Newsletter 7 – Week 7, Term 2, 2021 – Message from Admin Team, Students Do Not Attend School this Friday, Faction Cross Country Carnival, Cyber Safety Education Session for Parents, Library, School Song, Student Update Form 2021, Unpaid Billing Items, Canteen, Triple P Positive Parenting Program, Mark Lee School Holiday Indoor Soccer Clinics

Message from the Executive Administration Team

Dear parents and caregivers

In a large school such as Wembley PS, we have staff departing and beginning throughout the year for a vast range of reasons. Last week, we sadly said goodbye (for now) to Mrs Suzi Hollier (Room 7) and Ms Aislinn Chinen (Room 28) as they went on maternity leave to have their first babies. Both Suzi and Aislinn have been long standing members of the Wembley community and will be greatly missed. We are thrilled for the both of them as they embrace this next chapter in their lives. Both teachers have made an enormous impact on the lives of students and staff at the school over a long period of time. We look forward to meeting their bundles of joy when they arrive and welcoming them back to the classroom when they are ready. I know you’ll join me in wishing them well. As one door closes, another opens and Mrs Jessica Ralph (Room 7) and Ms Jessica Stacey (Room 28) have joined the team. Please make our new members of staff welcome as they settle into their roles and get to know the community.

COVID-19 – The recent outbreak in Melbourne serves as a timely reminder to all of us about the importance of being COVID-safe. Following our snap lockdown in April, the Department of Education relaxed its restrictions back to pre-lockdown level with no masks required but still following Phase 4 Operating Guidelines.

To make it transparent for all, the process is that the State Government release their guidelines to the public, and then the Department of Education WA, in consultation with the Chief Health Officer, provide internally published guidelines and FAQs for schools that address our context. The guidelines state:

• All students are expected to attend school, except for those students medically referred to learn from home.

• This means students are either:
  • at school;
  • unwell and should stay at home;
  • medically referred to learn from home; or
  • recorded as absent if they do not attend.

• In these operating guidelines and FAQs, venue capacity limits refer to the following:
  • For events/activities that are seated (in their entirety), the 100% venue capacity rule applies to adult attendees;
  • For events/activities that are standing only, or standing AND seated, the two square metre per adult rule applies.

• Physical distancing measures still apply, including venue capacity limits and maintaining 1.5 metres between adults.

• Good hygiene practices should be promoted and maintained.

• Parents/carers and visitors may access school sites, with physical distancing and good hygiene practices applied.

As a large school with 850 students, 100 staff and hundreds of parents dropping off and picking up students we are doing our best to make parents and the community feel welcome at the school but also safe and physically distanced. The verandahs, due to their expansive and mostly outdoor nature, will continue to be open to encourage parents and caregivers to say hello to teachers at the classroom door and make drops off easier, with physical distancing in place. We also have recommenced parent spectators to events and volunteers in Kindy and Pre-primary.

While the current operating guidelines are in place, opening up the classrooms for parents to enter at drop-off means that we would not be able to adhere to the two square metre rule. The classrooms are an indoor confined space where adults would be standing in close proximity to each other should they be opened for all parents and caregivers. While I can understand your frustration, we have seen cases in schools in Melbourne this week so we do need to remain vigilant. I ask you to bear with us as we navigate the pandemic together and all do our part to keep our schools safe. In time it is expected that we will move to Phase 5 and schools can return to pre-pandemic operations. As always we will be guided by the latest health advice. We all hope this will be sooner than later.

 

Teaching and Learning

During Reconciliation Week, classrooms are engaging in lots of rich learning and thinking around the histories, culture and language of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Many classrooms have created their own Acknowledgement of Country and in Year 1, Room 8 has been learning how to count to 10 in Noongar language. While we are shining a spotlight on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture this week, as a school we have commenced work on a Reconciliation Action Plan and will continue to make the voices and histories of First Nations people heard and valued, this week and every week. We look forward to working with the community on this journey towards reconciliation.

Year 1 Room 8 Book of Noongar Numbers to 10

PP2 performing Acknowledgment of Country

 

Room 24 collaboratively developed Acknowledgment of Country

Community Engagement

Tonight we are hosting our free cyber safety education session for parents at 6:30pm. Registrations are essential, please book your place here. Following the session, attendees will have access to the ySafe Cyber Safety Parent Hub with further resources and help to assist parents.

We look forward to welcoming parents as spectators to our annual Cross Country run on Thursday morning! We have had lots of eager students join cross country training over the past few weeks so we are ready and primed and the weather is looking fine. Thank you to Jon Bowman and Kathy Watson for their work in organising the event and supporting students in their efforts.

Collaborate, Connect, Communicate.

Yours in learning

Executive Admin Team

Tamara, Alan, Rachel and Melinda