FROM THE PRINCIPAL
While our Swimming Carnival won’t be the traditional celebration of team spirit and house participation this year, we want to ensure that our students have the opportunity to attend the SPSSA Inter-School Carnival in their appropriate heats, so we are running trials on Wednesday 16th September. Only students who intend to be considered for the Inter-School Carnival will travel to the pool, and we will only run the races that are in the Inter-School in November. Each race will be timed, and the fastest swimmers will represent their grades. Unfortunately we cannot invite any spectators, however we are still looking for parent volunteers. Please email me if you can help on the day from 9:30am-2pm.
With current Public Health Advice urging us to stay home and get tested if we have cold or ‘flu like symptoms, we have seen quite a lot of student absence. Thank you for contacting our office to let us know when your child is away. However, it is important to obtain a Medical Certificate after 5 days of a child’s non-attendance due to illness. This is Department of Education policy, and we are required to implement it. If your child is not sick it is critical that they attend school. 1 day off a fortnight equates to 20 days of learning missed in a year, which is 4 weeks! 1 day a week off and they have nearly missed a term. It is difficult for teachers to continue to deliver a learning program successfully to children with high absenteeism. Ofte,n they do not have the evidence of learning to accurately assess students. While we know we have to follow the current advice from Public Health, we also know that high attendance correlates with maximum achievement for student learning outcome; every day at school counts.
There are still many unsupervised students outside the Loatta Street gate from 8:10am. Our teaching staff are able to supervise students on school grounds from 8:30am onwards, and we ask that students do not arrive at school unsupervised until then. Clarence Children's Services provide Outside School Hours Care from 7:30am in the GP hall if you need care before school. If you drop students at the gate before school please ensure that you stay with them if it is before 8:30am. If you have students who walk to school, please ensure that they are not leaving at a time that will mean they arrive before 8:30am
Kind regards,
Kel Innis
Principal
