Companions on the Journey

Further to our letter to you on 1st March, we now provide further clarification and information from Catholic Education WA regarding mask-wearing and quarantining.

Further to our letter to you on 1st March, we now provide further clarification and information from Catholic Education WA regarding mask-wearing and quarantining.

We refer to our correspondence to you yesterday which has now been updated. The Minister for Education, together with the Chief Health Officer, have issued further directives related to schools which are effective immediately. These new protocols are in place to ensure schools can operate safely in the current environment.

I hope everyone is safe and sound.

We were of course all very much looking forward to seeing the children again and to welcoming you back – hopefully this won’t be too far away.

While it is not the start to the school year we were all expecting, the priority at the moment is of course to remain safe and well – both physically and emotionally.

We look forward to welcoming you and your child/children on MONDAY February 1 Kindy Blue, Pre Primary -Year 6 TUESDAY February 2 Kindy White and Playgroup.
The Catholic Education Office of Western Australia has asked all schools to keep parents informed as to the current status regarding government regulations. Hence, I write to you all.

As restrictions have continued to be lifted and the majority of our students have now returned to classroom learning, it has been heartening to see the excitement of students and teachers alike as our school buzzes with life.

While it has been challenging for all in our community to adapt to the ongoing changes, there is an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the leadership and shared community responsibility that has meant that children can return to school, that parents can return to work and that we can all begin to enjoy time together again.

• Return to School Quick Reference
• Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

As restrictions have continued to be lifted and the majority of our students have now returned to classroom learning, it has been heartening to see the excitement of students and teachers alike as our school buzzes with life.

While it has been challenging for all in our community to adapt to the ongoing changes, there is an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the leadership and shared community responsibility that has meant that children can return to school, that parents can return to work and that we can all begin to enjoy time together again.

• Return to School Quick Reference
• Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

The past two days have been great! It has been wonderful to see our students as we commence the new term. We look forward to a gradual transition to having all students back at school.

Today 40% of our students attended school. The recent advice from the WA Chief Health Officer, Dr Andrew Robertson, confirms that the risk of transmission of the virus in the school setting is low. We are fully respectful of individual family decisions on whether students attend school in person or work from home.

We have been in regular contact with families about what the school based and home-based learning program looks like. We thank our students, staff and parents for their understanding as we evolve our processes at this challenging time. We are all learning new skills and the support we are receiving from our community has been outstanding. We have been blessed to have extremely high attendance of staff present this week which reflects their professionalism and commitment to their students.

Welcome to Term Two. As you are aware, the last six weeks have been an incredibly challenging time for everyone. The COVID-19 virus has impacted on every aspect of our daily lives. Education has been no exception. I do want to thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School.

We are looking forward to school recommencing on Wednesday 29 April, and would like to remind you that St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School is open for your child to attend if you so choose, and we welcome their attendance or alternatively we will continue to support your child, if at home, with remote learning. Please ensure that your child brings with them, their home education packs.

As a legal requirement, St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School needs to record your child’s attendance each day, whether they are at school or working remotely. If your child is working remotely during Term 2, in order to fulfil this requirement, your child’s teacher will ask you each morning the following question:

“Is your child set up for remote learning today? Please reply yes, before 9:30am, to confirm your child is learning at home today. If we do not receive a reply, your child will be recorded as ‘Absent’ for the purposes of our attendance register.”