Newsletter – Week 4, Term 2, 2022 – Message from Admin Team, Library – National Simultaneous, Library – 2022 Premier’s Reading Challenge, P&C General Meeting – Tonight via Zoom, Canteen – Covid impact on our Canteen, Cross Country, School Student Photos, Sausage Sizzle and Cake Stall on Election Day 21st May

Message from the Executive Administration Team

Dear parents and caregivers

We are continuing to experience increasing numbers of COVID in the school environment. I thank parents and caregivers for continuing to monitor for symptoms closely and keep children home and test should any develop. I empathise with our families isolating at home and send best wishes from the whole community for a smooth recovery.

As we come into cooler weather, it is also expected that cases of the flu and colds will also rise. Prior to the pandemic, it has always been the case that students should stay home when unwell to prevent sickness spreading. I realise that it isn’t always convenient for families and we all have work and family commitments. Now, more than ever, we do need students to attend school only when symptoms have resolved. We are doing our best to prevent the spread of illness and keep as many children at school as possible. As a school, we will exercise common sense in all situations and will consult with families as required on a case by case basis should your child be experiencing symptoms that are recurring and not deemed to be contagious by a health professional. There are no easy decisions in a pandemic, but every single one is made with the intention to keep school open for learning while also protecting the health of staff and students.

Free Rapid Antigen Tests: Over the past few days, a team of parent volunteers have been assisting the school to distribute the 20 free RATs for each student that have been provided by the WA Government. I can’t thank Ashe Seaton, Susan Havlin, Lauren Barendrecht and Natalie Ramsey from the P&C enough for springing into action at short notice to assist. I also thank every single parent who signed up for a shift to assist. In National Volunteer Week and with P&C Day on Friday, it is so timely to be able to share my gratitude for all that the P&C do. The final collection time run by the volunteers was today. Any RATs not collected by Kindy families will be sent to the classrooms to hand over at pick up or drop off time. Please contact the front office if you have not received your free RATs by the end of this week.

Learning Environment

UV Meter and Sun Smart Policy: I am thrilled to announce that after years in the making, we finally have our long awaited solar powered UV meter on site. We are awaiting its connection to the network but it is very exciting to be one of just 10 schools in WA who have a UV meter on school grounds. Just in time, the School Board has also endorsed our brand new Sun Smart Policy after almost a year of consultation. Initiated by a passionate presentation to the School Board by parents Suzie Turner and Lisa Oliver, the policy ensures that as a school and community we are using UV readings to guide decision making and we make sure everyone understand the risks of sun damage and how to protect themselves. Suzie, Lisa and physical education teacher, Kathy Watson, then worked together to develop the policy with input and feedback from staff, students and the School Board.

With one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, research shows that sun exposure in childhood is a key contributor to its development. Please take the time to view the new policy on the school website here. A key change that is included in the policy, is that wide brimmed hats are required to be worn by students with the only optional months being June and July when the UV index is at its lowest. If students do not have a wide brimmed hat, they will be redirected to a shaded area to protect them from the sun. Staff will commence raising awareness with students around the new policy and will support its implementation.

 

Community Engagement

Kiss and Drive: With the rainy days increasing into winter and the Kiss and Drive being used more frequently, I encourage all families to keep student safety at the fore. We have had a few near misses recently. On the school website, we have a new page with some key information to guide the use of both Kiss and Drive areas to keep children safe. You can find the page here. One of the most helpful things parents can do is to pull in as far forward as possible to ensure that queues don’t form across driveways and Grantham St, and never park in the bays and leave your car. Thank you for assisting to keep the area flowing safely.

Good Standing Policy: One of the functions of the School Board is to help formulate and review school policies. A policy review cycle is in place to guide this process and each meeting, the Board considers whether further reviews or changes need to be made to existing policies. Every school is required to have a good standing policy that aligns with the school behaviour management policy. If you have ‘good standing’, a student is following school agreements, reflecting school values and engaging in school positively.

The Good Standing Policy is reviewed every two years. Over the past several months a fairly significant re-write was undertaken to provide more clarity and a transparent process for students, staff and parents/carers to follow and keep the school environment safe. We follow a restorative model, with the intention to always give students the opportunity to reflect on decisions that have disrupted the education of themselves or others, impacting on their physical and/or mental health. However, we also need to have clear consequences when these opportunities have resulted in subsequent poor decisions.

Student voice has driven this re-write with the 2021 Student Representative Council providing the new ‘Three Point System’, process for potential automatic loss of good standing and the conditions under which good standing can be reinstated. I thank former WPS teacher Hannah Cox for working with the SRC last year and the staff and School Board for their input.

I encourage you to read the new policy here. Teachers will be commencing awareness of the new policy in the coming weeks and teachers will continue to send home reflection sheets to ensure home-school communication when a student has been asked to reflect on their behaviour. A healthy school culture is our shared responsibility and I thank parents and caregivers for working with us to guide our young people towards positive choices and upholding our values.

‘Collaborate, Connect, Communicate and Care’.

Yours in learning

The Senior Leadership Team

Tamara, Milani, Rachel, Stacey and Natalie