Dear Families,

I would like to take this opportunity to share with everyone a special blessing for Easter.  This year will be recorded as a significant marker in the history of the world, and while we will be distracted by the crisis at hand it is probably worthwhile to not forget to celebrate the season and the traditions that belong to our faith story or the simple family traditions that you still keep as a family.

From a school perspective this holiday period has been one where we have waited in anticipation of very changed circumstances for us all.  Can I commend the staff for the efforts and extra time that they have put in both before and during the break, and in particular my outstanding leadership team who have been meeting online almost everyday as we responded to Government and DOSCEL directives and action points.

You would be now aware of the need to essentially lock down school sites and move into a Remote Learning phase for at least Term 2.  The staff have embraced this idea and although I know we will have plenty of issues we need to work through, it is also a chance for more positive opportunities to present themselves.  Staff will be challenged to work in an online space, students will be given more responsibility for their own learning, while parents will experience first hand the learning joys and challenges faced by their children.  With many staff also having their own children at home during this time, we will walking the home schooling journey nervously with you.

This past week I have reached out to parents in the community to act as a reference group as we confront this crisis.  If you would like to contribute please contact me via email.  Thanks to those parents who have already indicated they are available to act as a sounding board or provide feedback.

Attached to this newsletter are two documents: A letter to families explaining some Remote Learning considerations as well as document from DOSCEL being a Parents Guide to Remote Learning.  Both document are also linked in the COVID-19 section of the school website.

So as we prepare to celebrate Easter, and joyous welcome a Risen Jesus this Easter Sunday, may we look to next term with hope and strive be be the 'Light of Christ' to the most important people in our school community - our children.

Keep safe.

Kind regards,

Dave

Ollie has just had his first birthday and he is really missing everyone.  He gets excited on his walks when he spots little people ahead, but it is interesting when you get the sense when we get closer that he knows they are not is school buddies.  

We had big plans to celebrate "Ollie's First School Anniversary" so we might still come up with something creative as a school community - maybe we all might have hot dogs for lunch on that day!

So please follow the Health Advice of "STAY HOME, STAY SAFE" as poor Ollie would be devastated if anything tragic happened in our community that could have been avoided.

On a postive note, the school closure scenario has enabled our building program to gather speed quickly.  If you have been out exercising you would have noticed some action on the school site as the Admin Relocation project starts. We are also hoping to commence (and complete) the renovation of the back basketball court and garden area while the school is closed, while also providing work to local small businesses looking to maintain their workflow during the economic downturn.

Remote Learning has thrown us without choice into an online learning environment, while for most families having our children live in an online space is not something new.  Remote Learning will require families to be vigilant of what their children are doing online, something that we should be already doing.  We encourage families to spend some time together working through the resources created by the eSafety Commissioner available at https://www.esafety.gov.au/

We also strongly recommend that parents make themselves very familiar with the many terrific parent resources so that you are taking everyone possible proactive step to ensure your child is a safe consumer of online resources.

Also on our school website we will continue to add resources in the COVID-19 section, and helpful tips & tricks.  We ask parents to ensure they spend some time learning about the features of the GAFE (Google Apps for Education) products in particular Google Classroom.  We have included a short Youtube clip on the website to get you started.

We look forward to the Year 3-6 students taking advantage of Remote Learning to explore GAFE products like 'Sites' as they learn independently without the adults getting in their way.  Encourage your child to explore and share what they have created with their teachers.