Principal’s Notes

I have been determined not to begin my first Newsletter communication to the community this year with ‘stuff’ about Omicron, but needs must, and I refer you to the section in this Newsletter on a year level rostering home schedule that we will begin from Wednesday of next week (Feb 23rd).  This will enable us to maintain an onsite learning model for our students as the impact of contact isolation requirements limits staff availability for work onsite.  Until the supply of RATs is made available to schools we have no way of shortening isolation requirements for staff who must isolate because a family member, or more often one of their own children, are showing symptoms and need to be tested.  A flow chart of our management plan in dealing with cases in the school is displayed elsewhere in this Newsletter.  Currently attendance rates for students are strong (over 90%) and we are not getting notifications of infectious students from MOH/MOE.  Long may this situation last!

Elsewhere in this Newsletter you will also see notification of a paid union meeting scheduled for Tuesday Feb 22nd.  This means the school will close at 12.30 pm that day, with the rostering schedule beginning the day after.

Look out too for an advertisement for a Resource Centre/Hub Manager in this Newsletter.  This opportunity has arisen because of the current manager taking on another role in the school. It is always good, we find, to offer jobs such as this to members of our school community first before advertising more widely if that even proves necessary.

Life at Springs is really positive.  Our students are following mask wearing protocols inside rigorously.  I have noted earlier that our attendance rates are high and everyone seems genuinely pleased to be back ‘in-school’ rather than working online.  The benign weather helps of course – especially in regard to our requirement that students vacate the buildings at intervals and lunchtimes for eating and drinking which obviously requires mask removal.  It is our aim to maintain this onsite/school open learning environment for as long as we can.  Parents and caregivers can help us do this by keeping their children at home if they are showing any symptoms that may indicate a Covid positive case.  We are actively sending students home who present with runny noses, coughs, sneezes and sore throats as per my earlier email communication.

Best wishes to you all,

Ivan