From the Principal

Hi Everyone,

My goodness there is a lot of information to present to you. The first one is that Monday the 25^th of May is a pupil free day. Please arrange alternative care for your children that day. Tuesday our Prep to Grade 2 students start, you can start dropping them off between 8:45 and 9am. Your teachers will be waiting at the gate for you on Tuesday to welcome you. They are so excited! Whilst our Grade 3-6 students will continue to work remotely for a further 2 weeks.

I have created a guide to help you through the coming weeks. I hope it helps with most of your questions. I know there will be more, but as always you are more than welcome to email so I can clarify. I’ll also summarise 3 of the most important things for you.

1. If your child is unwell please keep them home until their symptoms have finished.
2. As adults we ask that you do not enter the school grounds, unless you need to come to the office. Please wait on the dots to ensure you are socially distancing.
3. We will be creating ways and means to make sure we communicate with you about your child and their learning. We can use WebEx, we can call, we can even socially distance outside the gates. We have always had such a vibrant space afterschool, and the staff will be missing it as much as you will be. As a community, let’s try and think of some clever ways for us to be connected. Please share any ideas with your school councillors.

On a completely different note, I overheard a conversation the other day, the people were saying that so many people in education were repeating how resilient and amazing the kids and families were at “coping” through the last few months. So much positivity is being repeated, but maybe in many households this is not the case. It has been filled with uncertainty, for some of us there has been a lot of refusal from your child. There have been pressures that we know others have been feeling, and sometimes there have been the pressures that we have been placing on ourselves. I guess I would like a chance to clarify what I mean when I say how amazing and resilient our families are.

1. You are amazing because you trusted us through this process. There may have been decisions we made that you felt uncomfortable about, but if you did want to let us know, you did it in a respectful way. That makes you all AMAZING!
2. You are resilient because you are still here reading this article. You got through this, even though at times it didn’t seem like it would ever end. I think we all made some new discoveries about what we want to change in our lives too. That’s resilience, picking yourself back up and moving on.
3. You are amazing because you are connected to our community, and each of you play an important part of it. The next few weeks are going to be challenging to maintain the physical distancing. If you are feeling disconnected, please reach out to us. We will be here for you.

On behalf of all of the staff at Badger Creek Primary School, thank you for showing our school values through this time. Thank you for trusting us, and well done for being brave and treading new territory.

Make sure you enjoy your weekend.

Nerae Preece

Principal

Badger Creek Primary School

To begin with . . .

• If you are unwell, you must stay at home.

This is to keep you safe, and everyone at school safe. Only come back when the symptoms have finished.

• A staged return for students and staff

School staff will return to work on-site at Badger Creek Primary School on Monday May 25 2020. This will be a student-free day to enable staff to prepare a safe learning environment for the return of our students.

The staged return for students will be as follows:

• Junior School (Prep, Year 1 and Year 2) will return to on-site learning on Tuesday May 26.
• Senior School (Years 3, 4, 5 & 6) will return to on-site learning on Tuesday June 9.
• If you need new materials for their Learning Packs for the period May 26 to June 5 please let us know.
• During the period May 26 to June 5, the school will continue to supervise Senior School students on-site who have been identified as meeting specific categories (vulnerable students, children of essential workers and children of parents who cannot work from home). These students will work through their Learning Packs on-site at school. Please contact the school if you have any queries with regard to these categories.

• Physical distancing at school

We have been advised by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) that the rules of no more than one person per four square metres, and keeping 1.5 metres distance between students, is not appropriate or practical in a school setting. We will, however, continue to remind students of appropriate physical contact.

Physical distancing will still be necessary between adults, and school staff will make adjustments to their workspaces and staff room to keep this rule in place.

• School health and safety measures

Our return to on-site schooling is based on advice from the Victorian Chief Health Officer.

• Parent gatherings, school drop-offs and pick-ups

It is important that we reduce the number of adults congregating inside and outside the school grounds at any one time, such as during drop-offs and pick-ups.

• Parents will be asked to not enter the school buildings or the school grounds, unless it is to visit the office or have an essential meeting.
• Morning drop-off: We ask that you drop your child off no earlier than 8:45am (we will no longer be offering a play before school). If your child needs to be dropped off before this time, please arrange a booking with CIRE our Out of School Hours Service.

We will have a kiss and go drop off. We ask that you pull up to the curb sides that are located on the perimeter of the school and say a short good bye, let your kids leave the car safely and drive on.

If your child is having trouble separating please move on so other cars can drop off. Come back from 9:15am where a team member can support your child into entering the school.

We ask that for the respect of the kindergarten parking space, that you practice social distancing.

• Afternoon pick-up: School dismissal begins at 3:10. Students will meet with their other family members at the rotunda that they are allocated to for dismissal. Students will then be supervised to meet up with you if they are travelling in a car, or start walking or riding home. Sanctuary side refers to the curb side on the schools perimeter that is opposite the Sanctuary. Kinder side refers to the curb side on the schools perimeter that is opposite the kindergarten. Here is a rundown on what it will look like, with letters referring to the start of the students surname…

o             3:00 Clean up bell

o             3:10- First bell for dismissal

o             3:15 – A & B (Kinder curb side), C & D (Sanctuary curb side)

o             3:20 – E & F (Kinder side), G & H (Sanctuary side)

o             3:25 – I, J, K, & L (Kinder side, M (Sanctuary side)

o             3:30 – N, O, P, Q & R (Kinder side), S & T (Sanctuary side)

o             3:35 – V, W, X, Y & Z (Kinder side)

• Hygiene for students

Students will be taught and reminded about hand hygiene and how to sneeze, cough and sniffle safely. Shared equipment, including playground equipment, will be wiped down after use. Hand sanitiser will be frequently distributed, and toilets will be stocked with soap.

• Water bottles and drinking fountains

Students are asked to bring their own water bottle to school, as the drinking fountains will be turned off until further notice.

• Cleaning

Badger Creek Primary School, as with all Government schools, has been given extended and increased cleaning arrangements.

• Camps, excursions, gatherings and meetings

Assemblies, camps, excursions and school community gatherings will not take place until further notice. Parent-teacher interviews and meetings will take place using physical distancing, and video conference if requested.

• Fresh air and outdoor areas

When appropriate, we will ensure the flow of fresh air throughout the school buildings. We will use our outdoor areas for learning activities as much as possible.

• Term 2 Reports

Reports will be distributed at the end of term 2. The report will have a summary of learning for term 1 and 2, an assessment on social competencies based around the 7 Habits and a comment based around their social and emotional development will be provided.

• New timetable

Our new break system will be staggered to help support with physical distancing. Here are the new breaks, share them with your children so they can be prepared for our new normal.

Junior School

8:45	9:00	10:30	11:00	12:00	12:30	12:45	13:45	14:00	15:00
Students make their way straight to their classroom via the external door, and go on with the learning task provided by their teacher	Start of the day routines	AM Play	Learning time	Meridian Play	Lunch eating time	Learning time	PM Play	Learning Time	Pack up bell 3:10-3:35 staggered dismissal

Senior School

8:45	9:00	11:00	11:30	12:30	13:00	13:15	14:15	14:30	15:00
Students make their way straight to their classroom via the external door, and go on with the learning task provided by their teacher	Start of the day routines	AM Play	Learning time	Meridian Play	Lunch eating time	Learning time	PM Play	Learning Time	Pack up bell 3:10-3:35 staggered dismissal.

No music instrumental lessons/ canteen/ no volunteers/ allied health specialists

For the remainder of this term we will not be hosting private instrumental music lessons.

The canteen will not run on a Wednesday for this term.

We are grateful for our volunteers that help with many of our programs, however, we ask that they follow our guidelines, and as soon as they are able to join us again we will be in contact.

Our mentors will be invited to participate in WebEx meetings with our students.

Farm school continues at this stage for students involved in this program.

Allied health specialists have started to use WebEx as a space to consult with their client/students. Our ES staff will supervise these meetings.

These situations will be reviewed based on the Chief Health Officer’s Directives.

• Managing a suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19)

The school is subject to strict procedures in line with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) if a student or staff member is a confirmed case or has been in close contact with a confirmed case. We will follow these procedures and contact parents and the health authorities.

The most important action that parents can make during these times is to ensure that any unwell children or parents remain at home and do not attend school.

Parents can email badger.creek.ps@education.vic.gov.au if they have any questions or need any support. Your key contacts for health and wellbeing at the school is the Principal, Nerae Preece and Assistant Principal Erin Murphy.

We will endeavour to stay connected by newsletter, website and video and we encourage you to share your experiences, ideas and photos.