Please note the information shared below is correct at the time of writing, as we know advice can change so quickly with COVID-19.  Decisions have been made on current advice and available information and are subject to change.

As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, we have been closely following Department of Education directives, which are based on the advice of Queensland Health.

I thank you for your patience as we have worked through these challenging times. Your support has allowed us to maintain a focus on teaching and learning  and some normality of routine for the children of our school.

The Queensland Government has today announced that an additional five (5) Student Free Days will be in place next week, from Monday 30 March to Friday 3 April inclusive.

This means the Term 1 break will start early for students and your child will not attend school next week, unless they are children of essential workers or vulnerable children, such as those in out-of-home care.

Essential workers are those that must currently continue to attend their workplace during this difficult time and supervision will be provided at our school for children of these workers where required during the week of 30 March to 3 April inclusive.

If you are an essential worker and wish to send your child to school to be supervised next week you must ensure your child is well and not displaying any signs of illness.

The Student Free Days have been provided to allow Queensland state school staff opportunities to plan for the delivery of learning in the event that the education sector needs to move to flexible and remote learning for students at the commencement of Term 2.

Wondall Outside School Hours Care (WOSHC) will continue to offer before and after school care for essential workers. At the time of writing, Vacation Care will be offered for all children, please note this option may change as more information comes to hand.  WOSHC will communicate directly with parents of any updates to their service.

School will resume on Monday 20 April unless health advice determines otherwise. Further information on the return of students to school for Term 2 will be provided over the Term 1 break.

If you would like to support your child’s learning next week, a newly established learning@home website has been developed by the Department of Education and can be accessed at the link below.  This site contains a range of student learning material and other high quality education websites that will help your child’s learning.

I realise these latest developments may create challenges for parents and caregivers, both in terms of disruption for students and for families who need to manage supervision of children at home. Please be assured that the decision has only been taken as a necessary response to the evolving COVID-19 situation.

Sick Children  We’ve had an increase of the number of children attending school who are unwell, if your child is sick please don’t send them to school. Contact the office to advise of the absence.

Sick Parents please do not attend the school if you are unwell, it’s essential staff are not exposed to sick parents and children.

If you are self-isolating you are not permitted in the school grounds or just outside the school grounds this is for the health of all students, parents and staff.

Soap Dispensers   I wish to assure parents and carers that soap dispensers in the school are checked and refilled twice a day.  There is no shortage of soap, hand sanitizer or toilet paper in the school.

All teachers reinforce with students daily:

• wash their hands regularly with soap and water, particularly before and after eating, and after going to the toilet;
• use hand sanitiser if soap is unavailable;
• cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of their elbow; and
• dispose of tissues in the bin immediately.

Front Office Interactions As a health and safety measure to ensure social distancing, front office business will be conducted through the service windows.  Sick children are able to enter the office to reduce ongoing exposure to other children and staff.

At the time of writing, the following measures are in place at Wondall Heights State School:

• NAPLAN 2020 has been cancelled.
• School assemblies are cancelled until further notice.
• Parent Teacher Interviews will be conducted over the phone; teachers are emailing parents to select suitable times. There will be no face-to-face interviews this semester.
• All excursions, incursions and camps that were scheduled to commence from 21 March or after are to be postponed or cancelled until further notice. 
• Religious Instruction lessons are on hold until further notice.
• Friday sport providers have been cancelled until further notice.
• Parent Volunteers are not to work in classrooms until further notice.

The following excursions and incursions have been cancelled:

• Year 4 First Contact Excursion
• Year 2 Step Into History Incursion
• Year 6 Immigration Excursion
• Year 3 History in a Box Excursion
• Year 5/6 Talk About Sexual Health Incursion
• Beginner Music Camp

Bronwyn Fletcher, Business Manager, will process refunds.

Thank you to Mrs Black who has worked with PGL Kindilan to postpone the Year 5 Camp to later in the year.

These are unprecedented times for everyone, we are doing all we can to keep children and staff safe.  Please be understanding of our staff in your interactions, we’re doing all that we can.

P and C AGM was held on Tuesday 17 March, thank you to the parents who joined us. Thank you to parents who have taken on roles in the P and C through the sub committees.

My sincere thanks to the new P and C Executive:

Thank you to Nicole Sadgrove for her work as President and for her service to the P and C for the past 2 years.

The P and C does a wonderful job of supporting the school and our students. Parent involvement in the P and C is a great support to your children and the school.  I would encourage all parents to join and support the P and C.

Moderation During the last two weeks of school, each year level will meet with the Leadership Team to moderate student assessment to ensure we have consistent A-E judgements across year levels.

Last week, Colleen Sam, mother of Ebony and Rianna and Indigenous Author, shared her book with students in Prep and Year 2.  Colleen shared with children her process for writing her children’s story and the importance of indigenous culture.

Thank you Colleen for sharing your knowledge and culture with our students and staff.

Earth
Fire
Wind
Water
Humans
Spiritual Realm
Animals
Plants
Skies
Space

Colleen represented these elements in the diagram above

Today’s growth mindset quote of the day …Every mistake you make is progress. (Anonymous)

Not long now and the holidays will be here. Have a wonderful week.

Melissa