No 20. Term 4 Week 1, 7th October 2020
Principal's News
On behalf of our school, I want to say a big thank you to all our students, parents and carers for your continued resilience and support throughout this year. I know remote and flexible learning has not always been easy, but through our collective efforts, our students have continued to make valuable progress in their learning. You can be confident that our school will support any student who has fallen behind to catch up.
The Victorian Government has outlined the staged return to on-site schooling for all students as part of its gradual roadmap towards reopening. The purpose of the plan is to get students back in the classroom as soon and as safely as possible without putting at risk all that has been achieved through the period of restrictions to reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
For our school, this means all students (P-6) will return to onsite learning in classrooms from this Monday, October 12 and the remote learning program will come to an end.
Term 4 is important for every student, and our teachers will strive to deliver high-quality learning for everyone. Our focus for Term 4 is on making sure that every student is supported in the three following key priority areas:
Mental health and wellbeing
Our highest priority will be the wellbeing, particularly the mental health, of every student and member of staff. This means effectively mobilising all available resources to support our most vulnerable students and enabling staff to access the relevant support services.
Learning and excellence
Some of our students have thrived in the remote and flexible learning environment, others have maintained their learning progress, and some have fallen behind, despite their best efforts and those of their families and teachers. Our priority will be supporting both those who need it to catch up and those who have progressed to continue to extend their learning.
Transitions
We will make every effort to ensure successful transitions for children moving from kindergarten into Prep and the Grade 6s moving into Year 7.
We know some families are worried that their child may have fallen behind due to the disruptions of coronavirus (COVID-19). Rest assured, we will use teaching strategies that draw on the best evidence available to help students meet their learning needs.
Our school, working with you, has shown it can be flexible and adaptable in responding to the challenges of coronavirus (COVID-19) and will continue to meet student needs as we look towards the end of the 2020 school year and ahead to 2021.
Jason Micallef,
Principal
When students return, they will be returning into the second week of term, which will be a Week A timetable. Specialist classes will commence onsite next week.
Staggered drop off and pick ups
More detailed information will be provided before the end of the week, but parents need to know that next week, we will be returning to the staggered drop off and pick up times in a similar way to how we did so at the end of term 2.
Morning drop off times
- 8:30 - 8:45am Gr 3-6
- 8:45 - 9:00am Gr P-2 (& families with students in P-2 and 3-6)
Afternoon pickup times
- 3:15 - 3:30pm Gr 3-6
- 3:30 - 3:45pm Gr P-2 (& families with students in P-2 and 3-6)
COVID-19 Update
The Term 3 remote and flexible learning arrangements were put in place to significantly reduce the movement of more than one million students and their families across Victoria, to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Thanks to you and your family for contributing to this on behalf of our school community.
As on-site schooling resumes, we will continue to have in place strong measures to protect the health and safety of students, staff, families and the community. This includes staggering start and finish times, restricting parent access to school grounds and continued emphasis on hand hygiene and physical distancing where possible.
Please give particular attention to reducing the risks associated with congregation at school gates and taking steps to contribute to physical distancing within the school. This includes, not entering the school grounds wherever possible and staying in your cars when dropping off and picking up students.
If parents or carers need to visit the office for any reason, please call the office first to arrange a suitable time, or find out if your query can be resolved over the phone.
Adequate supplies of hand sanitizer are avilable for staff and student use at school, however we recommend where possible, that students bring their own for ease of use.
Canteen Services
Bellbrook Catering will resume operations for students looking to order their lunches on a Thursday and / or Friday each week. The first service commences next week on Thursday October 15.
The lunch order service will be cashless and contactless. Orders must be placed prior to the day of the order through the Qkr! app which can be downloadded from your respective app store.
Drink Bottles
It is so important for our children to remain hydrated during the day, especially when the warmer weather kicks in. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus precautions, we are unable to open our drinking taps for children to use at this time. Children must ensure they have a refillable drink bottle at school at all times and are free to refill their bottles from a number of taps throughout the school.
School Uniforms for Term 4
A reminder to all families that when students return to school, they will need to be wearing their full summer uniform. This includes hats, which need to be worn whenever a student is outside between the hours of 10am and 4pm.
Beleza, our uniform supplier is currently open and accepting 'click and collect' orders.
It is not a requirement that children wear masks to and from or while at school, however if parents wish for their child to do so, they may. We ask that families please ensure you child's name is clearly labelled on the mask so that we prevent sharing or mistakenly wearing someone else's mask.
School branded masks
There are a very limited number of child sized, school branded masks left. Please call the office next week, if you would like to purchase one for your child. Payment will be accepted over the phone and the mask delivered to your child.
If you have previously ordered a mask and have not received it in the mail by Friday October 17, please let us know.
Not a fundraiser... a PHONE RAISER!
As a school we typically fundraise for a charity called Kadasig Aid in Term Three. We did not do this in 2020 but still wished to support our friends in the Philippines. In place of fundraising, the teachers prepared packs of teaching materials and aids to be sent over as digital files.
This Term there has been a request for mobile phones - have you upgraded and have your old phone sitting there? Kadasig staff and many of their college students would benefit from a donation of your phone.
St Kevin's Staff and Families are invited to join in this collection. To assist in the collection of any old phones you would like to donate, we will organise a collection box for you to drop them into during the morning drop off. Look out for the staff member carrying the collection box, so you do not need to come into the school. Just drop it into the box and know you have made a difference to someone in the Philippines who would not otherwise have access to this technology.
We thank St Kevin's community for their continued generosity.
Walking to School
Put a spring in the step of our kids by encouraging them to get involved in Walk to School 2020. This is a great time for us all to get involved in helping families stay healthy and active while following local coronavirus restrictions.
The focus is on encouraging kids to be active before and after school—whether or not they’re back in classrooms— while making sure they stay safe and follow the latest health advice.
Supporting our kids to walk, ride, scoot or skate to school, sets them up for healthy, active adult lives. We’re also making the streets around our schools safer and less congested.
Safe Parking Arounds Schools
Casey Council is determined to remain proactive and continue to work with schools to ensure that parking at and around schools is safe for all students, parents and the wider community.
The Safe Parking Around Schools initiative aims to inform and educate parents throughout the school year. The animation below, is one such educational tool.