Dear Parents,

It is a difficult time to be a Victorian at the moment.  Whilst the numbers appear to be plateauing at the time of writing this newsletter they are not coming down significantly.  I was asked by a parent the other day what this means for school?  The short answer is we do not know yet when we will be able to be back together again onsite.  Hopefully, the numbers will begin to decrease soon to an acceptable level and school will be able to resume.

As a staff we are missing having the children with us each and every day and we want to again stress to parents that we are here to help at school, so please feel welcome to contact us if we can provide support in anyway.  Keep your eye out for a staff video that will be ‘released’ early next week – we hope that it will bring some joy to the faces of all the children.

Tightened Criteria Next Week for Onsite Attendance due to Stage 4 Restrictions

Now that we continue to be under Stage 4 Restrictions there is a very limited number of students that are eligible to be onsite.  This is so that staff numbers at school are at a minimum to ensure their safety and wellbeing.  The majority of staff will be working from home.  The Intention Form with the criteria was sent out to families yesterday and those that meet the criteria need to return the form by 12.00pm tomorrow (Friday 14^th).  Parents are required to provide their Permitted Worker Permit to support their application.

2021 Foundation (Prep) Enrolments

We are now taking 2021 Foundation enrolments.  If you need enrolment forms, or know of someone else who does, can you please request them at office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au

Unfortunately during this pandemic we cannot take tours or hold large gatherings, however, we are holding meetings over the phone with those that inquire.

Learning Pack Courier Distribution  - Tomorrow, Friday the 14th

As mentioned in previous correspondence to parents to meet the needs of all families in our school the Learning Packs will continue to be distributed to parents in both an electronic and hard copy format. 

Therefore, Learning Packs will be distributed to parents’ homes via courier tomorrow, Friday the 14^th of August, and again on Friday the 28^th of August.

This will be a contactless distribution and the packs will be left at your front door.  Please keep an eye out for the courier to avoid them getting wet if the weather is inclement.  A big thanks again to all of the staff for their efforts preparing the Learning Packs.  It is very much appreciated.

Remote Learning Procedures

Below are the major points regarding what we are implementing;

• We are governed under the direction of the State Government. Stage 4 Restrictions mean that the majority of our children will learn remotely.
• Teachers will communicate with all families at least once per week. Parents are welcome to contact teachers electronically at any time during the hours of 8.30am-4.00pm.  All staff emails are listed in the Remote Learning Handbook that has previously been emailed to parents. Classroom enquiries are to be emailed to the teachers.
• The Office will not be physically open, please call 5943-9000 or email enquiries to office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au and a member of the Office staff will get back to you.
• The students will be participating in video’s and Google Meets with the teachers. Your child’s classroom teacher will contact you weekly to inform when your meetings are scheduled.
• Learning Packs will be sent by courier to all families on Friday the 14^th of August and again on Friday the 28^th. A reminder that all work is also provided electronically.
• After receiving feedback from parents during the last remote period regarding submitted work tasks we are asking that families submit up to three tasks per week that the children are proud of. It is not an assessment task. This can be as simple as taking a photo of the work and emailing it in. 
• All camps and excursions are cancelled for Term Three and we are still awaiting advice regarding the Sacramental Program.

For the very few children that will be attending school the following procedures are in place;

• If you are one of the few families that fit the criteria to allow your child to be onsite during this period you must complete the Intention Form sent out each week regarding your child’s attendance. The form was sent out yesterday and needs to be returned by 12.00pm tomorrow. A Permitted Worker Permit must be provided to support your application.
• All children attending the site will be temperature checked upon arrival and will need to be picked up if they are reading 37.5 and above.
• Children that are sick in any way must stay at home.
• Children need to wear full school uniform and bring snack and lunch as usual.
• Every child must have their own drink bottle, bubble taps are switched off.
• The learning pack sent home must come into the school as the work they will be completing at school is exactly the same as they would be doing remotely.
• Pick up and drop off is from the Church car park only and parents are not to leave their cars.
• Children can attend from 8.45am – 3.10pm.
• The school will be running a skeleton staff so your child will not be supervised by their normal classroom teacher.
• Staff will be wearing masks and PPE at certain times when it is appropriate.
• If families are being tested for COVID the children must remain home until a negative test result is received.
• Out of School Hours Care is available only for the children who meet the criteria to be onsite.

Fees

Please contact Fil at the Office if your family circumstances have changed for a confidential discussion regarding your fees.

Regards,

Simon

Dear Parent/Guardian,   

This is a quick note to inform you that our digital forms and school operations platform provider, CareMonkey, has rebranded as ‘Operoo’: School processes, without the paperwork. 

Operoo’s mission is to help schools eliminate operational inefficiencies so that every dollar and every minute possible can be spent on a students’ education.

The name change occured the week beginning Monday August 10th. How you use the service, as well as the ownership and operation of the company, will remain unchanged.

You can continue using the system, and its mobile application, as usual. Just be aware that, after Monday August 10th, emails and notifications sent from the system started appearing under the new name ‘Operoo’. You will also be automatically diverted to the new Operoo website if you go to the old CareMonkey website.

We look forward to continuing to digitise, streamline and automate our processes for you with Operoo.

The Department of Education and Training (DET) have new resources to help parents and teachers to support the mental health and wellbeing of students. 

New DET resources for parents and carers include:

Managing Screen Time, Health and Wellbeing
 

The DET and Melbourne Football Club have developed a new series of wellbeing videos.
Featuring both AFL and AFLW players, the videos provide students with tips on resilience, managing stress and anxiety, gratitude and staying active.

Wellbeing Videos

Please use the links below for other resources.

Beyond Blue

Reach Out

Headspace

Be You

If any families are struggling at this time and would like to reach out for a chat or support please contact Meg Escalante, our Wellbeing officer, via email on mescalante@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au 

We hope you are enjoying our new e-newsletter and website.  With our new look also comes a new app.  Over the next couple of months we will stop using our current Skoolbag app and start using our new Szapp.   So no one misses out on any important information we will use both until 30th October.  Please make sure you have installed the new app by then.  

 Follow the installation guide below to install the new app on your smart devices.