Dear Parents,

Welcome to our final week of Term 3. This week we have two very special presentations. Today we held our first online Assembly, prepared and presented by the Year 6 students. On Thursday, we will celebrate Grandparents and special people in our lives with an online Liturgy and activities.  There will not be any work set on Thursday and Friday we end the Term with a wellbeing day for all staff and students. There will be no google meets this week.

Our families, students and staff have been amazingly resilient throughout this whole period of lockdown. This is something we should never forget and should feel proud of. I reflect on the ability of our children to be able to face future challenges with a mindset of "I can do this". If they can deal with lockdown and stay strong, they can do anything!

Assembly Remote Learning  Awards

P-2 awards will be emailed to parents

Yr 3-6 awards will be emailed to student email addresses

As we prepare for our final term, I would like to share our three main priorities for the remainder of the year.

 Priority 1 – Wellbeing and Equity The wellbeing, and particularly the mental health, of every student and member of staff is the highest priority. This means encouraging and sustaining motivation for learning, re-engaging students and families where needed, and supporting the social and emotional learning of children and young people alongside curriculum-based learning. This also means ensuring support for school staff, who have sustained their efforts through multiple transitions in modes of teaching and learning delivery. 

 Priority 2 – Learning and Excellence. Some students have been better able to progress in their learning in the remote and flexible learning environment, others have maintained their rate of progress, and some have, despite their best efforts and those of their families and teachers, fallen behind. It will be critical to ensure those who have fallen behind can catch up and to support those who have progressed to continue to extend and stretch their learning. Literacy and numeracy across the curriculum remain a focus, while also adapting the teaching and learning program in Term 4 to be responsive to student needs.

 Priority 3 - Transitions Term 4 is a critical period, particularly for the children moving from kindergarten into Prep, from Grade 6 into Year 7 and students in other year levels will also prepare for a change of teachers and new classmates. A key focus of Term 4 will be to make every effort to ensure each of these end-of-year and beginning-of-year transitions occurs as successfully as possible. This includes finding contextually appropriate ways to conduct orientations and end-of-year celebrations and ensuring transition information captures additional details as necessary. We have begun to look at what can be done in Term four to provide students with a time at school that is safe, engaging and fun.

Important Information

Week 1: 5-9 October

• Remote and flexible learning will continue for all students. 
• On-site supervision will continue to be provided in limited circumstances consistent with guidelines 
• There will be a drive through collection of additional resources for Yr 3-6 on Monday 5 October from 12-4pm. Please enter the school from Higgins Rd and display your family name on your sun visor for easy recognition
• Online learning will begin for Yr 3-6 from Tuesday due to the collection on Monday

Week 2: 12 October

• Students in Prep to Grade 2 return to full-time on-site schooling. The existing remote learning program will not continue for these year levels. The exception is medically vulnerable students. Please contact the Principal
•  All students from Grade 3 to Year 6 will continue with remote and flexible learning until further notice. A date for the return of these year levels to on-site learning will be subject to further health advice. 
• Teaching staff for Yr 3-6 will continue to work from home.
•  For year levels continuing to undertake remote and flexible learning, the learning program delivered for those attending on-site supervision will be the same as the learning program delivered to students undertaking remote learning. 
• Extended and increased cleaning arrangements have been introduced and will continue. This involves progressive cleaning throughout the day to ensure that risks of transmission are reduced for high-touch services. 
• Further advice on health and safety measures will be provided shortly, including in relation to:  

• Physical distancing 
•  Ventilation  
• Managing safe school arrival and departure.
• In addition, the above measures will be regularly reviewed in line with the changing context of COVID-19 in Victoria. As Term 4 proceeds, based on health advice, some measures may no longer be required and/ or new measures may be introduced. 

On-site supervision

Onsite supervision will continue to be available in Term 4 for students in the following categories, where the student’s year level has not yet returned to on-site learning:  

• Children whose parents and carers are permitted workers who cannot work from home and where no other arrangements can be made. 
•  Where there are two parents/ carers, both must be permitted workers, working outside the home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site provision. 
•  For single parents/ carers, the permitted worker must be working outside the home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site provision.  
• Vulnerable children, including: children in out-of-home care or children deemed vulnerable by a government agency, funded family or family violence service, and is assessed as requiring education and care outside the family home; 
•  children identified by a school as vulnerable, (including via referral from a government agency, or funded family or family violence service, homeless or youth justice service or mental health or other health service); 
•  children with a disability and the family is experiencing severe stress. 

If you require onsite supervision for Term 4, please email me by Thursday of this week with a copy of work permits on: ctammesild@spbentleigh.catholic.edu.au

Families that were permitted to send their children to school for onsite supervision this term are required to email me with their request and a copy of updated work permits for Term 4.

Information Still to be provided

• Term 4 drop off and pick up arrangements
• Physical distancing requirements
• Shared equipment and resources
• Hand sanitizing hygiene
• Reporting/Assessment for Semester 2

Term 4 will be a critical time for the re engagement of students and the re establishment of school routines with a focus on our three priorities - Wellbeing and Mental Health, Learning and Excellence and Transitions. I hope the stresses of Remote Learning ease as we begin holidays this Thursday afternoon. Thank you for your messages of support and working so closely with your child and the school as we continue to build collaborative practices that deliver high quality education.

If you missed the assembly link this morning here it is:

St Paul's Term 3 Assembly

Take care and God bless you.

Catherine