Dear Parents,

Just as people talk about their memories of when significant world or national events  occurred such as Neil Armstrong’s moon landing, the Newcastle earthquake, Princess Diana’s death or the change to decimal currency, I am sure you will talk about the day your children returned to school!

Many of you, no doubt, let out a great sigh of relief as you waved your children off at the gate on Monday morning.  To all of you who became teachers overnight – thank you for your efforts during remote learning. Thank you also for following the changed drop off and pick up procedures.  Thank you for reading the continuous stream of information that we needed to share with you. The team work occurring between home and school is making this transition back to school, for your children, quite seamless.

There is a wonderful vibe about the place this week as the children reacquaint themselves with their friends and connect with their class teacher each day. For our students who have been here for much of the past 5 weeks, they are particularly happy to have their full circle of classmates back on site, in the flesh!

As you are now aware, a modified report will be written for all students for Semester 1.  These will be shared with parents early next term. Our focus at the moment, however, is to reconnect with the children and establish where they are at with their learning before we even begin to write reports. 

We intend to engage the children in their learning, incorporating both the ‘old’ (pre-Covid) and the ‘new’ (post-Covid) teaching practices and to further deepen their learning. We intend to do this by continuing to ensure that the six global competencies of deep learning are present across all grades Kinder-Year 6:

1.Character: Demonstrates grit, perseverance and resilience; shows empathy, compassion and integrity in action

2.Citizenship: Demonstrates a commitment to the wellbeing of others; solves complex problems to benefit others

3.Collaboration: Works collaboratively within a team; demonstrates social, emotional and interpersonal skills

4.Communication: Communicates ideas clearly and confidently for varying purposes; listens thoughtfully to what others communicate to us

5.Creativity: Asks inquiring questions; applies creativity to solve problems and explore solutions

6.Critical thinking: Is curious and makes connections through exploration; constructs meaningful knowledge by evaluating information and arguments; experiments, reflects and takes actions on their ideas

Listening to the personal feedback our staff give your children shows the focus they give to building character – encouraging them to be their best selves. Our faith teachings, prayer celebrations and community activities help to develop citizenship. Our open learning spaces and teaching styles make collaboration and communication integral factors in all classroom learning.  Through planned play, music, drama and the arts we foster creativity, whilst critical thinking is implicit in all effective learning tasks, for without it, there is no real learning. An authentic Catholic School with a focus on deep learning is a great place to gain an effective education which is both engaging and relevant. Hopefully, this is part of the reason our students are so pleased to be back

Attendance

Now that we have returned to full-time face-to-face learning, as of June 1, the following attendance advice, from the Catholic Schools Office, is in practice.

1. The expectation is that students are either:
   - at school;
   - at home because they are currently unwell;
   - at home because they have a medical certificate, which states they have a condition, which means it is not safe for them to return to school, for example they have a suppressed immune system or they are undergoing treatment like chemotherapy; and
   - at home as they are residing with a family member in one of the categories identified as being at increased risk and are directed by a medical practitioner to remain at home. The parent or carer should provide written confirmation from the treating health professional that the student is unable to attend school. Students in this instance should engage in remote learning.
2. If parents/carers are making the determination to keep students at home and none of the above applies, they must provide a reason and indicate the duration of the absence.  As with normal practice, the reason will be either accepted or denied. There is no need to complete the Leave Form, unless it is for travel, but an explanation as with normal practice is required.
3. If a student is absent for more than three days without a medical certificate, this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and followed up by the school in line with normal practice.

We have noticed many children are arriving late each morning and as we are not having morning assemblies the classes have already gone in and commenced their learning when the late arrivals enter the classroom. This is disruptive for the children and teachers who are there and is often unsettling and makes those arriving late feel uncomfortable and self-conscious.  Please assist your children to get to school on time.

Please see the link below for some tips on supporting your children on their return to school.

https://qed.qld.gov.au/aboutus/newsandmedia/Documents/term2-tips-for-supporting-prep-y1.pdf

We are so glad to be back together once again as a full community.  We hope you feel this way too.

Take care,
Karen