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Thank you to all of you for your support throughout this term of remote learning. It has been a term like no other and I hope that the holiday period is both relaxing and energising for you and your families. Thank you for attending last week’s parent teacher meetings. Our teachers appreciate your positive feedback and insight as they continue to support your children’s wellbeing and learning. We are looking forward to the return of our Prep -2 students on the 12th of October and are eagerly anticipating an announcement to confirm when our Year 3-6 students will return to school. We will continue to connect with you as we work in partnership to support your child’s learning and wellbeing.
Term 4 Arrangements
Term 4 will commence for students on Tuesday the 6th of October and all students will continue with remote learning for the remainder of the week. The Week 1 Learning Resources will be available on the blog on Monday the 5th of October.
Here is an overview of the first few weeks of the term based on the current advice from DET. I will share any further information as it becomes available.
From Monday 12th October
Students in Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 will return to full-time on-site schooling.
Remote and flexible learning will continue for all students in Year 3 to Year 6.
Arrangements for Prep- Year 2 when they return to school
Please note that the current guidelines are designed to minimise the number of people on school grounds which means that parents and carers are unable to come into the school without prior permission. We will be following many of the same processes that we had in place in Term 2 such as staggered starts and the use of designated gates for students to use when coming in and leaving the school.
The staggered start and finish times are:
- Students with surname beginning A-K to arrive at 8.45am and depart at 3.20pm.
- Students with surname with L – Z to arrive at 8.55am and depart at 3.30pm.
- Year 3-6 students, who are children of permitted workers and are attending the on-site supervision program, can arrive at 8.45am and depart at 3.30pm regardless of their surname.
Designated gates:
- Students will arrive and depart from the designated gates as in Term 2.
Temperature Checks
- Students will have their temperatures checked by their teacher at the line up area and any child with a temperature equal to or above 37.5 degrees will be brought inside to have their temperature checked again. Parents/carers will be called to take their child home if they have a temperature equal to or above 37.5 degrees on the second reading.
If a child has any of the following, however mild, they must not attend school:
- Fever
- Chills or sweats
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Shortness of breath
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Loss of sense of smell or taste
- Headache
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
If a child presents with any of these symptoms at any time during the day, we will call you so that you can take them home until they are well. We will ask you to phone the office when you arrive so that a staff member can bring your child to you. We appreciate your help with this so that we can keep our school community healthy.
Please read Hilda’s message about managing asthma and hay fever, which is more important now than ever before. It will be very difficult for our staff to determine whether a child presenting with any of the above symptoms is suffering from asthma or hay fever and you will be called so that you can take them home.
Face Masks
Students are not required to wear face masks but we understand that some of them may. We support your choice and will do our best to help students throughout the day. Our teachers are not expected to wear a face mask while they are teaching but some may choose to do so. All of our staff are required to wear a face mask at all other times, including when taking children's temperatures, and we understand that our students will notice this difference when they return to school.
We are in the process of creating a video that we will share with you during the first week of next term. This video will show students what to expect when they arrive at school, including having their temperature checked and to remind them that we are still smiling even from behind our face masks. We will support them as we all make the adjustments to these new requirements.
Arrangements for Year 3-6 students while they continue with remote learning.
The daily check ins will begin at 9.15am each day to allow for students with siblings in Prep, Year 1 or 2 to get home if they are accompanying their parent on the school drop off.
Each class will have 4 x 30 minute Specialist lessons spread throughout the week; rather than on one day. Your child’s teacher will provide you with a timetable so that you know when your child should log in to WebEx to attend these lessons. This timetable will also include the 9.15am daily check-in.
Further Information
I will share this information with you again at the start of Term 4 along with any further updates based on the latest advice from the Chief Health Officer and DET. In the meantime, please enjoy the break and make the most of playgrounds being open and the easing of other restrictions.
Thank you and take care.
Justine Mackey
Managing Hay fever and Asthma Term 4
We are all looking forward to the return of children to school. Hoping you all stay safe and active and are able to enjoy some time in improving weather.
This year, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important to be proactive in managing your child’s asthma and allergies (hay fever) as the return of school coincides with the hay fever season and it takes many weeks for preventive medication to be effective.
At school during the pandemic we are required to isolate and send home any child with symptoms compatible with Covid-19 (fever, cough , runny nose, sore throat etc). As you can imagine this will be tricky in hay fever season and during the Covid-19 pandemic it will be impossible to know if your child’s runny nose or cough is due to hay fever, asthma, a common cold or Covid-19.
Many of you will have already started your child’s preventer medication for their asthma and allergic rhinitis (hay fever). You may already be using the Pollen count watch App which can be very helpful in pre-empting hay fever days which are commonly those north windy days. If your child is prone to thunderstorm asthma this is predominantly due to rye grass allergy. You can choose to receive email alerts on high epidemic thunderstorm asthma forecast days by downloading the Vic Emergency app.
Please do not send your child to school with any symptoms of Covid-19 as they will be sent home according to the current DHHS coronavirus guidelines. Discuss you child’s allergy and asthma prevention management with your child’s general practitioner.
As always if you have any concerns about your child’s health with their return to school you can contact me via email: hilda.hallinan@education.vic.gov.au and if needed we can arrange a meeting via phone or online.
Helpful information:
Asthma foundations Victoria ‘TIPS FOR PREPARING FOR SPRING WHEN YOU HAVE ASTHMA AND ALLERGIES”
Allergy Australia “Allergic rhinitis allergy plan”
https://www.melbournepollen.com.au/mobile-app/
https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/ to receive email alerts on high epidemic thunderstorm forecast days
RCH > Kids Health Information > Fact sheets > Hay fever
(COVID-19). Common symptoms include:
- Fever, chills or sweats, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, loss of sense of smell or taste.
If anybody has any symptoms, they should get tested and stay home until they receive their test results. It does not matter how mild the symptoms are.
Hilda Hallinan - School Nurse
Email: hilda.hallinan@education.vic.gov.au
NOTICEBOARD