Principal's Message
Joy and Anticipation
Anticipation and joy abound as we look forward to welcoming students and staff back onsite from Monday, 12 October. Please refer to the letter sent to families on Thursday, 8 October for details communicated to parents and legal guardians about arrangements until Friday, 23 October.
As you may recall, we distributed a survey late in June asking for your feedback on proposed timetable structures, given our learnings from the first period of lockdown and remote learning. We have also sought feedback through student focus groups. We are currently preparing a timetable structure that we propose to trial for the remainder of Term 4, once all students are onsite from Monday, 26 October. These arrangements will be finalised and communicated in the coming week.
For those parents sending students to school on Monday, the following link takes you to a 4-minute video with Dr Anthea Rhodes as she highlights some common concerns parents and children have, and how you can support your child in the lead up to the return to school.
Supporting your child to get back to on-site learning
The GAT and Year 12 Arrangements
Congratulations to the Year 11 and Year 12 students for the way they managed their preparation for the GAT. Students arrived to sit this 3-hour test with an air of calm accomplishment. Once again, they have shown us their determination and resilience through this pandemic.
The last day of classes for Year 12 students will be Monday, 26 October, followed by a celebration morning on Tuesday, 27 October, with a few other activities to mark the end of 13 years of formal schooling along the way. It has been challenging making plans to ensure that we celebrate this milestone appropriately and I would like to acknowledge the way the girls have been working with us to ensure a fun and safe approach to these activities, working within the restrictions that are in place.
COVID-Safe
As per my letter dated 29 September, I would ask all families to remind their daughters to adhere to the physical distancing measures the College has instituted to ensure the health and wellbeing of each member of the community. We will be strictly enforcing the community requirements to maintain physical distancing and have been advised by the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) that compliance with community restrictions will be monitored by authorised officers. I have included these once again for your information. Thank you for your ongoing co-operation with these arrangements:
- To ensure the safety and wellbeing of students and staff, all members of the community are asked to maintain physical distancing by not hugging, touching each other, sharing food or other items such as pens, rulers etc.
- Face masks need to be worn by students at all times they are onsite; no other face covering is permissible. Teachers will wear masks as they move about the site, and in shared staff spaces. Masks do not have to be worn while teaching.
- In order to support the physical distancing protocols, only students purchasing items from the Foodstore are expected to be lining up. Access will also be restricted – we will advertise times that students in different year levels can access the Foodstore in the Student Bulletin. Friends need to move away and wait for these girls elsewhere. Students are encouraged to order food in the morning to minimise congestion at the Foodstore during break times. Online ordering will also be available from Monday, 12 October. Information has been communicated to families this week.
- There will be hand sanitising facilities across the College. Students need to take responsibility for their own health and hygiene through regular hand-washing, and are encouraged to have their own personal bottle of hand sanitiser with them.
- Classrooms will be open at break times and students are permitted to eat and drink in those rooms. Students are expected to clean up after themselves and wipe down the tables that they are sitting at. The classroom doors must remain open.
- Doors into corridors will remain open to maximise fresh air flow indoors.
- Drinking fountains have been adjusted to allow only for the filling of water bottles; students will not be able to drink directly from the fountains.
- There will be physical distancing markers and reminders in place around the College – we ask all students to be respectful of these.
- Staggered dismissal times will be in place at the end of each lesson. Individual teachers in classrooms will manage these dismissal times.
- The three entrances to the College will be open at the start and end of the day to ease congestion at the Leslie Road gate.
- Exit times at the end of the day will be staggered and there will be three exit points for students:
- Leslie Road gate for students heading toward Rose Street for access to public transport;
- Buckley Street gate for students heading in the direction of Lorraine Street and Lincoln Road; and
- Stanley Street gate for students being collected by car in Stanley Street and surrounding areas.
- Visitors to the College will be restricted, and we ask that you come into the College only if it is absolutely necessary. We will be enacting physical distancing protocols in College Reception.
- Parents collecting their daughters from the College should remain in their cars.