Dear Parents
I would like to thank all of you for your support and cooperation during this very challenging start to the school year. It can be very confusing trying to keep up with the constant changes to the restrictions which are in place to keep us safe and well. Again, I would like to emphasise that one of the most important things you can do to help us is by not sending your children to school if they are sick. If your children are unwell, they should not attend school and if anyone in your household displays symptoms of Covid, they should seek testing immediately, notify us and isolate until a negative result is received. As you know, we unfortunately experienced our first cases of Covid this week, and it was a pretty intense time for everyone involved. There is a fair bit of confusion out there as we are told by CEWA that the Health Department will only act once they get results from PCR tests. However, when a number of our parents fronted up for the PCR testing, they were told that RATs are sufficient. This may end up being the case down the track, but for now, we have to follow the rules of the day. I think it is also fair to say that we are likely to experience further cases in the coming weeks as the state government are forecasting that March will be the month with the highest number of infections. I ask all parents to continue to be patient and work with us. We will do our absolute best to keep the communication flowing. However, we will be under orders from the Health Department and it may feel as though nothing is happening. We have very tight protocols in place and we will have to follow them to the letter. It won’t be a case of trying to keep you in the dark. Rather, it will be the Health Department giving us very specific instructions to follow. This may include isolating a particular class or year level for a week as has happened with 2G, 3B, 4B and 5G.
If a sibling or other child cannot adequately separate from the close contact, that sibling or child should also quarantine with the parent or guardian and close contact.
Also, please be aware of the requirements of attending school as outlined by the state government. Unless directed by either myself, CEWA or the state government, all students are required to come to school. For classes like 2G,3B, 4B and 5G who are directed to isolate, they will be provided with work by their teachers. However, if a parent chooses to keep their children at home and they are not sick nor have a valid reason, the teachers will not be sending work home. Again, this is a directive from the government which we have to follow.
Resilience Reflection Positive lifestyle choices are the foundation of resilience.
Ash Wednesday Today is Ash Wednesday and this is the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is a period of 40 days where we prepare for the highlight of the Christian calendar, Easter. Traditionally in the Church, we use this time to reflect upon any changes we want to make to be better people or ways in which we can be more in tune with the Gospel message. How can we live more like Jesus? How can we find those little moments in our daily lives where we reach out to people in need? The key messages of the Gospels are those of healing and forgiveness. How can we make these a part of our prayer life? Lent is a time for contemplation. Please take the time this Lent to think about how we can bring healing and forgiveness to others.
Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct establishes minimum standards of conduct in all behaviour and decision making to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all members of our community. The Code of Conduct also shows us how, as a community, our behaviours are a collective work that each day builds social justice into the life of our school. This document may be found on our school website under the Our School tab.
Our student leaders have been reviewing our Student Code of Conduct and we look forward to sharing an updated document, which reflects the voice of our students, with our school community soon.
Yours sincerely
Laurie Bechelli