EPPING PUBLIC SCHOOL Opportunity, Excellence, Success

Norfolk Road, Epping NSW 2121 Phone: 9876 1452 Fax: 9876 6873

Email: epping-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Website: www.epping-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

NEWSLETTER Monday 25 May 2020

Week 5, Term 2

Welcome to Week 9, Term 1

FIVE IMPORTANT RULES FOR STUDENTS RETURNING TO SCHOOL FULLTIME

1. If your child is feeling unwell in any way, do not send them to school

2. Follow the drop off and pick up guidelines as they are outlined

3. Adults are not to enter the school (except briefly at school pick up time)

4. No toys are to be brought to school except for handballs

5. Students are to bring water bottles, lunch, recess and crunch & sip everyday as the canteen is closed and the

use of bubblers discouraged

STUDENTS RETURN TO FULLTIME SCHOOL

This week we take a giant step back towards pre-Covid19 life as we welcome our students back fulltime.

During the last few months of learning from home I have acknowledged the wonderful work done by our parents

and I again want to thank you for your efforts. However I must also thank two other groups throughout this time.

I begin with our students, who in most cases, have completed their work when working from home in challenging

circumstances. At a time when contact with friends, going to the local park, playing in sports teams, attending

birthday parties and many other usual experiences which are part of growing up were taken way, they have

maintained focus and persistence to keep working. I would like to congratulate them and look forward to having

them back in a school setting five days a week.

Finally I must congratulate our staff on outstanding work and effort in providing our students with the work and

contact to keep them learning. Throughout this time the government and department would make changes to what

was occurring and our staff would adjust. Often they would have to disregard work already planned and develop

different work because things had changed. They did this without complaint, to ensure our students’ learning could

be maintained. Through Zoom and phone they made regular contact to ensure our boys and girls kept that

connection with their teacher. I am not sure what happened at other schools and nor am I interested, but I believe

that no school could have done more for their students than what our staff did for the boys and girls at Epping Public

School. From our classroom teachers, our support and EAL/D teachers to our office staff, thank you on a job well

done.

Whilst our students will return five days a week there are still a number of conditions that exist with the return of

our students. Last week I sent a number of attachments home via email with regard to the return fulltime. Please

make sure you have read them. Probably the two main point to emerge was firstly that students should not be sent

to school if they are unwell in any way. Secondly, whilst students have a low infection rate, the greater concern is

too many parents congregating on school grounds. Therefore parents are requested not to visit the school with the

exception of collecting children at the conclusion of the school day. There are strict guidelines for this procedure and

we have again included them below. We request that you follow these procedures or we will request that you not

enter school grounds.

Students are expected to return unless they is a genuine reason for not attending. There will be no learning from

home units of work. As previously, where a child may need to have an extended absence, the parents should

contact the class teacher for direction on how the child can be supported.

Some of our K-4 students borrowed laptops from the school during the learning from home. Please ensure these are

returned to school via the tubs situated on the benches outside the library.

This week our focus will be supporting the students back into Fulltime School, developing the routines of the class

and commencing face to face learning and building on what they have done during the learning from home sessions.

This will take place within each class. Library sessions will commence this week. Please refer to the procedures for

using library which were included as an attachment in the email sent home last week.

Over the coming weeks we will begin to reintroduce other components that are a normal part of the school week,

including math groups and grade activities.

There will still be some things that will not take place such as excursions, incursions and whole school assemblies

until we are advised otherwise.

We will continue the safe hygiene practices that were introduced before learning from home was encouraged. In line

with this, we request for the present that students do not bring toys from home with the exception of handballs.

In the departmental attachment you received last week it raised the subject of reports and interviews for this

semester. We are currently reviewing the information from the department and determining the timing and process

for holding interviews and sending out reports. I hope to include details in next week’s newsletter.

SCHOOL UPGRADE COMPLETED

With the focus on the pandemic and learning from home the completion of the Epping Public School upgrade has

gone almost unnoticed. The new administration block which was the second phase of the building program, is now

fully operational. This phase has delivered the school

a spacious office work area

an inviting foyer area

sick room with CCTV and access to toilets and showers

new offices for executive staff

interview room

EAL/D and Support learning spaces

Staff toilets including staff showers

Modern and large staffroom

A photocopy room

There is also a separate student entrance to the office area. This will be through the door near the old library

entrance. When the school is opened up to the community, parents will need to enter the foyer of the office area

through the main doors. This is the same entrance as previously used to come to the office.

I look forward to welcoming our community into this area in the near future but for now, we have included the

brochure which was provided by the Department of Education.