01-Oct-2021
Dear Families
I hope that the last few weeks have been a little less hectic than stages of last term and that there have been plenty of joyful moments.
We have to wait just a little longer to have all students back on-site but we’re excited to know that we’ll be together again soon. We continue to abide by the Chief Health Officer’s advice and as at the time of writing, we are still awaiting further Department of Education guidelines.
Although Term 4 might be a challenging one for us all, it is great to finally have some clarity around what it might look like in the lead up to November 5 when all students will be back on-site at the same time.
We are approaching this 11 week term is 3 distinct stages. We are confident that our preliminary plans will work very well and that the staggered return to school for our students will help them to reintegrate with face to face learning and teaching in a smooth and supported manner.
Stage 1 – Remote and Flexible Learning will continue for the first 2 weeks of Term 4 – (Monday October 4 – Friday October 15) under the same settings that were in place during Term 3.
Stage 2 – On Monday October 18 schools will start to open up in a staggered and safe manner that will see ALL students back on-site on Friday November 5.
In Week 3 of Term our Foundation students will return to school for 3 days per week (Monday-Wednesday) and our Year 1 and 2 students will return for 2 days (Thursday and Friday)
In Weeks 4 and 5 of Term, they will be joined on-site by our Year 3 and 4 students on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and by our Year 5 and 6 students on Thursdays and Fridays
| On-site dates | ||
| Foundation | Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays | October 18,19,20, 25,26,27 November 1,3,5 |
| Year 1 | Thursdays and Fridays | October 21,22, 28, 29 November 4,5 |
| Year 2 | Thursdays and Fridays | October 21,22, 28, 29 November 4,5 |
| Year 3 | Tuesdays and Wednesdays | October 26,27 November 3,5 |
| Year 4 | Tuesdays and Wednesdays | October 26,27 November 3,5 |
| Year 5 | Thursdays and Fridays | October 28,29 November 4,5 |
| Year 6 | Thursdays and Fridays | October 28,29 November 4,5 |
We will work through what this means for us to timetable a combination of Remote and Face to Face classes and there may be some minor changes to the schedule we have run over the last couple of months.
It will also most likely mean that our proposed Student Free Day on November 1 will again be postponed.
Stage 3 – All students back on –site for face to face teaching from Friday November 5 – December 15
The uncertainty of Stage 2 will provide a few small challenges and there will be changes to both our remote and flexible learning times to accommodate the hybrid teaching for these 3 weeks. We will confirm start times for webex meetings (most likely 9:15 am) to allow time for families with students who might be learning from home while their brother or sister is learning face to face, to travel to and from school.
Specialist session times will be a bit different as we juggle the need to deliver these lessons in both forms of delivery.
Previously we have been asked to keep cohorts of students and staff (where possible) separate and we will do this again throughout Term 4. There will be, as we had last year, different start and finish times for various year Levels that we will send through once we have confirmed these.
There will, I hope, be further direction from both the Department of Health AND Department of Education on planned Covid safety measures that we will get to you in a timely manner.
Lastly, I am passing on the following information provided to schools by the DET about the vaccination weekend walk-in blitz across Melbourne’s South East by the Monash Health South East Public Health Unit. For anyone interested, please read on.
The Monash Health South East Public Health Unit will be running a vaccination weekend walk-in blitz across Melbourne’s South East this coming weekend.
The vaccination walk-in blitz will offer the Moderna Vaccine to everyone aged 12 to 59 years and the AstraZeneca vaccine to those aged 60 years and above. No bookings will be required: just turn up, roll up your sleeve, and get vaccinated against COVID-19 at no cost.
Moderna, like Pfizer, is a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. Moderna is safe and highly effective in protecting you against getting COVID-19.
With two doses of the Moderna vaccine, you are far less likely to get very sick or need to go to hospital with COVID19 disease. This high level of protection also applies to new variants of COVID-19, such as the Delta variant. The Moderna vaccine is safe in pregnancy and in children from 12 years of age.
The Moderna vaccine has been successfully rolled out in many countries across the world including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, and Singapore.
Anyone aged 12 and older can walk-in and get vaccinated at one of the participating vaccination clinics:
- Dandenong Pop-up Clinic – Palm Plaza Mall Car Park (off Clow Street), Dandenong from 9am to 4pm,
everyday - Sandown Racecourse Vaccination Centre – 591-659 Princes Hwy, Springvale from 9am to 4pm, Friday 1
October – Sunday 3 October - St Francis Xavier College, Officer Campus – 21 Majestic Dr, Officer from 9am to 4pm, Saturday 2 October –
Sunday 3 October - Frankston Community Vaccination Hub – Bayside Centre, Frankston from 11.30am to 6pm on Friday 1
October and 9:30am – 4:00pm on Saturday 2 October – Sunday 3 October
COVID-19 cases are increasing across Melbourne’s South East. Everyone is encouraged to get vaccinated now to protect yourself, your family and the community.
Bookings are also available at the Sandown Racecourse Vaccination Centre and the Frankston Community Vaccination Hub via the online booking system or calling 1800 675 398.
Have a great weekend.
James Whitla
