Dear Parents and Carers, 

We are very excited although a tad nervous at the same time about school returning and we’re sure many parents and children alike, will be in the same frame of mind. Please ensure any anxious children that this is an absolutely normal feeling that most people returning to school are feeling right now. 

Despite this, it’s certainly great to have school beginning with children on site, although we are aware many children are unable to start tomorrow because of COVID-19. We’d appreciate prompt notification of absence through the Flexischools App please. 

We have some back-up in place in case of staff absence which unfortunately will be inevitable, although all staff are compliant with vaccination regulations for school staff, with many already having had their third dose of the vaccine. Fingers crossed! 

As the children prepare for their first day back to school and following on from our previous communications, we would like to remind you of the following: 

Face Masks 

Please ensure you provide your child/children with a clean well-fitted mask when they are attending school and pack some spares in a clean container in their bags in case of loss or damage. 

-Students in Grade 3 and above must wear masks indoors at school unless a lawful exception applies. 

-Students in Prep to Grade 2 are strongly recommended to wear face masks indoors at school. 

Please note that classrooms are issued with a limited supply of face masks at this stage, as it is expected that students continue to bring and use their own masks at school. 

Rapid Antigen Tests 

Thank you to those families who collected their RATs on Friday for the student twice weekly surveillance testing. For those who have not collected their tests, these will be available from 8:00-8:40 am tomorrow at the hall entrance and again from 3:00-4:00 pm. This is sufficient for the first two weeks of school. We are expecting additional supplies to follow and we will advise about distribution of these once we know more. 

Please note that the tests will not be available from the general office. 

Lastly, we would also like to share some great resources through the following links, to help parents to support their children as they return to school. 

Royal Children’s Hospital podcastGETTING BACK TO SCHOOL (FACE-TO-FACE LEARNING DURING COVID-19) Dr Lexi Frydenberg and Dr Margie Danchin 

Dr Eric Levi’s  helpful video on how to do a rapid antigen test on a child 

Starting school: preparing your child | Raising Children Network 

Tips for starting school | Victorian Government (www.vic.gov.au) 

Building a positive relationship with your child’s school | Victorian Government (www.vic.gov.au) 

(If any links do not work, please see emailed version.)

Thank you for your support as we welcome our children back to school and endeavour to keep them at school. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone tomorrow morning. 

Warm regards, 

Gayle, Bianca and CSPS Staff