Horsley Herald Term 2 Week 4
Dear Parents and Carers,
On Wednesday afternoon, I received a briefing from the Department of education about the scheduled full-time return of all students next week and I can now provide you with the following information.
Please be aware that these are the directions of the Government and the Department of Education.
Most importantly, schools are safe and open for full-time face-to-face learning. This means that all students are expected to return to full time on site Learning from Monday, 25 May 2020.
All school activities and operations will be in line with Australian Health Protection Principle Committee (AHPPC) and New South Wales Health Guidelines as applicable. It is important to understand that school students do not need to follow physical distancing guidelines, but should follow good hygiene practices like:
- Regularly washing hands
- Avoiding sharing drinks or food
- Coughing or sneezing into your elbow, or a tissue which should be discarded immediately.
These practices will be reinforced across the day by all staff on site.
School attendance
All students should be at school from Monday 25 May unless:
- They have a medical certificate which states that they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition (these are likely to be children With suppressed immune system or undergoing treatments).
- They are currently unwell
Students who have a medical certificate to stay at home will be supported to learn from home in line with regular procedures if they are able to. These regular procedures are different to what was offered during the learning at home period. If your child is required to stay at home due to an underlying health condition and they have a doctors certificate supporting this, you should contact the school for assistance.
Please note, students who live with a family member in one of the categories identified as being at increased risk by the HPPC, are now expected to attend school unless a medical practitioner advises otherwise in writing.
If your child is unwell, do not send them to school. If they are unwell at school, you or your nominated emergency contact will need to collect them immediately. Please make sure your contact details are up-to-date.
If a student is absent without a medical reason for more than three days, this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and followed up by the school. If you need any support to get your child back to school, please contact the school.
As of next Monday, there will no longer be 2 modes of learning provided.
The online learning at home that has been occurring will stop and full face-to-face classroom learning will be in place.
School activities
Teachers will continue to follow the same school curriculum with the exception of some activities that can’t go ahead for now.
What children can do:
- Use the school library
- Engage in noncontact sports
What students can’t do:
- School assemblies open, unless for critical information)
- School incursions and excursions including Camps
- Interschool activities (debating, interschool sport)
- In school activities requiring parent or other volunteers
- Drink from my water bubbler – students are asked to bring a water bottle instead.
At this stage parents and carers will still not be allowed on site. More information will be sent home later this week in regard to drop off and pick up times and locations to ensure the safety of our students and also the staff on site. Please be aware that our arrangements will consider the strong need to support the continuation of adult physical distancing. Your continued support with this is appreciated.
Our school will receive additional cleaning in line with the HPPS see guidelines and advice from New South Wales health. Targeted areas include high touch areas and other hard surfaces, doorhandles, light switches and handrails in stairways and movement areas. There will also be additional cleaning of toilets and taps and topping up of supplies like soap.
If you have any questions or concerns please speak with us. You may phone to school on 96201301 or email horsleypk-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Thank you for your support and continued understanding. We are looking forward to welcoming our students back next week.
Anica Tanevski
R/Principal
21 May, 2020
This week we would like to acknowledge student successes and present a class award to the following students:
| K/1Orchid | Tamarah McGuinness - Always trying her hardest to complete set tasks. |
| K/6 Kui Kui | Kaylah Halil - Adjusting back to class with a positive attitude. |
| 2/3/4 Azalea | Elizabeth Sambono - For consistently completing all remote learning tasks through Google Classroom & Seesaw. Keep up your enthusiasm for learning Elizabeth, you are doing a wonderful job! |
| K/6 Daisy | Walden Mok - Excellent work during writing tasks. |
| K/6 Fern | Jai Hadfield-Bushby - Displaying a keen interest in stories. |
| 4/5/6 Primrose | Scarlett Gauci - Her eagerness in all areas of learning. |
| K/6 Nashi Pear | Mathew Michelin-Chou - Staying focused and engaged in learning. |
| Italian | Aryton Lopes - For outstanding efforts and commitment to his Italian studies. |
Dear HPPS families,
I hope we are all doing well during these challenging times and I hope that considering the situation we have all really enjoyed spending time with the children at home. I have been extremely impressed with 4/5/6 and have really enjoyed looking at how they have continued to be active learners from home.
Considering the circumstances, I have loved reading through their stories, watching their experiments and dances and seeing how despite the situation students have been giving each other positive feedback and checking up on each other through Google classroom. During these challenging times their resilience has really shone through. And having them back that one day a week has been wonderful to see how eager they are to return.
Thank you to our Primrose families for all the effort that you are spending assisting students with their at home learning. I Can’t wait to have them all back and am looking forward to the remainder of the year!
Kind Regards Miss Pavez
The Reading Corner
A big hello to all our students and families. Next week it will be an exciting time as most students will return to school. It is also an exciting time in the library as we will commence our borrowing with strict guidelines. Our returns will need to be wiped down as we were doing at the end of last term. They will then be put in a crate for 2 days before they are shelved. Students will be given the opportunity to browse once again but I will limit the number of students browsing as the books that are looked at but not borrowed will also need to be cleaned.
Book club forms will be given out early next week. Just a reminder that we are only accepting online orders. No cash is to be exchanged with Book club.
On Wednesday, next week it is also National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS). Now in its 20th year NSS is an event held annually to promote the value of reading and literacy and of course to promote the value and FUN in books! Each year libraries, schools, pre-schools, bookshops and many other places in the country read the same book at the same time. This year we will celebrate NSS as a virtual event. In each class students will watch a video recording of ‘Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas” at 11am. I will also provide teachers with fun activities to go with the story to complete later in the day. As it is our first week back to school and this is such a fun and vibrant book we would like our students to come dressed as either Whitney or Britney. Students can have something small pink or blue or students can go all out and dress up. Let’s celebrate reading. Let’s celebrate being back together and being safe!
Mrs Basak
