From The Principal's Desk

Dear Families                                

As we come to the end of Term One, I would like to thank all students, parents and families who have contributed to the success of the various events that have been part of our school program.  I would especially like to congratulate the students for a wonderful term, filled with self-driven learning and for attacking all tasks with enthusiasm and vigour.  Thank you to the dedicated and committed staff who prepare and implement programs of work which invigorate and challenge our students across all learning areas and for their selfless giving of their time and talents .

Our sincerest thanks to you all for the messages of thanks and support that we have been receiving these last few weeks, and what a few weeks they have been!  Our foray into home learning has been an interesting journey and we are very grateful to you all for your patience and support of our hard working staff. This is all new to us and if we back one another, we will achieve great things.  Your children are doing an amazing job and so are you!

This week has been very much about familiarisation and the ironing out of possible glitches in the online learning platforms.  We greatly value your feedback but also ask that you are gentle with yourselves and your children and just do what you can on a daily basis.  We will move together into this new online educational environment gently and supportively.

Our school term ends this Friday, 3 April therefore next week is the first week of the holidays and this will continue to be a time of isolation, as far as possible.  I strongly encourage you to refrain from moving outside of your home and yard and mixing with others.  I know this is extremely difficult for us all but it is so important in our shared efforts to combat COVID-19.

For those parents and caregivers still engaged in providing essential services outside of the home, our Liwara Outside School Hours Care will continue to offer care with the staff  supervising the children between the hours of 7.00am to 6.00pm from Monday 6 April to Thu 9 April.  We are also offering our normal Vacation Care program, for the children of essential workers, from Wednesday 15 April to Tuesday 28 April, which was a designated Pupil Free Day before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.

Teachers will be providing At Home Learning for all our students from Tuesday 28 April, the beginning of Term Two.  At present I have no new information regarding how long we will continue with 'At Home Learning' but I will certainly keep you updated with any new and relevant information.

Some Handy Hints Below:

• Be kind to yourself!
• Don’t panic, all students are in the same situation and they will be okay. In education, each day we meet children where they are at in their development and tailor their learning accordingly. We will continue to do so when they come back to school.
• Establish a daily routine – this is key!
• Don’t overdo it! When children return to school we want them to still love learning. Make sure their learning is age appropriate – let the information provided by the class teachers be your guide.
• Include quality family time in your routine as well as some independent work time and some quiet time to retreat to your own rooms.
• Some online educational games are great when you really need to get some of your own work done.
• The most effective way to embed learning is to teach it to someone else, so get your older children to assist younger students e.g read aloud to each other and assist each other with their work.
• Don’t under-estimate how much students can learn from home activities such as: they learn oral language, taking turns and strategy through board games, mathematics (such as measurement) through cooking, problem solving through puzzles and so on.
• Include household chores in your child/ren’s daily routine or as ‘homework’ to reduce your stress such as making their beds, tidying their room, doing dishes.
• Give them some choice in their routine and with their learning. Have lots of breaks especially if there are getting fatigued.
• The most important thing during this time will be your family’s mental health. Make this a focus! We have provided you with suggested resources for this. Model self-care. This is also where the inclusion of the following in your daily or weekly routines is vital:
• The Arts – music, dance, art and craft
• Fitness
• Outdoor activities
• Play
• Oral language is the foundation of all learning so talk to each other!
• Reading is also a key foundational skill. If you do nothing else, READ, READ, READ!!

Finally, we are here to help. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child/ren’s teacher!

Copy of the letter that went out to families on Thursday 2 April below:

OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS CARE

Dear Families,

During this time of uncertainty, we are committed to keeping you updated with the latest information that impacts the care of your child.  Liwara Catholic Primary School and our Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) will continue to provide your child with a place of care in a safe and familiar environment. Our priority is to provide services to families of essential workers and caregivers such as grandparents, who are not able to assist at this time and who require childcare during these uncertain times.

During the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic we have and will continue to remain open for our children, whose parents are recognised as essential workers - any working parents still employed in our community to provide necessary services.

CRECHE

From Monday, 6 April to Thursday 9 April, 2020 we will be offering a creche during normal school hours – 8.30am – 3.00pm.  Children will be cared for in our Outside School Hours Care centre by our OSHC staff.  The program will run in a similar way to our Vacation Care program with fun games and engaging activities throughout the day.  The children will be provided with lunch and morning tea each day.  You will not be charged any fees if your child attends the creche during school hours.

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE

OSHC will continue to operate our Before and After School Care program for the children however, to attend either before or after school care they must be enrolled in the service.  If you need your child to be cared for before and/or after school and they are not already enrolled in the OSHC program, we must have their completed Enrolment Form before they attend.  The is a government requirement.  I will attach the Enrolment Form to this email.

Vacation Care will be operating between 15^th and 28^th  April.  Enrolment and Vacation Care booking forms need to be completed if you require care for your child during these dates.

To download an Enrolment Request Form click on this link

To download the Vacation Care Program and booking form click on this link.

CONGRATULATIONS
We warmly congratulate Mr John Greenhill and Signora Rossi who were married on Sunday 22 March.  The ceremony was  celebrated by Fr Stephen and because of the COVID-19 restrictions, only their witnesses and a photographer friend were present.  Congratulations!