Volume 26 Issue 15 Thursday 21 May 2020

term dates 2020 TERM 1 28 JAN-27 MAR TERM 2 14 APR-26 JUNE

TERM 3 13 JUL-18 SEP TERM 4 5 OCT-18 DEC 26 MAY PREP, YR 1 & YR 2 STUDENTS RETURN TO SCHOOL 09 MAY YR 3, 4, 5 & 6 STUDENTS RETURN TO SCHOOL 26 JUNE LAST DAY OF TERM 2 13 JULY TERM 3 BEGINS NOTE: YEAR 6 CAMP – PHILLIP ISLAND ADVENTURE RESORT HAS BEEN CANCELLED

jim bell, principal jenny reid, assistant principal jo-anne doran, assistant principal

DATES TO REMEMBER

P hased Return to On-Site Schooling Our phased return

to on-site schooling, commences next week on Tuesday 26 May with our students in Prep, Grade 1 and Grade 2. The second stage of our return to on-site schooling, com-mences on Tuesday 9 June for students in Grades 3 - 6. To support all school staff to prepare for this transition, Monday 25 May will be a pupil-free day. Once a year level has returned, all students will be ex-pected to attend school as normal. This means if you choose to keep your child/children home after their year level has returned to on-site schooling, we can no longer support their learning from home. This does not apply to children who need to be absent for health or medical reasons. For those families, please contact us so we can make an appropriate plan. To support the health and well-being of all our students and staff, our school will continue an extended cleaning routine and will encourage frequent hand washing. Extended cleaning will involve progressive cleaning throughout the day, with a focus on high-touch surfaces using detergent/disinfectant to wipe areas including, but not limited to:

doors (door handles, handrails and guardrails)

classroom sinks

drinking troughs and fountains

student tables, chairs and lockers

electrical fixtures and appliances (switches, printers, photocopiers, fridges etc.)

toilet areas

S ocial Distancing Upon Return to On-Site Schooling

While the Chief Health Officer has advised that students will not be required to maintain physical dis-tancing at school, there will be a number of important changes to our school operations, consistent with health advice.

Staff – social distancing will be maintained by staff whilst on-site. This will necessitate the allocation of staff to temporary staff rooms for morning tea and lunch with a maximum of 10 staff only in the current staffroom. The Performing Arts Centre will be utilised as an addi-tional staff lounge. Parents – Morning Drop Off and Dismissal. To main-tain social distancing, the following practices will be undertaken Morning Drop Off - When Prep to Grade 2 classes re-sume, teachers will have their classrooms open from 8.45 am. Students should not be at school prior to this. Students will go directly to their classrooms upon arri-val. At this stage, only parents of Preps can enter the school and direct their children to their classrooms, how-ever, parents cannot enter classrooms. Students in Grades 1 and 2 do not require parents to accompany them onto the school grounds but go directly to their classroom. Staff will supervise and inform parents of the arrangements at the entry gates. When students in Grades 3-6 return, they must not be accompanied by par-ents onsite but go directly to their classroom. Dismissal – Initially, Prep children with no other sibling at school, will assemble on the hardcourts at 3.00 pm where they will be collected by parents who have assem-bled, socially distanced, on the hardcourt. Grade 1 chil-dren and younger siblings, will assemble on the

brentwood.park.ps@education.vic.gov.au www.brentwoodparkps.vic.edu.au

Tel (03) 9702 2022

1.5 metres

S ocial Distancing Upon Return to On-Site Schooling

hardcourt at 3:10 pm where they will be collected by parents, socially distanced, on the hardcourt. Grade 2

children and younger siblings will assemble on the hardcourt at 3:20 pm where they will be collected by parents, socially distanced, on the hardcourt. Given the social distancing re-quirements and the staggered dismissal times of 3.00 pm, 3.10 pm and 3.20 pm, parents and their child/children, hav-ing met on the hardcourts will be required to leave school grounds promptly.

When Grades 3 - 6, return, the children in those year levels will be dismissed at 3:30 pm. Parents who collect children should arrange a place to meet them off-site. Chirnside Walk, adjacent to our school’s northern boundary and the park surrounding the Brentwood Park Community Centre are suitable locations. Parents coming on-site and present-ing at reception is discouraged. Please communicate by phone or email. Parents can continue to communicate with their child’s teacher through the Showbie Pro platform. . Students – in the classrooms, it is not expected that social dis-tancing can be implemented, however, adherence to hygiene protocols can - hand washing and use of hand sanitiser. Student tables and seating will be ar-ranged to maximise distance be-tween students. Drinking directly from the drinking fountains is prohibited and students will be required to bring a water bottle. There won’t be any school as-semblies conducted nor buddy programs operating to reduce the number of students present at the one inside location. School Access –

Given our con-struction works, and with the maintenance of the social distanc-

ing requirements, access to the school will be lim-ited. The pedestrian gate at the front of the administration block is locked and when school recommences, students will

be required to access the school through the pedestrian gates adjacent to the kindergarten, Kambrya College and at the rear of the school. In the interests of good role modelling and safety, please do not enter through the car park boom gate. Supervised school crossings will initially operate from 08:25 -9:00 a.m. and 02:20 – 03:35 p.m. Loaned School iPads – School devices are to be retained until the week beginning Monday 22 June. This will ena-ble parents to continue to communicate with class teach-ers through Showbie Pro, for homework tasks to be ac-cessed and for the junior grades to access on-line reading programs in the absence of take home share books. Thank you for your continued support and patience dur-ing this time. We look forward to welcoming our stu-dents back to the classroom, however, if your child is ill or is feeling unwell, they must not attend school and medical advice should be sought. We understand that some families may feel anxious about this move back to classroom teaching and learning. I can assure you that this decision has been taken on the basis of the best health advice available to our state More information about the return to school and corona-virus (COVID-19) can be found on the Department’s website, which will continue to be updated: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/coronavirus.aspx We trust that we can enlist the understanding and support of parents in the actions we will be required to undertake during our phased Return to On-Site Schooling and dur-ing our buildings works. Jim Bell, principal

R emote Learning: Term 2 - Week 6

Staff will continue to work remotely and industri-ously on preparing a comprehensive learning and

teaching program, inclusive of READING, WRITING, SPELLING, MATHEMATICS, INQUIRY and SPE-CIALIST PROGRAMS for Grades 3 - 6 until face-to-face teaching resumes on 9 June! These programs continue to be released the evening prior and can also be accessed throughout the remainder of the week. Specialist programs continue to be released from the Monday of each week. In this week’s newsletter, we continue to feature remote learning within the Visual Arts program and the Per-forming Arts program. Again, some excellent work has been uploaded through the Showbie Pro platform to art teacher, Bree Stribbles. Kenneth Mills, perform-ing arts teacher, has also featured Years Prep, 3, 4, 5 and 6 utilising home made percussion in-struments to play rhythms. Videos of student work have been uploaded onto our school web-site! Please take the opportunity to enjoy!!

F acilities Update

With services relocated and major drainage and sewage pipes either relocated or laid, and the ground surface at the front of the school excavated, the unseasonably wet weather, in addition to impacting on progress, certainly

put the functionality of new drainage to the test!! The drainage system does work, despite the front of the school look-ing like a ploughed flood plain!! Although this wet weather has halted grading works, some above ground level work has commenced with the demoli-tion of the canopy over the front doors to the administration building! If the front of the school looked less welcoming before with the ground works, it certainly looks less welcoming now that the demolition works has commenced!!!

R educing the Risk COVID-19

The maintaining of social distancing and personal hygiene habits which includes washing hands thoroughly and practising good sneeze/cough etiquette are all measures we can all take to combat the spread of COVID-

19.

TO THE VALUED MEMBERS OF THE

BRENTWOOD PARK PRIMARY

SCHOOL

COUNCIL.

Jim Bell, Jenny Reid, Trish Shaw, Judy

Anderson, Marina Kesegic, Leonie Roberts,

Bhaskar Gaur, Jess Okirua, Urooj Haider,

Sadaf Qaiser, Maggie Ma, Lindy Penrose,

Pingping Qui and Nichole Campanaro.

For participating in your

very first school council

zoom meeting.

CONGRATULATIONS!

P LEASE DIRECT MONEY FOR EXCURSIONS, ETC TO YOUR CLASSROOM TEACHER - NOT TO THE OFFICE.

Please hand money and permission slip in sealed envelopes to classroom teacher first thing in the morning. By fol-lowing this process teachers are aware that your child will be attending the excursion and mark them off their lists. Money is collected by office staff and processed each morning and a receipt given back to teachers along with per-mission slips. All money is tallied and banked daily – no money is left on the premises. Please deliver cash in a sealed envelope with your child’s name and grade on the front by 9.30 a.m. If you have a number of children attending an excursion you can place all money and permission slips in the one envelope with children’s names and grades on the front and deliver to one of the children’s teachers. The office staff will be able to allocate money to the children’s particular items and distribute permission slips and receipts back to teachers. Enve-lopes are available at the office. We also have a new Qkr payment system on our Skoolbag app. If you download our Skoolbag app and Qkr payment app you can now pay for your child’s excursion on line.

All change will be delivered to the children in the afternoon. Re-imbursements will only be made under certain circumstances

Notices are sent out with a final collection time – please adhere to this time. All money and permission slips are required to be sent back by this date – otherwise your child will not be able to attend. This enables us to confirm bookings and numbers with bus companies and organisations we are visiting. Also we need to send details to the De-partment of Education Emergency Management for all excursions, camps, etc. We also need to accommodate students who will not be attending.

We would appreciate it if parents could please follow these processes.