CHELTENHAM EAST PRIMARY SCHOOL

Website: http://www.cheltenhameast.vic.edu.au Email: cheltenham.east.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

Silver Street Principal: Mr Wayne Bach Cheltenham 3192 Assistant Principal: Mrs Leisel Ward Phone: 03 9583 5746

Weekly Newsletter No. 13 Friday May 15, 2020

DIARY DATES:

Monday May 25 - Pupil free day Tuesday May 26 - Classes resume on site at school for Foundation, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students Monday June 8 - PUBLIC HOLIDAY – QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY Tuesday June 9 - Classes resume on site at school for Grade 3, 4, 5 and 6 children Friday June 26 - Last day of term 2 – early dismissal at 2.30 pm Monday July 13 - Term 3 commences

FROM THE PRINCIPAL I sincerely thank the school community for their support of the online/remote learning arrangements that have been in place for term two and I look forward to your continued support as we phase back into face to face teaching. As has been the case throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation we will continue to update you as information comes to hand. Every member of staff at Cheltenham East PS is invested in your child’s education. We have been extremely pleased by the parent support and the desire to be in partnership with us to deliver the best educational experience we can in these trying times. We have said it before and we will say it again, we couldn’t do this without you! Your children have benefitted from your willingness to give this a go… and our teachers can’t thank you enough for your investment and support in the remote learning partnership. Most importantly this has been a wonderful opportunity for parents to get involved and show your children how much you value their education. What a wonderful outcome in such trying times!

COVID19

The Premier of Victoria, Mr Daniel Andrews and the Minister for Education, Mr James Merlino have announced a phased return to face to face teaching through the following timeline: Monday 25th May Pupil Free Day. Teachers will return to school and prepare for the resumption of face to face learning. No work will be provided online and no remote classes will occur on this day. There will be no before or after care service on this day.

Tuesday 26 May Year Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 students will return to school on this day and commence face to face learning with social distancing measures in place.

Tuesday 9 June All Year 3-6 students return to face to face teaching in the classroom on this day. All remote learning will cease as of Friday June 6th.

SCHOOL CONTACT INFORMATION: Sentral parent portal: http://sentral.cheltenhameast.vic.edu.au/portal

Flexibuzz App, email cheltenham.east.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

Please contact your teacher each day your child is sick and cannot participate in online learning, giving child’s

name, grade, reason & date of absence

2

Remote Learning and Transition Back

When students begin to return there will be a period when some struggle to settle back into school. Some will be over excited to see their friends and others will be distant. The social and emotional health of students will be given a high priority as they settle back into a routine. Foundation – Yr 2 students who elect to remain at home will not be supported by the school unless there are unique circumstances We anticipate a rise in the number of students 3-6 attending once their siblings are back, however we will maintain remote learning for them, and they cannot expect to receive direct instruction, until 9th June when all students resume. Teachers cannot be expected to undertake the two roles at once. The children of teachers are entitled to resume at the school at which they are enrolled from the 26th May. There will be no assembly-type gatherings until further notice. There will be no staff gatherings until further notice. There will be no inter-school sport until further notice. There will be no camps until further notice. PLEASE NOTE – RETURN TO SCHOOL GUIDELINES There will be more information coming out to parents in the coming days about arrangements for the return to school of students.

Because the outside bubbler taps will be out of

bounds, all students are requested to bring their

own drink bottles (these can be refilled at school

if necessary).

Students should be observing social-distancing

of 1.5 metres if practical.

Students are not to engage in contact activities

or activities where contact is likely.

No trade or other visiting personnel are permitted

on site unless an urgent need exists.

There will be extra times during class for

children to sanitise their hands and make sure

they are practising good hygiene.

Information around the pickup and drop off of children will be in the form of a letter to parents in the next couple of days through School Dojo. This will explain

the detailed arrangements for the resumption of school for the Foundation to Year 2 students.

Social Distancing All staff will be responsible for their own social distancing and out-of-classroom social distancing, wherever students congregate. Within classrooms it is the responsibility of the class teacher to implement social distancing as well as can be managed in the classroom environment. To support the health and wellbeing of all our students and staff, our school will continue an enhanced cleaning routine and will encourage frequent hand washing.

If you child is ill or is feeling unwell, they must not attend school. They must remain home and seek medical advice.

School Values

The children will continue working closely together through the coming winter months. This is a great time to reinforce our school values of RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, COURTESY and CO-OPERATION with all children. Filling someone’s bucket of kindness should be a priority for all children and adults. Helping others is to be encouraged by everyone and can be done in a variety of ways.

The Importance of Play During these last weeks of home learning, play is a really important part of the children’s development away from the screen of technology.

Positive and purposeful play promotes healthy bodies and healthy brains. There are numerous research studies linking active play and academic success. Furthermore, exercise increases the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain and this is important for reducing stress or anxiety. Kids NEED to play in order to develop in every way possible to be their best! Play allows children to master their fears, try new roles and expand their imagination and worldviews; play helps kids develop social skills, including conflict resolution skills and

self-advocacy skills. Play also helps children develop

patience, a sense of belonging and essential communication skills. Make sure your children are having a break and being active and creative with their free time.

3

Acknowledging our Education Support Staff

This Saturday May 16 is Education Support Personnel day and it is timely to acknowledge and thank our Education Support staff for the many ways in which they support our teaching staff and students at this school.

They do an amazing amount of work behind the scenes to ensure the school runs smoothly and I would like to acknowledge their dedication, passion and commitment to making our school a better place. Thank you so much to Sue Chase, Robyn Kimpton and Belinda Ricardo in the office and Lisa Nicholson, Deb Butler, Natasha Harvie and Divya Rai our classroom Integration Aides for their massive contribution to our wonderful school.

Thought for the Week Wayne Bach Principal

CEPS KIDS ARE FRIENDLY KIDS

This term we are working on RESPECT

and next week we are looking at Voice

Along with body language, learning how we should use our voice is very important. Often it is not the words we say, but how we say them, that really lets people know how we feel. We can use the tone and volume of our voice to convey lots of messages. Just think how many different ways you can say the word “no”. Think about the way you use your voice to show people that you are friendly. Even when you have to say something that is difficult or you have to disagree with someone, you can use your voice in a way that is fair and friendly, not mean or unfriendly. Perhaps in your online class next week you can practise using your voice in many different ways and see what messages it sends.

4

GRADE 5 & 6 - MATHS OLYMPIAD

Even while we are all learning remotely, 28 enthusiastic Year 5 & 6 students are extending themselves by participating in this year’s Maths Olympiad. They have already completed one of the challenges and are training via a weekly Google Classroom Meet. It is great to see these students taking a risk and engaging with problem solving tasks. The APSMO Maths Olympiads is a competition for students in years 5 and 6 of primary schools and years 7 and 8 of secondary schools from around Australia and New Zealand. It is aimed at challenging participants' maths problem solving abilities. In this newsletter, there is a copy of some example questions from the APSMO website. Challenge yourself – can you find solutions to these problems? Answers will be at the end of the newsletter.

Have a look at the next page and see if you can solve the puzzles

5

6

7

8