25 Jan 2022
Dear families,
Welcome to the 2022 school year! It is so exciting to be in the final countdown to seeing our children return to school. I hope that all families enjoyed an exciting, fun and restful break doing activities with loved ones that bring you joy.
Return to school
Our children from Kindergarten – Year 6 will commence school on Tuesday 1 February 2022.
A COVID-safe return to school
We will start 2022 with a layered approach to COVID-smart measures that have been developed in partnership with NSW Health to help to minimise transmissions at school. The health and wellbeing of our students and staff remain our priority, and these measures are designed to help to keep our school open and our students learning in the classroom.
While this is not going to be a normal start to the school year, we know that being together in the classroom is the most effective way for students to learn and grow. Your child's relationship with their teacher is important, but as we manage potential disruptions to staffing due to COVID-19, they may get to meet more teachers than usual.
Rapid antigen testing
We will distribute packs of rapid antigen test (RAT) kits for all students and staff at the start of Term 1.
The use of RAT kits is an important step to support the health and wellbeing of our students and staff. They are a quick and easy screening tool to help detect COVID-19. It is a simple process of placing a nose or throat swab in a chemical solution, which is put onto a scanning device. Results can be ready within 15 minutes. Use of RAT kits is highly recommended but not mandatory.
Instructions are included in the kits detailing how to use the tests, check the results and dispose of the tests safely.
Students are requested to undertake a RAT prior to arriving at school for the first day of the 2022 school year on Tuesday 1 February. In this week, students are also encouraged to take a RAT on Thursday 3 February. From the following week, all students are requested to undertake a surveillance RAT each Monday and Wednesday each week until further notice or if your child is displaying symptoms.
How and when do I pick up the RAT kits?
RAT kits for every child can be collected from the drop-off and pick-up zone on Phillips Avenue on Friday 28 January 12:00pm – 3:00pm and Monday 31 January 9:00am – 10:30am. Please pull into the drop-off and pick-up zone and a staff member will deliver the kit directly to your car. There will be no need for families to exit their vehicle. Adults are requested to wear a mask when collecting the kit.
If an adult from your family is unable to collect a RAT kit during these times, please contact our office on 4229 2096 from 11:30am on Friday 28 January to organise an alternate time.
School staff will not be administering the rapid antigen tests to students.
What to do if your child tests positive for COVID
If a student or staff member receives a positive RAT test, they need to:
· record the positive RAT result through the Services NSW app or website.
· notify the school of the positive RAT or PCR test result as soon as possible. Reports of a positive test can be made by:
- texting our school mobile on 0477 939 315
- phoning our office on 4229 2096 or
- emailing our school on wollongwst-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
· follow NSE health advice to isolate for 7 days.
Morning drop-off procedures for students in Years 1-6
Children can be dropped off at school via the Phillips Ave gate from 8:30am. We encourage children to arrive as close to 9am as possible. The Crown St gate will also be open from 8:30am for children who walk to school.
A teacher will greet children between 8:30am-9:00am each morning at the eastern Phillips Ave gate (near driveway) and will direct students straight to their classrooms.
Afternoon pick-up procedures for students in Years 1-6
For parents/carers who collect their child by vehicle: Parents/carers are asked to pull their car in to the drop-off and pick-up zone in Phillips Avenue to collect their child. When you arrive, staff will call your child to enter your vehicle. Parents/carers are asked to place a sign with your child’s name on it on the front passenger window to assist staff in calling your child when you pull in. Parents/carers are asked to only exit their vehicle for essential reasons, such as to support a younger child to be safely secured in a car seat. Masks must be worn by all parents/carers who exit their vehicle.
For parents who collect their child by foot: Parents/carers are asked to wait outside the appropriate gate, wear a mask and ensure that 1.5m distance is maintained from others at all times. As soon as you have collected your child, parents/carers are asked to leave immediately.
Year 1 and Year 2: Students will finish school at 2:45pm. They will leave school via the western Phillips Ave gate (in front of bottom COLA).
Year 3 and Year 4: Students will finish school at 3:00pm. They will leave school via the eastern Phillips Ave gate (next to driveway).
Year 5 and Year 6: Students will finish school at 3:00pm. They will leave school via the western Phillips Ave gate (in front of bottom COLA).
Support Unit: Students will finish school at 2:30pm. They will leave school via the eastern Phillips Ave gate (next to driveway).
For families with siblings with different finish times, the family can leave school together at the time of 2:45pm.
Children will be able to exit our Crown St gate. Parents/carers are asked to inform their child's teacher of this arrangement, so that our school can ensure your child is at the correct gate for pick-up. Year 1 and 2 stduents can be collected from the Crown St gate at 2:45pm and students in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 can be collected fromt he Crown St gate at 3:00pm.
Students who walk home unaccompanied by an adult will be dismissed at 3:00pm.
Students attedning after school care will be supervised by a teacher in the lower playground until 3:00pm, when they will be released into the care of Big Fat Smile.
Drop-off and pick-up procedures for our children in Kindergarten
For our children in Kindergarten, school will commence at 9:10am to start the school year. Our children will meet our Kindergarten teachers in our lower playground area on Phillips Avenue (near the playground equipment). On the first day of school, two parents/carers may accompany their child onto school grounds. School for our new Kindergarten children will conclude at 12pm for their first week of school. At 12pm, our Kindergarten teachers will walk our children to the Phillips Ave gate to meet parents/carers. Our youngest learners will participate in valuable transition activities this first week.
Keeping school groups together
As we return to school, students will be kept in their cohorts to minimise opportunities for transmission of COVID-19. This means minimising interaction between students on school grounds and keeping cohorts together where possible.
Play-times at recess and lunch will be staggered for the different cohorts at our school.
Kindergarten, Years 5 and 6
· Recess: 10:40am – 11:10am
· Lunch: 12:50pm – 1:30pm
Our children in Kindergarten will play in our lower playground. Our children in Years 5 and 6 will play in our assembly area, basketball court and adjacent grassed area.
Years 1, 2, 3 and 4 and support unit
· Lunch: 11:00am – 11:40am
· Recess: 1:30pm – 2:00pm
Our children in Years 1 and 2 and the support unit will play in our lower playground. Our children in Years 3 and 4 will play in our assembly area, basketball court and adjacent grassed area.
Unwell at school
Any student or staff member who is unwell and/or displays symptoms of COVID-19 will be asked to go home and stay at home until they can complete a RAT or PCR test.
· If symptoms continue, they should stay at home and take another RAT in 24 hours or have a PCR test.
· If the second RAT or initial PCR test result is negative, the student or staff member can return to school.
What happens when a student or staff member from our school tests positive for COVID-19?
Under the new close contact rules, schools are no longer included in contact tracing. I will inform the school community when there is a positive case in our school and advise families on public health advice, including monitoring for symptoms.
Use of surgical masks
All school staff will be required to wear surgical masks indoors. No vented or cloth masks will be worn.
Primary school students are strongly recommended to wear well-fitted masks indoors.
Masks are also strongly encouraged in outdoor settings where you cannot physically distance. Children can remove their mask when eating, exercising or playing a musical instrument.
Visitors on school sites and vaccinations
No parents, carers or visitors will be allowed on school site until further notice with the following exceptions:
· Two parents or carers are allowed to accompany their child into school on their first day of Kindergarten.
· Visitors supporting school operations and curriculum delivery must be fully vaccinated. This includes parent helpers in the classroom.
· Allied health partners for the wellbeing of students must be fully vaccinated. This includes speech therapists and occupational therapists.
Please phone our office on 4229 2096 at our gate prior to entering school grounds.
All staff on school sites are required to be fully vaccinated, including having their booster when eligible.
We strongly encourage our students and their families to consider vaccination when eligible.
Ventilation
We will continue to follow NSW Health ventilation guidelines that natural ventilation is the most effective measure so we will maximise fresh air flow in learning spaces through opening doors and windows.
This approach is strongly supported by expert advice. Where natural ventilation is not sufficient, mechanical ventilation and/or air purification will be used and we will continue to use outdoor settings where possible.
Cleaning
We continue to have enhanced cleaning focusing on high-touch and high-traffic areas.
Physical distancing
We will continue to follow physical distancing guidelines and maintain 1.5 metres distance wherever possible.
School activities and events
To start 2022, many school activities such as singing, dancing and sport will occur in a COVID safe manner. Events, such as our school captain and SRC induction assembly and parent information sessions, will be moved to a digital platform. Whole school events, such as our annual P&C Welcome BBQ will be put on hold.
On our school website are many events for 2022 that can be added to diaries. We hope that by publishing these dates now, it will support families to be informed and aware of upcoming events. Please note that new dates for events will be added to the calendar as they arise. Please note that some events may be altered, postponed or cancelled to comply with current COVID guidelines.
Staffing
This year, we warmly welcome some new staff members to our school. Welcome to Miss Laura Robb who will be teaching a Stage 1 class in 2021. We also welcome Ms Kate Walker to our school as an Early stage 1co-teacher and creative arts teacher. We welcome Ms Cheryl Bridges, a specialist teacher to support students learning English for the first time and a Burmese speaking school learning and support officer, Ms Maung Tui Muk. We also welcome back Mrs Shelley Donaldson and Mrs Natasha Kandilas Feld from maternity leave.
I am so excited to announce our staff line-up for 2022.
Teachers
KC Elena Carling
KG Sarah Garner
K/6C Chris Sidnoi and Sally Clough
K/6L Salim Layoun
K/6B Olivia Bormann
1/2D Martina Davies
1/2S Suzy Duncan
1/2R Laura Rutledge-Robb
3/4H Jenine Hickey
3/4M Matthew Bell
5/6B Annemarie Bowditch
5/6H Stephanie Hopper and Chris Sidoni
COVID ILSP/Teacher librarian – Russell Bailey
ES1 Literacy and numeracy co-teacher / RFF (Creative Arts) – Kate Walker
S1 Literacy and numeracy co-teacher / RFF (PE) – Kurtis Bailey
S3 co-teacher (IT) - Natasha Kandilas-Feld
S1 co-teacher/RFF - Shelley Donaldson
S2 co-teacher/Interventionist - Janet Pezzutto
EAL/D teacher – Cheryl Bridges
Primary Mathematics Specialist Teacher - Stephanie Hopper
EAL/D Education Leader – Caitlin Park
Instructional Leader – Kristy Bennis and Kristy Horner
School Psychologist
Olivia Blackmore
School Learning Support Officers
Nour Al Ahmad
Naheda Baghdadi
Dawn Berki
Michelle Greer
Caroline Kettlewell
Viena Tinao
Courtney Webber
Rachael Ebens
Treigh Stewart
Blake Dowel
Maung Tui Muk
Community Hub Leaders
Maree Szalla
Samantha Rudd
Administration
School Administrative Manager - Teresa Trigg
School Administrative Officer - Alison Kirk
School Administrative Officer - Lynne Beddingfield
General Assistants
Andrew Beattie
John Lochhead
Canteen
I am thrilled to announce that in 2022 our canteen will be operated by Fresh Start canteens. A new canteen menu will be distributed shortly. Our canteen will be operational each Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I encourage all families to support our new canteen operator.
Parent information sessions
In the coming weeks, our school will be holding parent information sessions. These sessions provide an opportunity for families to meet their child’s teacher and to find out about the learning that will be happening in 2022. I encourage all parents/carers to attend these important information sessions. Due to COVID restrictions, the sessions will be held via Zoom. Your child’s class teacher will share with you the Zoom link in the coming weeks.
Monday 14 February 8:30am – Early stage 1 information session
Tuesday 15 February 8:30am – Stage 1 information session
Wednesday 16 February 8:30am – Stage 2 information session
Thursday 17 February 8:30am – Stage 3 information session
Friday 18 February 8:30am – Support unit information session
Swimming lessons
During Term 1, our children will each participate in a 30 minute swimming lesson each week at our school pool. The qualified instructors will be employees of ECSportz. A timetable will be distributed to families in the coming days that will inform parents/carers of class swimming days, so that children can bring to school a swimming costume, towel, swimming cap and goggles on their swimming day.
Our swimming pool will be operational for swimming lessons for private swim school clients. Families accessing the pool will need to use the far western gate on Phillips Ave to enter and exit the facility.
COVID Intensive Learning Support Program
The Department of Education announced at the end of 2021 that all public schools would continue to receive additional funding to employ an Intensive Learning Support Teacher in 2022 to close any gaps in achievements for students caused by disrupted learning due to COVID-19. Mr Russell Bailey will take up this position, providing small group targeted support for our children in literacy and numeracy.
Instructional leadership program
Miss Kristy Horner and Mrs Kristy Bennis will lead our Instructional Leadership program in 2022. This program is focused on providing quality professional learning experiences for teachers to support strengthened teaching practice in literacy and numeracy. Spirals of Inquiry, data talks and instructional rounds will be key initiatives implemented at our school in 2022 to support a relentless focus on achieving improved learning outcomes for our children.
Primary Mathematics Specialist Teacher Initiative
This year, our school will continue in the Primary Mathematics Specialist Teacher Initiative 2021-2022. This project will strengthen the teaching of mathematics in our school. Miss Stephanie Hopper will be our Primary Mathematics Specialist Teacher, where she will participate in valuable professional learning to share with staff school-wide.
Wellbeing Framework
Our school will continue to implement our localised Wellbeing Framework to support all children to connect, succeed and thrive at our school. This framework promotes the use of trauma informed practices to support our kids in a positive, non-punitive and therapeutic learning environment.
Wollongong Literacy Leadership Network
In 2022, our school will continue to be active members of the Wollongong Literacy Leadership (WLL) network. Literacy expert, Jann Farmer-Hayley will mentor our school leaders and teachers in implementing quality literacy teaching practices school-wide. We will also work collaboratively with schools across the Illawarra to share best practice.
Assets work
Over the holidays, significant work was undertaken to rectify the drainage issues that occur at our school during wet weather. Due to disruptions caused by COVID, the work is yet to be completed and will continue in the coming weeks.
Community hub
Our community hub will continue to operate in an online manner in 2022. Our hub leaders, Mrs Samantha Rudd and Mrs Maree Szalla have been busy planning for some new initiatives in 2022, that will see strengthened connections between our hub families and the learning taking place in our classrooms. A timetable of hub activities in 2022 will be shared with our community in the coming weeks.
Out of school hours care
Our out of school hours care will follow the same COVID-safe guidelines as public schools. Families accessing the Big Fat Smile services will use the far western gate on Phillips Ave to enter and exit the facility.
P&C
Our P&C will continue to meet at 7pm on the first Thursday of each month. However, please note that our first meeting will be held on Thursday 10 February. We warmly welcome all existing and new families to our P&C meetings.
Communication
Our school will communicate with our parent/carer body through
· Our school website - https://wollongwst-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/
· Skoolbag app – download the app free of charge. Whole school messages are communicated this way.
· Seesaw app – Children will receive a QR code in the coming weeks for you to use to get connected. Class messages are communicated through the Seesaw app.
· Facebook – Student learning and school events are showcased in this way.
· Phone, face-to-face (when COVID restrictions are eased) or Zoom meetings – Parents/carers are encouraged to meet with your child’s teacher to discuss your child’s learning and wellbeing at any time throughout the school year.
Uniform shop
Due to COVID restrictions, our uniform shop will be open by appointment only. Please phone our office on 4229 2096 to make an appointment when the school year commences.
Our staff are very much looking forward to an exciting year full of wonderful learning for our children. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher on 4229 2096 or through the Seesaw app with any queries throughout the 2022 school year.
Kind regards,
Michelle Barnes
Principal