19 Jul 2020
Welcome to Term 3 and our second semester of 2020. I hope you enjoyed some time with your families over the break and that your teens are refreshed and ready to embark on another term of learning.
We look forward to welcoming all our students back at school on Tuesday 21 July, Week A.
Below are some reminders for the upcoming term:
Reports
- Semester One reports are almost finalised and will be emailed to families on Friday of Week 2 (July 31).
- These reports will be a simplified version of our usual end of semester report, more resembling the interim report in Term 1 with the addition of a comment.
- Reports will also be published to Sentral Parent Portal. If you need support to access this portal please contact Sara Richardson in our Administration Office.
- Our usual Parent Teacher Interview Evening has been cancelled for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. If you have any concerns about your teen’s learning progress please phone our Administration Office and request a return phone call from your teen’s teacher/s.
Student Attendance
The department has issued very clear guidelines for attendance for students.
Students should be at school unless:
- they have a medical certificate which states that they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition and the expected timeframe
- they are currently unwell, even if they have mild symptoms.
We will make appropriate arrangements to return students home if they become unwell at school.
Uniform
Our uniform supplier, Lowes Jesmond have assured us that they now have all our winter uniform items back in stock.
Please support our commitment to high expectations at Waratah Campus by making the necessary arrangements to have your child in uniform for Day 1.
We have uniform vouchers to support families experiencing financial challenges. Please contact our Head Teacher Wellbeing, Louise Payne for more information.
Parent feedback
Many thanks to everyone who completed our parent/carer survey last term.
We have compiled your responses and will use your feedback to inform the development of our 2021-2024 School Plan.
COVID update
There has been little change to the restrictions on campus since last term but I encourage you to visit the department’s parent and carer’s information page to familiarise yourselves again.
We continue to receive additional cleaning in line with the AHPPC guidelines and advice from NSW Health. Target areas include high-touch areas and other hard surfaces, door handles, light switches and handrails in stairways and movement areas. In addition, we will continue to encourage students to practice good hygiene like regularly washing hands and using hand sanitiser and avoiding sharing drinks or food.
We are currently considering recommencing our face to face Monday assemblies so we can meet together once a week to reward and recognise our students’ achievements. These assemblies will be shortened to 15 minutes as per department guidelines and there will be no external guests in attendance. I will update you when this decision has been finalised.
External visitors to the school are still not allowed unless it is considered essential. If the school requires a meeting with you a staff member will make contact to arrange an appointment. If you have an urgent matter that you need to discuss face to face please call the school to make an appointment with the relevant staff member.
We look to welcoming your teens back on Tuesday and hope they have a wonderful Term 3.
Kind regards,
Hayley