Parkhill Primary School Newsletter
Issue 14, Friday June 5 2020
Dear Parents/Carers
What a super week of learning. I am so proud of the way the children have returned to school and have reengaged with classroom learning.
We are very much looking forward to the return of our upper school students on Tuesday.
The reminders below are to ensure everyone is comfortable with the arrangements we have in place. It is important to remind the children to bring along their drink bottles as our bubblers are turned off. They should also ensure they enter and exit the campus through the allocated gate.
Return to School Arrangements:
The decision to stagger the return is not based around the children. Children have been deemed low risk in terms of transmission of the CoVID virus. The staggered return is to reduce the adult to adult contact in our community and to support physical distancing in the staffroom.
There are a few basic rules we have established to make the return to school as smooth as possible. I ask for your support with these rules to ensure we are working together to protect the health and wellbeing of everyone in our community. I ask for your support in honouring and being respectful of these guidelines.
I have outlined these rules below:
Children must enter the school and leave the school through designated gates
F/1 use the front gate of the school, walk around the admin building to their classrooms.
2/3 will enter via the oval and use the path at the side of the soccer park to access the decked area and their classrooms.
The children in our Y4/5 classes will enter across the top of Ashwood High School oval and in the back gate beside the orchard. They should use the steps behind the art room to access their classrooms.
Y5/6 classes will enter the school via the Roger Beech Hall gate and use the undercover walkway access to get to their classrooms.
Parents are not allowed on site. There will be teachers and ES staff at the gates to meet and greet the children and help support the transition to their classrooms.
At pick up time parents are advised to arrange a meeting place outside of the school boundaries to meet up with their children. Again staff will walk their classes to the exit points outlined above.
Volunteers and parent helpers will not be needed for the remaining weeks of term 2. We will review this for term 3 - this applies to music instrumental teachers as well.
Due to our size staggered starts will not be necessary. School will start at 9am and finish at 3:30 as usual. Children can start to arrive from 8:50.
Children cannot be onsite before 8:50 and must meet a member of staff at the allocated gate.
Additional information:
Children will not be allowed to use the drink bubblers - please send a drink bottle with them.
The Department of Education has added additional daily cleaning hours for high touch areas.
Any students who are showing symptoms of cold and flu must not attend school and will be sent home immediately if exhibiting symptoms. We will temperature test students if needed.
Students with any illness should stay home at all times.
Any devices loaned must be returned to school with your child on their first day.
If you have any questions or feedback for us please do let me know - we don’t know what we don't know and you are living through the platforms every day from the other side of the screen. Your knowledge, thoughts and information are super valuable to us at this time. brady.elaine.e@edumail.vic.gov.au
Have a super fun weekend
Best wishes,
Elaine Brady
Principal
Calendar of Curriculum Events
Monday 8 June - Queens Birthday Weekend ( No School)
Tuesday 9 June - Y4 - 6 Students Return
Friday 26 June - Term 2 Ends 2.30pm
Monday 13 July - Curriculum Day
Tuesday 14 July - Term 3 Starts
Student of the Week
F/1C - Angus E
F/1S - James F
F1M - Elle L
2/3B - Justin M
2/3L - Matthew K
2/3T - Selena M
F/1s Teddy Bear Picnic
Last Friday was the day the F/1s brought their teddy bears to school! Detailed descriptions of teddies were written and unifix were carefully used to measure the length and width of teddy bears. Bear ears and masks were then made so that students could go in disguise to the teddy bear's picnic. At our picnic we played fun games and ate yummy Tiny Teddy treats. The teddies were even allowed to play outside in the playground and in the classroom too!
Chaplain’s Corner
Ms McGregor sent me a beautiful online book to use with the children when they return. It’s all about the ways we may have felt through lockdown and settling into normality.
One of the pages compares us to a caterpillar. I guess many of us feel like we have been cocooned over the past couple of months. Others who have worked right through may feel they need a time of cocooning. As we emerge from our cocoons it can be a good time to take stock of what we want to emerge with.
What have we found in lock down life that has become really important to us? What changes do we need to make to bring life more in line with the things that are important to us? Have we enjoyed board games or karaoke nights with the family? Is there a way to change our work hours to make the commute less difficult? A few less activities? Or a few more? Did we feel more connected over this time because we made the effort to check in with people and that’s something we’d like to continue. As we start back on the road to normal we don’t have to take everything from before with us. We may not be able to make all the changes we’d like to right now either, but we can make plans to do this at some point even if it’s 6 or 12 months down the track.
What do you need to change? And how do you go about that? If your commute is frustrating what are your options? Can you change your hours, negotiate to work from home sometimes, move closer, change jobs, or use the time to listen to a few pod casts so it doesn’t seem like wasted time?
If there are things that really matter to you and you’ve uncovered or rediscovered those, have courage and make some changes. I have a feeling you won’t be alone.
Suzanne Carmody
Chaplain
Borrowed Devices During Remote learning
Now that we are finishing with remote learning, please return your borrowed devices to school as soon as possible. Please make sure to include the devices as well as the power cable. If you notice that the device or the power cable has been damaged, please let us know.
If your child is in Y4-6, they can continue to use the borrowed device until they return on 9 June.
Michelle Smith
Parkhill Primary School
Email: parkhill.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
Website: www.parkhillps.vic.edu.au
Location: 4A Parkhill Drive, Ashwood VIC, Australia
Phone: 03 9807 2239