Newsletter June 9th, 2020
Reconciliation Prayer
Holy Father, God of Love,
You are the Creator of all things.
We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history
and the sufferings of Our peoples,
and we ask your forgiveness.
We thank you for the survival of Indigenous cultures
Our hope is in you because you gave your Son Jesus
to reconcile the world to you.
We pray for your strength and grace to forgive, accept and love one another, as you love us and forgive and accept us in the sacrifice of your Son.
Give us the courage to accept the realities of our history so that we may build a better future for our Nation.
Teach us to respect all cultures.
Teach us to care for our land and waters.
Help us to share justly the resources of this land. Help us to bring about spiritual and social change to improve the quality of life for all groups in our communities, especially the disadvantaged.
Help young people to find true dignity and self-esteem by your Spirit.
May your power and love be the foundations on which we build our families, our communities and our Nation, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Wontulp Bi-Buya Indigenous Theology Working Group 13 March 1997 Brisbane, Qld)
It seems like an eternity since we have had the pleasure of all of our students here at school. It was such an enjoyable experience supervising the front gate this morning watching the children arrive with smiling faces and being so pleased to be back amongst their friends and teachers. There were also many parents who looked not only very happy, but just as importantly relieved that their children were all back at school. Although not a completely normal situation yet, there certainly is a stronger sense of normality, now that all children are all back amongst us.
Thank you to parents and carers who have been so supportive of our temporary arrangements to ensure the health and safety of our community. Your cooperation with the changes to the start and end of day procedures will hopefully ensure a smooth start. I also thank you in anticipation, for respecting the restricted access to the school building at this time.
Take care,
Gabe
Reflections from students as they return to face to face learning:
“It feels weird coming back to school because I haven’t seen anyone in ages”.
“I’m glad I'm back at school because with home learning I felt the work was much harder".
“I liked working from home because you didn’t have a set timetable. So I could spend more time doing individual activities. I could take a break whenever I liked”. Kayden
“I am feeling excited because I get to see my friends and interact with people”. Sophie
"Excited but tired. I got up very early this morning - I was looking forward to seeing my friends”. Joseph
"I enjoyed learning from home because it was relaxing and I got to spend time with my family". Niamh
“ I watched everything on Netflix!”. Brayden
“Sad because I need more sleep ins”. Aoife
“I am so happy, excited to be out of my house!”. Bryson
“It feels like the first day of term”. Gus
“I was really happy to come back to school because I missed my friends and teachers”. Ruby
“I liked working from home because it was calm with no distractions. I could work in silence.” Eamon
Please note that until further notice the following protocols will apply at St. Brigid’s:
- Entry to the school will only be via the front gate in Stead St. In this second stage we do need to stagger starting times, so the following arrival and departure time will apply for all students from Tuesday 9th June:
- Drop-off Times:
- 8.30 - 8.45 a.m - Surname starting with the letters A to M
- 9.45 - 9.00 a.m - Surname starting with the letters N to Z
- Bus children arrive at whatever time their bus normally arrives
- Please note: We will not be using the drop off zone at the side of the church until further notice.
- Parents, carers and grandparents - effectively anyone dropping children to school will not be able to enter the school grounds or school buildings. It is not appropriate that older siblings accompany their brother/sister to the front gate - just one child and one adult. Students attending school will be met at the front gate by a staff member.
- Additionally, it will be a case of drop and go - unfortunately drop off and pick up times will not be occasions for a chat and catch up. We will all need to continue to adhere to physical distancing guidelines. So once your child has been met by a staff member, do not congregate outside the school.
- Non-contact greetings are to be used - physical contact between students/students, adults/students and adults/adults is discouraged during this time.
- Sanitisation stations will be set up in the following places
- On entry to the front foyer of the school
- In the main corridor outside the after school care room
- In each of the classrooms being used by students
- In the staff room
- All students will need to bring their own drink bottles - drinking fountains will not be available for use.
- The school will undergo additional daily cleaning routines in line with the guidelines provided by CECV.
- There will be no hot lunches on Fridays until further notice.
- Students must wear their full winter uniform to school each day. Sports uniforms can be worn on Wednesdays for physical education.
- If your family has had access to a school iPad or chromebook and charger this must be returned asap, as they will be required for use in the classrooms. All iPads will be sanitised and checked for any damage - we will contact you if there are any issues.
- Access to corridors, staff room and all learning areas is limited to staff and students only until further notice. Parents who require assistance are to go to the front foyer and adhere to the physical distancing guidelines, use the hand sanitiser and wait to be seen.
- Our after school care program will re-commence operation on Tuesday 26th May. Please contact the school office if you need to access it’s services.
- At the end of the day, please do not enter the school grounds to collect your child. Your child will come to the front gate where you can meet them. A reminder again that this is not a time for catch ups and chats.
- Pick-up Times:
- 2.45 - 3.00 p.m - Surname starting with the letters A to M
- 3.00 - 3.15 p.m - Surname starting with the letters N to Z
- Bus children depart at the time their bus normally departs
- It is important that any student who becomes unwell while at school returns home. The advice to schools from the Victorian Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brett Sutton is 'children who are at all unwell are advised to be at home, and schools and teachers should exclude unwell children who present to school'. We do ask for your support in regard to this issue.
Some representative principals from across the diocese have partnered to create a special video message for students and their families to say welcome back and thank you!
Unfortunately as a group we have not yet been able to physically meet in order to conduct our planned Annual General Meeting. Additionally, we have a vacancy on our School Board which has become available due to Jodie Mullane finishing her time with us. James, her son moved onto secondary school this year and so we thank and acknowledge Jodie’s contribution to the life of our school over recent years.
If you might be interested in becoming a member of our School Advisory Council please Gabe know. If you would like more information about the SAC give Gabe a call.
Please be rest assured that fee relief is available for families requiring genuine fee support.
Please see the attached letter outlining the fee relief available, along with a Covid-19 Fee Relief Request Form and the Catholic schools Family Fee Assistance Scheme brochure for families holding a means tested Health Care Card, Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card or Veteran Affairs Pensioner Card.
Please return the form and/or a copy of your valid card to the office. Please contact Gabe or the office should you wish to discuss this further.
No masses until further advised due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Please see attached letter from Bishop Paul.
