Welcome Back
Welcome back to the start of Term 3. On Monday we had a Curriculum Day where staff continued to work with educational consultant Toby McIlrath. The day’s agenda focused on Assessment and unpacking Curriculum Roadmaps to enhance the teaching and learning at IEPS. Staff feedback was very positive, and this has set us up to continue to improve our practice through our staff Professional Learning sessions in Term 3. It was great to see students and parents/guardians with big smiles on their faces as they entered the school gates on Tuesday. As I have walked around the school and visited classrooms over the past couple of days it has been great to see students and teachers back working together and enjoying their classroom environment.
Covid Update
As you would be aware, following advice from the Acting Chief Health Officer, the Victorian Government recently announced changes to the pandemic orders. From Saturday 25 June, all mainstream school staff (including principals, teachers, administration and education support staff, including casual relief teachers (CRT’s), pre-service teachers, and Outside School Hours Care staff), volunteers, contractors and visitors are no longer required to meet COVID-19 vaccination requirements to attend work. With almost 100% of school staff now vaccinated across Victoria, this will cause little change to our school.
Face masks
The advice strongly recommends the wearing of face masks in indoor settings (noting that exceptions to the recommendation apply to teaching circumstances when clear enunciation or visibility of the mouth is essential). Current advice from the Victorian government on the wearing of face masks is available here: https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/face-masks: It states: Wearing a face mask can help protect you and those around you. Face masks stop droplets spreading when you talk, cough, sneeze and laugh, which lowers your chance of spreading or catching the virus.
Rapid antigen testing
The Victorian Government is providing up to three further deliveries of rapid antigen tests in Term 3 and again in Term 4 to schools.
It is recommended that rapid antigen tests are used by students and staff when symptomatic. Household contacts are required to test negative using a rapid antigen test on at least 5 out of 7 if they are attending or working at a school onsite. You are required to email the school if your child is a close contact Ivanhoe.east.ps@education.vic.gov.au. Students who are close contacts and want to attend should still take 5 RATs over 7 days and wear a face mask whilst indoors if they are aged 8 years or over.
If staff or students receive a positive test result at any time, they must report this through the Department of Health system (Rapid antigen tests | Coronavirus Victoria) or via the coronavirus hotline at 1800 675 398. You are also required to email Ivanhoe.east.ps@education.vic.gov.au and CC tom.boyle@education.vic.gov.au If a staff member or student has recovered from COVID-19, they are not required to get tested or isolate/quarantine if re-exposed to a case within 12 weeks of ending their isolation period.
We ask that students should continue to stay home if they are unwell, even if they test negative on a RAT. Thank you for your support as we continue to make these adjustments.
As part of the changes, from 11.59pm Friday 24 June 2022, parents and carers who have COVID-19 can transport their non-COVID-19 children via private vehicle to their primary or secondary school when an alternative person is not available to assist. This will include school holiday programs held on school grounds. This means that parents and carers will be able to leave COVID self-isolation to take their non-COVID-19 child to school or school holiday programs via a private vehicle.
The parent or carer must travel directly to and from the school only. They must remain in the vehicle at all times, unless it is reasonably necessary to leave the vehicle to walk the child to and from the entrance of the school safely. They must wear a face mask at all times. Their child, if above the age of 8, must wear a facemask at all times whilst indoors.
Crucially, anybody who is unwell must remain at home and not attend school. This will continue to help keep our school as safe as possible. Thank you for your support as we continue to make these adjustments.
Devastating News Involving a Member of Our Community
Unfortunately this communication accompanies sad news for our community. Tragically a parent of one of our students passed away over the school holidays. This student is in Year 2 and as a school we are currently communicating and supporting the family through our available school resources.
If you would like to personally engage with community organised support for this family, please directly contact the class representative, Donna White, via email at donnalwhite5@gmail.com
We appreciate that this can be a challenging time for those community members directly impacted. If you or anyone you know requires additional support, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us and/or the following services:
- The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement (ACGB) is funded by the Victorian Government to provide a statewide specialist bereavement service for individuals and families who need help following the death of someone close to them. Telephone or online counselling (by appointment) is also available to clients in more remote areas. Tel. (03) 9265 2100 or 1800 642 066
- Kids Helpline offers a confidential 24-hour counselling service for children and young adults aged from five to 25 years. They can call from anywhere in Australia for free on 1800 551 800.
Assembly
This term we will continue to have our assemblies online and a recording will be sent out to our wider community on Friday. This gives our community the opportunity to access the recording and view the assembly at a time that is convenient for them. When the weather begins to warm up and the sun is shining, we will look at having our assemblies back on-site.
Staffing
We welcome Sally Heydon to the IEPS Community as our newest staff member. Sally is currently working alongside Larissa Lamers in 1L as she completes our thorough handover process here at IEPS before taking over from Larissa at the start of Week 2. Larissa Lamers will be taking maternity leave from week 4 of this term. From week 2 through to week 4 Larissa will be the Tutor coordinator as Bec Charlesworth has taken LSL. We wish Larissa all the best with her newest addition on the way and thank her for her commitment and dedication to the 1L and wider IEPS community, we look forward to welcoming her back in the near future.
We also welcome Kim Hall who is our new Canteen Manager to the IEPS community. Kim took part in a thorough handover with Sonia late last term and has spent this week getting organised for lunch orders to start next week. The process of ordering lunch orders, as well as over the counter options has not changed and the system in place will stay the same.
Enrolments
At the end of last term, we asked that any families who are within our zone or who are making a sibling claim out of zone submit their enrolments by the end of Term 2. We are offering two further Pre-Prep enrollment sessions on the 15th and 22nd of July, these sessions are for students who have not yet enrolled in prep for 2023.
At the conclusion of these sessions, we will start processing out of zone enrolments with a better understanding of how many places we can offer, but also start preparing our workforce planning in a timely manner. Please refer to www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au for further information around zoning of schools.
Follow Us
A reminder that we now have a community Instagram account, this account is used to connect with our wider community, promote school events and give an insight into our facilities, incursions, excursions, and all of the wonderful teaching & learning that is happening at IEPS. You can follow our movements by networking with us @ivanhoeeastprimaryschool on Instagram.
Regards,
Tom Boyle
Acting Principal