Dear families,
It has been wonderful to have all children back at school learning together. There is now a real buzz around the schoolyard, and teachers have been busily setting up the students in their classes for success in their learning.
As you would by now be aware, we are beginning to see some positive covid-19 cases in some class groups. It is vitally important that families remain vigilant in regard to their children and when any symptoms-however mild-emerge, for the directive of the Chief Public Health Officer, Dr Nicola Spurrier and have a PCR test. Where there are multiple children in a family, if one is being tested, it makes sense to have everyone tested. We live in challenging times and we very much understand the disruption to daily life this causes. We continue to follow the health advice and our priority is to keep all children and the staff of St Francis as safe as we can. To all children and families having to isolate at home because of covid, our thoughts and prayers go with you all, and we look forward to your return to school very soon.
I would like to publicly acknowledge our amazing teaching and administration staff, who are working hard to ensure that all children and safe, well and learning successfully. They are working in quite challenging circumstances at present, with a number of them operating on “test to stay” protocols, as well as managing learning continuity for children who are having to isolate because of covid, while teaching face-to-face. It is my absolute privilege to be working with them all!
One unfortunate flow on effect of covid cases at school is that under current directions, students who are deemed classroom close contacts should avoid all extra-curricular activities for 7 days. This has meant the postponement of a number of sporting activities for the next couple of weeks. We sincerely hope things settle down soon!
Usually, at the beginning of each school year, we would host a ‘meet the teacher’ evening in the first few weeks of the year. With current restrictions in place, we are unable to have these gatherings in person, so we will be hosting these evenings via a Microsoft Teams video conference, next Tuesday evening. There will be 2 sessions:
R-2 classes-5.00pm-5.30pm
3-6 classes-5.30pm-6.00pm.
Families will receive via Seesaw, a link to join these meetings, along with a simple ‘how to join’ note. I strongly encourage you to join the meetings to hear from your child’s class teachers. There will be limited opportunity for interaction during the meetings and so if you have questions, please email them to the class teacher.
Hopefully by now, families will have had the opportunity to view the video series on teaching reading, that have been sent home over the last week. At St Francis, we are committed to learning improvement, and to implementing curriculum practices that are aligned with what the evidence tells us is best practice. Our staff have been undertaking significant professional learning in recent times, and have been working hard to refine and implement our approach to the teaching of Literacy. We look forward to continuing to share our learning with you, and to seeing significant growth in the student’s learning!
With covid-19 impacting our ability to host large public gatherings, this year’s Annual General Meeting will need to be conducted ‘virtually.’ Over the coming few weeks, we will be providing to the community, and AGM booklet with all of the relevant reports and strategic plans, including our Master plan for building improvements. Additionally we will be calling for nominations to the School Board for the 2022 school year. Active involvement in the School Board is a fantastic way to support your child’s learning and well-being, and it allows a greater insight to the workings of the school community! This year, there are 4 positions available and shortly, you will receive a letter outlining the process for nominating and voting. Please give strong consideration to nominating and contributing to our wonderful school community!
Have a great week everyone,
God Bless,
Phil
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