaising with the School, working with stakeholders, contacting potential suppliers, or writing updates for the P&C and other stakeholders. All members will be required to declare any conflicts of interest.

Please see the Community Advertising section for activities held at the school, during school holidays and within the local community.

The link can be found on the Randwick Public School website, scroll down the front page and click on the link "Community Advertising". 

Information for parents and carers about the changes to school operations because of COVID-19 health advice current from 8 September 2020 is available in the following languages:

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