It has been a pleasant change in the weather, and we continue to navigate our way through the period of high caseloads. Please do not hesitate in emailing updates on the weekends or after hours as it supports getting information out to close contacts.
It is also important that parents reinforce to children that there is no stigma attached to testing positive or being in isolation and it is great to see children returning to school. I also realise that the normal cold and flu season has started and that not every cough is linked to COVID.
At an operational level it has and will be challenging backfilling staff who have been forced to isolate, with similar challenges by all schools. The Admin Team have stepped in with both Mrs Holst Marsh and Mr Carder backfilling classes. I have been concentrating on the big challenge of teaching physical education to the early years, which is not unlike herding cats.
The Department has outlined easing some restrictions for schools at the start of next term, which will be outlined next week. We have made the decision to reschedule the ANZAC assembly until the 29th of April, which is the first Friday of term 2 to include students and parents.
School Development Day
Students will return to school for Term 2 on Wednesday 27th April as Tuesday 26th April is a school development day.
P&C / Parent Rep Meeting
Scheduled for Tuesday 5th April at 8.45 am in the undercover area. It will be a chance for Parent Reps to meet with the P&C and myself, finally. I will be outlining school planning for next term and will also open the floor for any queries people may have.
Before School Play
If students come to school before 8.30am they are to sit on the seats around the library and wait for a member of Admin to dismiss them. It is not a time for students to be playing on equipment or playing ball games. After being dismissed students can play in the quadrangle as a member of Admin will be on duty. Richmond is one of the few schools with before school play which will continue to be supported and supervised.
Mid-term Holidays
Time with the family is and should be a priority and I realise holiday breaks do not always coincide with school holidays. As per the Education Department Policy parents must seek permission to take students out of school for holidays during term time. There is a standard letter that will be sent outlining that the absence will be marked as unauthorised and that teachers are not required to provide work for students with an unauthorized absence.
A message from the Environmental Team
This is a photo of all the lunchboxes that the Environment Team collected today.
Only five had names on and the remainder are in lost property.
Could parents please ensure their child’s name is on their property.
The team are going to each class to let the children know that if this continues to happen, they may have to write a paragraph stating why they should have their
lunch box returned.
We are extremely pleased with the reduction of the amount of discarded rubbish around our school but we can still improve on this by taking our rubbish home.
Regards
The Environment Team.
Fraser, Ashling, Luca, Asha & Joseph
