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On behalf of the staff at Wondall Heights State School we are delighted to welcome our new and returning families to another fantastic year of learning at Wondall Heights State School.
We start the school year with 698 students! Do you know any families who live in our catchment and haven’t enrolled yet? Please get them to contact the office straight away!
I hope that your lead up to school went successfully and it was pleasing to see parents and students utilising our Book Drop Off last week. The feedback around this was very positive, so we will make it an annual thing! If you haven’t seen our ‘Handy Hints’ on our school Facebook page-Wondall Heights State School, check them out. They might have the information you are seeking to help make the start to the year run more smoothly.
Day 1 has gone off without a hitch! The students did a great job settling into their new classrooms and our preps were so brave! Some cheeky ones even asked mum and dad to “hurry up and leave”! Don’t be worried over the coming weeks if they are finding school a bit to manage, ensure they get plenty of sleep, stay in contact with teachers and we will support them through it. Consistency will be the key, focus on what they enjoyed at school, who they played with, what they learnt and together problem solve any issues they may flag with you.
2021 School Priorities
This year, our key priorities which will shape the work we do at school focus on the areas of curriculum (what students are taught)/pedagogy (how teachers teach) and wellbeing. We are excited to begin our journey in 2021 as a Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) school. Lots of information will be shared about this over the year and we encourage parents to get involved in our PBL committee as parent representatives.
COVID Guidelines
All Queensland State Schools are currently operating under ‘COVID Normal’ guidelines. The key messaging to support our school remaining safe and open is ‘we all do our bit’. You can do you part by ensuring the following:
* Adults attending the school maintain your 1.5m distancing
* Maintain your hand hygiene- we will have hand sanitiser available at key entry points to the school. Students will be able to both wash their hands and access hand sanitiser throughout the day, please ensure you speak with your child’s teacher if you have any concerns around the use of these products.
* Stay at home when you or your child is sick and seek medical advice as necessary
* Please do not congregate within the school grounds or outside classrooms- ‘drop and go’ where you can.
* We have set capacity numbers on the number of adults to be in classrooms at one time. These will be displayed on room doors and will allow for easy monitoring of spaces. Specific arrangements have been made for prep families in the first week of school.
* If you need to speak with staff members, we encourage you to arrange a time to talk with them to ensure that they can appropriately focus on your conversation and provide a suitable location for this. This can be done via a phone call to the office or an email.
*All visitors (excluding parents) to the school must sign in via the office for contact tracing purposes. Parents do not need to do this, we have your details on our OneSchool system.
We will continue to look at our school events and manage these inline with COVID safe requirements. Information around their conduct will be shared in the planning stages.
More information about COVID management in schools can be found at the following link or by contacting the office. https://qed.qld.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media/novel-coronavirus/covid-19-operating-guidelines-for-queensland-state-schoolsRegular School Attendance
If your child is away please do the following:
- phone the office absence line 3906 6460
-email the class teacher or office (admin@wondallheightsss.eq.edu.au)
Where possible limit appointments within school hours.
If you ever need help with supporting your child’s attendance at school, please call the office and we can assist.
Car Parking
At the start of the year, we know there is a significant increase in vehicular traffic at our school during pick up and drop off times. It is the responsibility of all road users to ensure our students are kept safe during these busy times. We therefore ask:
- That you park only in designated bays and where legally allowed to- avoid solid painted lines and keep disabled parks available for those with authorised permits.
- The Stop, Drop and Go is supervised in the afternoon. Ensure you follow the instructions from our staff and do not call your children to enter your car before directed.
- A great tip is to write your surname on the left hand sun visor for our staff to quickly read and then send your children to your car. EG: WRIGHT
- Consider delaying by 5. The Stop, Drop and Go remains supervised until approximately 3:30pm. Let your children know you will arrive at 3:15pm rather than 3pm (peak time).
Get Involved
A key component of your child’s engagement at our school is achieved through open and constructive communication between home and the school. Please take the time to connect with our school community via the various platforms (school newsletters, email, class newsletters, social media and meetings).
Class teachers will make contact over the coming weeks advertising how you can be involved in your child’s classroom. Please take these opportunities to help in any way you can. It doesn’t have to be academic- do you have knowledge in extracurricular areas like sports or STEM?
We have a wonderful P&C committee looking to extend membership in 2021. The P&C is a vital component of our school who represent the views of parents and assist the school leadership in decision making. Your involvement can vary from attending meetings, helping in the tuckshop or uniform shop, or supporting fundraising.
Our Deputy Principal’s Sarah Abbot (P-2) and Pam Kondys (3-6) and myself (Mark Wright, Principal) look forward to working with students, families and the Wondall community throughout 2021.