STUARTS POINT PUBLIC SCHOOL

7 Banksia Street Stuarts Point NSW 2441

T 6569 0627 F 6569 0534

E stuartspt-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Term 2 - Week 1 27th April 2020

A special welcome back for Term 2 in what are very different times! We hope all families had a safe and enjoyable holiday break and are coping with this new normal. Won't it be great when life gets a bit more certain again?

Last term saw us end in a very different way to what most of us are familiar with. Thank you to all students, parents and teachers who participated in our on-line annual Egg Drop challenge at the end of Term 1. We had a great time seeing all the contraptions that were made and posted to ClassDojo. You can check out the album on our website.

A big thank you to our Easter Bunny who, as an essential worker, was extremely busy on the last day of term, hopping around town making special deliveries to all our students. Thank you to the families who acknowledged the time and effort that went into this activity.

Over the holidays I put out a challenge for families to commemorate ANZAC day in their own special way. I was

very proud to see images posted of students dressed in uniform showing respect on this important day. Well done to everyone involved who showed citizenship. Lest we forget.

For the first two days of Term 2, staff have utilised the School Development Days to upskill in professional

learning to achieve the improvement measures in our School Plan. We have also built professional skills and capacity, with a range of on-line learning opportunities to support our students. I commend staff on the extra time and many hours out of school that is put into Professional Learning.

Our newsletter is being published early as I'd like to give you an update about how this term might look, in response to the announcements made last week that I communicated through ClassDojo and as a ‘News’ item on our website.

Week 1 and 2: School resumes for students on Wednesday 29th April. As was the case at the end of Term 1, our school will be offering remote learning for all students and supervision at school for the children of essential workers. Parents will be encouraged to keep their children at home. For families with no other option, school will remain open. This is to assist us to maintain social distancing at school and to support our efforts in providing a safe working environment for our staff

in line with the guidelines put together by NSW Department of Education.

Staff have already prepared the next ‘Learning from Home’ pack which contains a range of activities for you to continue

to support your child in their learning journey. These are available to be collected from school from Tuesday 28th April 2020 between the hours of 9am-3pm. The format is slightly different from last term as activities have been designed to fit with our current scope and sequence documents and syllabus for all Key Learning Areas. Staff will also phone each family on this date to provide clarification.

This arrangement will continue for the first two weeks of Term 2.

Week 3: Children will be attending school one day per week. During this phase, parents will be encouraged to keep their children at home except on their allocated day of face-to-face learning. Families who need to send their children to school every day may continue to do so and no child will be turned away. Please note:

About a quarter of the school's students are expected tobe on site at any one time.

Children won't necessarily be in their own classroom normay they have their usual classroom teacher.

Whether at home or at school, children will be engagingin a single unit of work.

Teachers will devise a roster staggering student returnsbased upon responses to the parent survey.

Future weeks: This will be increased in a staged way (two days, three days) in the hope that all children will be back at school full time by Term 3.

If you require any further information, don’t hesitate to contact school or alternatively, check out the Advice for Families information provided by the Department on its website. Please also view the attachment ‘A Managed Return to school – Guidelines for Families’. Please ensure you monitor our school website for up to date information. Remember to check out the News section, Albums, Newsletter and the 'Learning from Home' tab.

All families are invited to design a Growth Mindset mantra. A mantra is an affirmation to motivate and inspire you to be your best self. Its purpose is to

provide motivation and encouragement to you when you need to focus your mind to achieve a goal. Post these to Class Stories

when complete. All entries will go into the draw to win a prize - have fun learning!

Again, thank you for your patience and understanding as we support our communities through this unprecedented health situation. We will continue to keep you updated and informed on what the operational model will look like for Term 2.

Thanks for your continued support. Tonya M Worling

Merit Awards

Angel, Koda, Bianca, Tallow, Tamryn, Leon

Jai, Adelaide, Chanelle

Please help your child remember to read every night

and sign their reading log.

Sport House Water Bottle Winner: Wheaton

Sportsmanship: Lenaya, Kimberly, Leon, Scott

100% Attendance:T1: Liam H, Olivia, Rhys, Aimee

Congratulations to the students who have reached ‘Silver’

level. These will be announced at our next virtual assembly. Stay tuned for our ‘pop-up’ reward. Thanks to all our STARs – Students Taking Action and Responsibility!

Messages

Staff need to see evidence of student learning for attendance.

Please make sure you post your learning to ClassDojo each day.

Social Distancing Measures: Our front gate on Banksia

Street will be the only point of access into our school as per arrangements from last term. While we appreciate all our wonderful volunteers, now is not the time for parents and community members to be entering the school. With that in mind, we request parents drop off and pick up from the front gate, and respect social distancing measures.

A message posted recently on social media that was worth sharing

Parent Request: I would really appreciate if families could respond to

these short questions to help guide our planning. You

may message your responses via Class Dojo or phone

the school office.

1. On Tuesday 28th April parents are asked to collect

their child's Week 1/2 learning package from school

between 9am and 3pm. We will be practicing social

distancing and this may cause some minor delays.

ARE YOU ABLE TO COLLECT THIS PACKAGE ON

TUESDAY DURING THIS TIME FRAME?

IF NOT, WHEN DO YOU PLAN ON COLLECTING IT?

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU NEED AN

ALTERNATIVE PUT IN PLACE FOR COLLECTION.

2. Parents are encouraged to keep children at home in

Weeks 1 and 2 but, for families with no other option,

schools remain open.

DOES YOUR CHILD NEED TO COME TO SCHOOL?

PLEASE STATE WHAT DAYS:

(WEEK 1: WED, THURS, FRI)

(WEEK 2: MON, TUES, WED, THURS, FRI).

3. From the start of Week 3 when children return to

school for one day a week, we will do our best to

accommodate each family's needs. Please list your

preferences:

WOULD YOU PREFER: MON, TUES, WED, THURS.

IF YOU DON'T MIND WHAT DAY, PLEASE LET US

KNOW.

IF YOU DO NOT INTEND TO SEND YOUR CHILD,

PLEASE LET US KNOW.

Wednesday 29th April – school is only open for

families who need it.

Families are encouraged to keep their children at

home wherever possible.

Only minimal supervision is provided. Students are

not in their regular classes.

Whether at home or at school, all students will be

working on the one ‘Learning Package’

These arrangements will continue for Week 1 & 2

until Friday 8 May.

Students will then return to school for one day per

week, this will start on Monday 11 May.

All families will be contacted to confirm which day

your child/children will be attending.

All of this information is contained in ‘A Managed

Return to school – Guidelines for Families’ which

is attached.

Please also see the Advice for Families information

provided by the Department on its website

FISH Award Make their Day