Dear families,
This has been a most difficult week for so many in our community.
The excitement of returning to school last Wednesday was quickly surpassed by angst as we were notified of our first positive COVID case.
It has been understandably most difficult for the large number of families whose children were asked to enter isolation for up to 14 days following exposure. It has also been a trying time for the children who have tested positive and for their families. I am relieved to report that the children are recovering well.
I am hoping and praying that we have come out of the worst of it with the last notification having been received late last Friday night/Saturday morning.
There has been much publicised around the Victorian Government’s introduction of Rapid Antigen Testing being made available to schools from this Monday. As frustrating as it is to hear, we have not as yet been notified through official channels of this rollout. Unfortunately, Government initiatives have a long tradition of slow and painful implementation. To give you an example, we are still waiting for our promised supply of air purification devices after the announcement on 22 September 2021.
I can only assure you that we will let you know as soon as we are notified. We want to be able to have our children out of isolation the minute they are able to.
I know that there are many families who feel trepidation towards having their child return to school for many legitimate reasons. I can understand these concerns given the disruption that going into isolation has brought so many of you.
As previously reported, we are unable to offer remote learning to students once their Day 14 has passed. It is untenable for teachers to offer both an online and onsite learning model. Under the guidelines we adhere to, the provision of online learning is only to be offered to students who have been told they need to isolate. Once the isolation period is deemed to be over and students have received a negative test result, online learning ceases as it is expected that these students will return to school.
Earlier this week, I invited nurses from the Infection Control Department at the Department of Health to come to St Mary’s to audit our COVIDSafe practices. They visited all the classrooms and communal areas, looked at our COVIDSafe Plan and offered helpful hints to enhance our current practices. They were happy with the procedures St Mary’s has in place and were only able to offer a few very minor suggestions such as hand washing signs near sinks, and the removal of bin lids to prevent these being high touch areas. It was reassuring to hear that what was suggested to us has been common to most of the areas they have visited and that we are doing a good job of trying to keep everyone in the school safe.
There are many students waiting for their Day 13 to arrive. I have been notified that the Mason Street testing site has closed down.
Altona North Respiratory Clinic (Part of the Altona North Medical Group) in Blackshaws Rd is taking bookings for testing either online or by calling 9393 3977. The Respiratory Clinic has doctors onsite and they see patients with symptoms, unlike many local practices.
I want to thank you for your support during these exceptionally trying times.
Plans for 2022 are well under way. If your family won’t be returning to St Mary’s in 2022, please contact us as soon as possible.
In mixed community news this week, we share the lovely news that Ms Niamh Bannon gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Ciara Dolores on 2 November. Congratulations to Niamh and Brett!
We also keep Lucy, our parish secretary, in our prayers this week, after Lucy’s husband passed away last weekend.
We are looking forward to having most of our students return to onsite learning by the end of next week.
Let’s pray that we can get a good run of onsite learning.
Regards and best wishes,
Sonia
These assessments can only be administered if the person giving the test has completed the extensive training. Teachers can refer students who they think would benefit from being assessed. These assessments are designed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a student. Once identified, strategies can be designed to support the student at school or it may be necessary to refer this child for additional assessments by another trained professional such as a Speech Therapist or Psychologist.
Parents will be notified and asked for their permission before any test is administered by Lisa, Matt or myself.
Below are the tests we were trained in and a brief description of their purpose.
RAVENS 2
PPVT (Peabody Picture Vocab test)
WIIAT-111
KEY MATHS 3
We are so lucky to have access to these assessment tools and feel that they will greatly benefit our students as they will be able to give us a more comprehensive picture of a student's educational strengths and needs.
Cathy Sims
Learning Diversity Leader
I was so drawn to the community - the students, their families and especially the supportive staff that I learnt from. On this placement, I experienced St Mary’s infamous “Footy Fun Day” and I felt right at home in my red, white and blue!! Go the dogs!!
I was thrilled to be welcomed as a graduate teacher and teach my very first class, 1/2B of 2020. Never in a million years did I think that I would begin my career enduring the complexities of remote learning. I would call it a once in a lifetime experience, but we are on a fourth in a lifetime experience now (and counting...).
Before graduating with a Masters in Primary Teaching, I completed a Bachelor of Health Sciences and majored in Anatomy and Physiology. My heart and passion has always been in teaching but I enjoyed my bachelors, in particular my pharmacology and cardiovascular subjects. I used to keep up my knowledge in this area after my studies, but I’ve really clocked out since covid.
I love travelling and sightseeing. My nationality is Macedonian, so I of course love travelling to the ‘motherland’ and visiting my hundreds of family members -aunties, uncles and cousins, cousins, cousins. I have also loved travelling to other destinations including Barcelona, Rome, London and Hawaii.
I love the ocean, it is ‘my calm’, so you may see me walking to Altona beach at lunch time or afterschool from time to time… especially during report writing season! Report writing season also calls for lots of desserts, and as my students would know I LOVE donuts! I can never say no to dessert.
In early August, 69 of our Years 3-6 students participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC), an annual competition held by the Australian Mathematics Trust. The Year 3-4 students sat the test onsite while the 5-6 students sat the test online after we went into lockdown.
The AMC offers five papers: Middle Primary (Years 3–4), Upper Primary (Years 5–6), Junior (Years 7– 8), Intermediate (Years 9–10), and Senior (Years 11–12). It has 25 multiple-choice questions and five questions that need whole number answers. Students may attempt as many questions as they wish. The earlier problems may use more familiar mathematics while the later problems are more difficult and intended to challenge, needing more sophisticated problem-solving skills.
We were incredibly pleased with just how many of our students took up the offer to participate given it was our first foray into the competition and are already looking forward to competing again next year. Particularly encouraging was that 54% of our participants were female, earning 12 of the 22 Credit certificates. On Monday, at assembly, we took some time out to aknolwedge each participant and to recognise some special achievements. Over 36% of all participants this year were awarded a Credit certificate or higher and we could not be prouder of every student who competed.
We would again like to congratulate Aidan, Roland and Miller for their Distinction awards after placing in the top 6%, 12% and 19% respectively of the state in their age groups. A special certificate was also awarded to Aidan for achieving our highest standardised score this year. Well done Aidan and good luck for next year's competion from all at St Mary's.
We're counting on you to compete again next year.
Ronnie Tucker, Lisa Said & Matthew Taylor