Principal's Update - St Francis Xavier Ballarat

Ballarat 7 – Day Lockdown (8.0) COVID Restrictions – Wednesday 15th September 2021

The Victorian Government this afternoon announced directions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). From 11:59pm tonight, Ballarat will enter a 7 – Day Lockdown.
As a result, in line with the directions issued from Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, St. Francis Xavier Primary School will move to a period of remote and flexible provision from tomorrow, Thursday 16th September to Friday 17th September (end of Term 3) for all children from Foundation to Year 6.

Please read the following information understanding that Foundation to Year 2 are currently working onsite and Year 3 to 6 are currently undertaking Remote Learning. From tomorrow all children will be undertaking Remote Learning unless they are eligible for Onsite Supervision.

Please find below information regarding the Ballarat 7 – Day Lockdown (8.0) – COVID Restrictions.
Important information covered within this correspondence:
1. Remote Learning continues tomorrow with Teachers organising Zoom Check-ins via SeeSaw for all classes
2. Process for Booking Onsite Child Supervision at St. Francis Xavier Primary School continues
3. Learning From Home – Ballarat 7- Day Lockdown (8.0), beginning Thursday 16th September.
4. Digital Devices
1. Return to Remote Learning: Thursday 16th September to Friday 17th September (except for children who fall into the two categories below.)

St. Francis Xavier will continue to provide on-site supervision inclusive of tomorrow, Thursday 16th September for students in the following categories:
1. Children whose parents are considered essential workers as listed, cannot work from home and where no other supervision arrangements can be made
2. Vulnerable children, including children in out-of-home care, children deemed by Child Protection and/or Family Services to be at risk of harm and children identified by the school as vulnerable (including via referral from a family violence agency, homelessness or youth justice service or mental health or other health service).

In accordance with the guidelines provided by the Premier of Victoria, St. Francis Xavier will provide to a small amount of students (who fall within the above approved categories) the option to attend St. Francis Xavier for supervision during school hours for the Ballarat 7 – Day Lockdown.

IMPORTANT: ALL Parents of children attending the Onsite Supervision Program will need to provide evidence from their employer that they meet the Criteria for Onsite Child Supervision at School. (if they haven’t already done so previously)

2. Process for Booking Onsite Child Supervision at St. Francis Xavier Primary School

ALL eligible families need to follow the process for booking children for Onsite Supervision.

Bookings are open and parents are able to book their children through until Friday 17th September (inclusive) .

1. Instructions for Booking:

• Bookings are made through Care Bookings. The school code is JSCEC and will not change.
• Please click on the link and follow the online instructions: https://www.carebookings.com.au/code/jscec
• Bookings are open
• Bookings close 5:00pm the night before for the following days. No late bookings will be accepted.

Due to resourcing and supervision ratio requirements, Onsite Supervision is only available for students who cannot be cared for or learn from home. This is to ensure that we are protecting our staff, students, and families to the greatest extent possible and is in line with Coronavirus restrictions.

2. Arriving and Departing School:

• Children are to arrive no earlier than 8.30am – there will be no supervision before 8:30am and the school gates will not be open
• Please drop/farewell your children in the undercover area
• Children will be guided to the Mother Xavier Flood Building (Junior School) where Onsite Supervision will be conducted
• Pick up time 3.20 pm from the Undercover Area, no later than 3.30pm
• School uniform is required to be worn each day
• Children will engage in the same online learning program as their classmates who will be at home

3. Student Health:

• If there is a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis in your family, please advise the School immediately via email principal@sfxballarat.catholic.edu.au
• We request that students who feel unwell remain at home.

Thank you again for your patience, support and understanding in these difficult times. I will endeavour to update you as more information becomes available!

Changes for Regional Victoria and Return to Schooling for Foundation to Year 2 – Wednesday 8th September 2021

In light of today’s announcement from the Premier regarding changes for regional Victoria, please find below initial details of restrictions and in particular schooling. Please disregard yesterday’s information shared from Catholic Education Ballarat that schools will not return to on-site learning in Term 3. This has now changed.

I will forward later today specific details once I have this confirmed by Catholic Education Ballarat.

• Lockdown is ending for our part of regional Victoria (Greater Shepparton continues to be in lockdown) from midnight tomorrow night – business up to 25% people back in workplaces, if you can work from home, do, hospitality gradually reopening, child care reopening, no more distance limits or time limits
• Schools will reopen this Friday for Prep, Grade 1, Grade 2, Year 11 studying Year 12 subjects for those subjects only, and our Year 12s
• Twice weekly PCR tests will be required for teachers who live in Metro Melbourne and teach in Regional Victoria – I am sure that more details of this will emerge
• Density quotients of 1 person per 4sqm apply in non-student areas
• Face masks have to be worn by everyone 12 years and over. Face Masks recommended for all other children.
• Check Points are being reinstated between Regional Victoria and Metropolitan Melbourne

Please find attached the updated table or Restriction for Victoria.

Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding!

St. Francis Xavier – 5 – Day Snap Lockdown – New COVID Restrictions – Friday 15th July2021

The Victorian Government today announced new directions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). From 11:59pm tonight, Victoria will enter a 5-day Snap lockdown.
As a result, in line with the directions issued from Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, St. Francis Xavier Primary School will move to a period of remote and flexible provision from Friday 16th July to Tuesday 20th July inclusive.

1. Return to Remote Learning – Friday 16th July to 11:59pm on Tuesday 20th July (except for children who fall into the two categories below.)

St. Francis Xavier will continue to provide on-site supervision inclusive of tomorrow, Friday 16th July for students in the following categories:
1. Children whose parents are considered essential workers as listed, cannot work from home and where no other supervision arrangements can be made
2. Vulnerable children, including children in out-of-home care, children deemed by Child Protection and/or Family Services to be at risk of harm and children identified by the school as vulnerable (including via referral from a family violence agency, homelessness or youth justice service or mental health or other health service).

2. Process for Booking Onsite Child Supervision at St. Francis Xavier Primary School

ALL eligible families need to follow the process for booking children for Onsite Supervision.

Bookings are open from today, Thursday 15th July and parents are able to book their children through until Tuesday 20th July .

1. Instructions for Booking:

• Bookings are made through Care Bookings (a similar program to School Interviews) . The school code is JSCEC and will not change.
• Please click on the link and follow the online instructions: https://www.carebookings.com.au/code/jscec
• Bookings are open from 4:00pm today, Thursday 15th July until 8:00pm.
• Bookings close 5:00pm the night before for the following days. No late bookings will be accepted.

2. Arriving and Departing School:

3. Student Health:

3. Learning From Home – 5 – Day Snap Lockdown

Learning from home through our Connected Learning Communities will begin on Friday 16th July 2021. We recognise that there will be challenges along the way, and we are here to support you through this time. Our teachers will be working very hard to plan and prepare meaningful learning experiences for your children and will continue to respond to questions, provide feedback to children and make phone contact with families from Friday through to Tuesday between the hours of 9:00am – 3:30pm.

Connected Learning Communities (CLC)

As per previous arrangements Home Learning in the CLC , the following still applies.

• Overview CLC planning documents from Foundation to Year Six will be uploaded to Seesaw on Friday afternoon between the hours of 3:00pm and 5:00pm. This will provide families with time to read the documents and plan for home learning for the following week.
• Daily activities relating to and referenced in the CLC overview planners will be uploaded to Seesaw at 8:00am from Friday through to Tuesday.
• From tomorrow morning assemblies with Mr. Bissinella and Mrs. Clark will resume!
• From Friday 16th July , children will be provided with the opportunity to connect and check-in with their teacher and peers daily via the platform Zoom (please click on the link https://zoom.us/ for further information regarding Zoom).
• Zoom classroom check- ins from Foundation to Year Six will occur at the following times each day:

9:15am – 9:45am Foundation
9:15am – 9:45am Year One
9:15am – 9:45am Year Two
9:15am – 9:45am Year Three

10:00am- 10:30am Year Four
10:00am- 10:30am Year Five
10:00am- 10:30am Year Six

• Your child will receive one Zoom invitation link for their class check in which will work for them each day. Your child will be required to click on this link via Seesaw each day to gain access to the class. This link will appear on your child’s CLC overview document and teachers will also post this link as an ‘announcement’ on Seesaw at the beginning of the week.
Please find attached the following documents to remind you of how to access classroom check-ins via Zoom:
• Appendix 1: For Students Using Video Conferencing (VC) with Zoom
• Appendix 2: For Parents Using Video Conferencing (VC) with Zoom

4. School Hot Lunches
Our Parents and Friends Committee are in the process of cancelling and refunding all lunch orders made for Friday 16th July.

5. Digital Devices
Students will be provided with access to digital devices to enable access to learning programs being provided by our school. Please contact the office should you need a device.

Thank you again for your patience, support and understanding in these difficult times. I will endeavour to update you as more information becomes available!

St. Francis Xavier – Updated COVID Guidelines – Friday 11^th June 2021

Following Wednesday’s announcement from Acting Premier James Merlino, of the easing of COVID restrictions in Metropolitan and Regional Victoria from 11:59pm on Thursday I write to confirm the following ongoing arrangements at St. Francis Xavier Primary School.

Thank you to all our wonderful parents and families who continue to support our COVID procedures for the Health and Safety of all!

Please note that End of the Day Pick Up Arrangement change as of Tuesday 15th June 2021 (see below)

School Health and Safety Measures return for children:
The current onsite school procedures are based on the advice of the Victorian Chief Health Officer. We have considered a variety of strategies to support physical distancing, particularly among adults, and good hygiene practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission within the practical limitations of our school environment.

Face Coverings:
• Must be always carried by adults
• Must be worn by adults indoors except if at home, or if an exception applies
• Must be worn outdoors where 1.5 metres physical distancing cannot be maintained

COVID Safe Principles for Children and Parents:
• Any child who is unwell must not attend school
• Beginning of the Day Drop Off arrangements (see below)
• End of the Day Dismissal arrangements (see below)
• Entry and exit points to the school will be open, with additional staff allocated to ensure children are safely supervised
• Parents are not to enter classrooms at any stage and are to adhere to social distancing guidelines when waiting to collect their child at the classroom door
• Request that parents avoid or minimise time spent in or around the school grounds
• Regular School Cleaning
• Frequent announcements, messages, signage and red gaffer tape around school to remind staff, children and families of the need for changed behaviours

Beginning of the Day Drop Off:
Parents will be required to continue to drop their children off in the undercover area and then exit the school in a prompt manner. Staff will be present in the undercover area from 8:30am to assist children with walking to their classrooms if required.
At no stage are parents able to enter any classroom. Red Tape and Distance markers will be outside each classroom door to remind all adults.

End of the Day Dismissal:
To minimise congestion within and outside of the school and following the advice of the Victorian Chief Health Officer a staggered approach for collection of children will be continue.

Uniform Shop Sales during Term 2
For the time being and until further notice the Uniform Shop is CLOSED and will only accept orders submitted by completing the attached order form and emailing back to office@sfxballarat.catholic.edu.au or by dropping it into the school office.
Payment can be made by filling out your credit card details on the order form or by cash. Please indicate your preferred payment method on the order form.

Thank you to everyone for your continued co-operation and understanding!

St. Francis Xavier – Return to the Classroom (Wednesday 2nd June 2021)

Following today’s announcement from Acting Premier James Merlino, of the easing of COVID restrictions in regional Victoria from 11:59pm on Thursday I write to confirm a return to Face – to – Face Learning.

Therefore all children at St. Francis Xavier will return to school as normal from this Friday 4^th June.

Arrangements for Friday:

School Hot Lunch Orders will be available this Friday. Please place your order via Flexischools by 10:00am on Thursday morning.
School Assembly will take place with only the Parents of Foundation TW to attend.
Year 3 Camp is postponed to a date to be confirmed.

Mask Arrangements

Due to the virulent nature of the Indian variant B.1.617 and its casual transmission, it is important that mask-wearing and spatial distancing practices are adhered to for both staff and students. Where possible, students will be spaced to minimise contact, and fresh air circulation into rooms will be encouraged, despite the cooler weather.
All staff and visitors to the St. Francis Xavier School site will be required to wear masks.

7 – Day Circuit Breaker Lockdown – New COVID Restrictions (Thursday 27th May 2021)

Re: 7 – Day Circuit Breaker Lockdown – New COVID Restrictions

Important information covered within this correspondence:

Tomorrow, Friday 28^th May is a Pupil Free Day
Process for Booking Onsite Child Supervision at St. Francis Xavier Primary School
Learning From Home – 7 – Day Circuit Breaker Lockdown, beginning Monday 31^st May
Sacrament of Confirmation – cancelled up to Friday 4^th June
School Hot Lunches
Digital Devices

The Victorian Government today announced new directions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). From 11:59pm tonight, Victoria will enter a 7-day circuit breaker lockdown.

As a result, in line with the directions issued from Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, St. Francis Xavier Primary School will move to a period of remote and flexible provision from Monday 31^st May to Thursday 3^rd June inclusive.

Tomorrow, Friday 28^th May is a Pupil Free Day (except for children who fall into the two categories below) and will be used as a planning and preparation day for teachers in anticipation for a four-day off-site learning program.

St. Francis Xavier will continue to provide on-site supervision inclusive of tomorrow, Friday 28^th May for students in the following categories:

Children whose parents are considered essential workers as listed, cannot work from home and where no other supervision arrangements can be made
Vulnerable children, including children in out-of-home care, children deemed by Child Protection and/or Family Services to be at risk of harm and children identified by the school as vulnerable (including via referral from a family violence agency, homelessness or youth justice service or mental health or other health service).

IMPORTANT: ALL Parents of children attending the Onsite Supervision Program will need to provide evidence from their employer that they meet the Criteria for Onsite Child Supervision at School.

Process for Booking Onsite Child Supervision at St. Francis Xavier Primary School

ALL eligible families need to follow the process for booking children for Onsite Supervision.

Bookings are open from 4:00pm today, Thursday 27^th May and parents are able to book their children through until Thursday 3^rd June .

Instructions for Booking:

Bookings are made through Care Bookings (a similar program to School Interviews) . The school code is JSCEC and will not change.
Please click on the link and follow the online instructions: https://www.carebookings.com.au/code/jscec
Bookings are open from 4:00pm today, Thursday 27^th
Bookings close 5:00pm the night before for the following day. No late bookings will be accepted.

Arriving and Departing School:

Children are to arrive no earlier than 8.30am – there will be no supervision before 8:30am and the school gates will not be open
Please drop/farewell your children in the undercover area
Children will be guided to the Mother Xavier Flood Building (Junior School) where Onsite Supervision will be conducted
Pick up time20 pm from the Undercover Area, no later than 3.30pm
School uniform is required to be worn each day
Children will engage in the same online learning program as their classmates who will be at home

Student Health:

If there is a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis in your family, please advise the School immediately via email principal@sfxballarat.catholic.edu.au
We request that students who feel unwell remain at home.

Learning From Home – 7 – Day Circuit Breaker Lockdown

Learning from home through our Connected Learning Communities will begin on Monday 31^st May 2021. We recognise that there will be challenges along the way, and we are here to support you through this time. Our teachers will be working very hard tomorrow to plan and prepare meaningful learning experiences for your children and will continue to respond to questions, provide feedback to children and make phone contact with families from Monday through to Thursday between the hours of 9:00am – 3:30pm.

Connected Learning Communities (CLC)

As per previous arrangements Home Learning in the CLC , the following still applies.

Overview CLC planning documents from Foundation to Year Six will be uploaded to Seesaw on Friday afternoon between the hours of 3:00pm and 5:00pm. This will provide families with time to read the documents and plan for home learning for the following week.
Daily activities relating to and referenced in the CLC overview planners will be uploaded to Seesaw at 8:00am from Monday through to Thursday.
From Monday 31^st May , teachers will begin to upload videos that include the concept of ‘new learning’.
From tomorrow morning assemblies with Mr. Bissinella and Mrs. Bosworth will resume!
From Monday 31^st May , children will be provided with the opportunity to connect and check-in with their teacher and peers daily via the platform Zoom (please click on the link https://zoom.us/ for further information regarding Zoom).
Zoom classroom check- ins from Foundation to Year Six will occur at the following times each day:

9:15am – 9:45am	Foundation
9:15am – 9:45am	Year One
9:15am – 9:45am	Year Two
9:15am – 9:45am	Year Three

10:00am- 10:30am	Year Four
10:00am- 10:30am	Year Five
10:00am- 10:30am	Year Six

Your child will receive one Zoom invitation link for their class check in which will work for them each day. Your child will be required to click on this link via Seesaw each day to gain access to the class. This link will appear on your child’s CLC overview document and teachers will also post this link as an ‘announcement’ on Seesaw at the beginning of the week.

Please find attached the following documents to remind you of how to access classroom check-ins via Zoom:

Appendix 1: For Students Using Video Conferencing (VC) with Zoom
Appendix 2: For Parents Using Video Conferencing (VC) with Zoom

Parameters for Live-Streaming/Video Conferencing (VC)

	Is this allowed?	Is video-recording allowed?
Live streaming/video-conferencing with groups of students	Y	N

Live streaming/video-conferencing with one student	N	N

Live streaming/video-conferencing with one student together with a parent/guardian	Y	N

Live streaming/video-conferencing with adult/adults	Y	N

Pre-recorded lesson content only the teacher/presenter involved	Y	Y

Pre-recorded lesson content students involved	N	N

As you prepare again for video conferencing it may be beneficial to familiarise yourself with advice from the eSafety Commissioner. This guidance also supports our guidelines and protects children whilst learning from home. These are direct links from the Australian Government eSafety Commissioner that provide current information and guidance for parent and carers as we commence video conferencing with your children over the coming week.

Sacrament of Confirmation

Confirmation for tonight and next week is cancelled. The Parish Office will be closed but contactable by email.

School Hot Lunches

Our Parents and Friends Committee are in the process of cancelling and refunding all lunch orders made for Friday 28^th May.

Digital Devices

Students will be provided with access to digital devices to enable access to learning programs being provided by our school. Please contact the office should you need a device.

Foundation Enrolment 2022 – OPEN MORNING AND SCHOOL ALIVE TOURS (Tuesday 16th February 2021)

We are happiest when prospective families pay us a visit to see for themselves what makes us different. Come chat to our staff and students as they show you around our school.

Open Days will begin with an Information Session at 9:30 am with School Alive Tours to follow:

Tuesday 16th February 2021
Tuesday 23rd February 2021
Thursday 4th March 2021

Virtual Live Tours

Virtual Live Tours are held fortnightly on a Thursday at 9:30am in Term 1.

Event Registration:

To register your attendance for an Open Day, School Alive Tour or Virtual Tour please complete the Registration Form at https://www.sfxballarat.catholic.edu.au/enrol/open-days/

Please note: 2022 Foundation Enrolments close at the end of April 2021.

Foundation Enrolment 2022 – Information Webinars and Virtual Live Tour Schedule

We are sorry that during this time we cannot meet you and your children or show you around our school, however we can still chat face-to-face on Zoom and take you on a Virtual Live Tour. We can show you why we are a school of choice for many of our happy families and children.

Information Webinars

7:00 pm – Thursday 29^th October 2020
5:00 pm – Thursday 26^th November 2020

Virtual Live Tour Schedule

9:30 am – Thursday 15^th October 2020
9:30 am – Thursday 29^th October 2020
9:30 am – Thursday 12^th November 2020
9:30 am – Thursday 26^th November 2020
9:30 am – Thursday 10^th December 2020

COVID 19

COVID-19 Update: Face Coverings in Schools (Thursday 30th July 2020)

In line with advice from the Chief Health Officer, the Victorian Government has announced that all Victorians must wear a face covering when they leave home from 11.59 pm on Sunday 2^nd August 2020.

Face coverings will be mandatory for people aged 12 and over. These measures will slow the spread of COVID-19 and help protect the community.

In schools, this means that school-based staff and secondary school students will be required to wear a face covering.

The Victorian Chief Health Officer has advised that any face covering will be acceptable – it does not need to be a surgical mask.

Changes in COVID-19 lockdown rules for parts of regional Victoria

At his press conference this morning, Premier Daniel Andrews also announced some changes in rules around lockdown restrictions for the local government areas of Colac-Otway, Moorabool and Golden Plains, as of 11.59pm tonight (Thursday 30 July). Under the new restrictions, people in these areas will no longer be able to visit others or have visitors at home, however they will be allowed to visit restaurants and cafes, gyms and attend community sport. See further details in the Ballarat Courier.
We are currently investigating how this will impact our school as a number of our families reside in the Moorabool Shire. We will provide further clarification as it becomes available.

Guidance for St. Francis Xavier Staff

All school-based staff must wear face coverings at school, and when travelling to and from school.

Teachers and education support staff will not be required to wear face coverings while teaching, but those who wish to do so can.

Teachers should wear face coverings in other areas of the school when not teaching (for example, in the staffroom, on yard duty, and when providing first aid or taking temperatures), and when travelling to and from school.

This guidance on the wearing of facial coverings and that provided by the DHHS will not cover all of the expected school situations.

Guidance for Parents

Students who attend primary school, including those aged 12 by Year 6, will not be required to wear a face covering (although they can if they wish to).

The Chief Health Officer has advised that it is not practical to require some primary school students to wear face coverings while others are not required to.

Parents/carers will be required to wear face coverings whenever they leave the house, including for school drop-off and pick-up.

The DHHS website has advice about face coverings, including:

which different types can be used

how to make your own
how to safely wear one
how to safely remove it.
will have available for staff next week. These will be available for adult staff in our school.

Stay safe and continue to look after each other…

COVID-19 Update (Thursday 23rd July 2020)

As the COVID-19 crisis in Victoria continues, St. Francis Xavier Primary School understands there is heightened anxiety in our community.

This letter is to provide an update on actions that the school is taking in response to the latest COVID-19 restrictions based on the advice from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Catholic Education Office Ballarat (CEOB). Whilst many restrictions remain unchanged, there is a need to provide further information, including procedures to be followed when a child or staff member has been in close contact with a symptomatic person or a person who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Students should not attend school if they are symptomatic (ill). This may include a cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath, fever, or loss of sense of taste or smell. Those children should immediately get tested for COVID-19 and not return to school until a negative result is known. Follow the links below for information from the DHHS website regarding testing and testing locations:

https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/getting-tested-coronavirus-covid-19

https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/where-get-tested-covid-19

There have been a number of enquiries from families seeking advice on whether their child should be tested, based on varying degrees of contact with another person who has been/is being tested.

The current DHHS recommendation for Ballarat is that only people with symptoms, or people who have had direct/close contact with a person known to have COVID-19 service should be tested.

While a test result is pending children should remain at home in isolation until they are confirmed negative. ‘Direct/close contact’ means having face-to-face contact for more than 15 minutes with someone who has a confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19) – or alternatively sharing a closed space with them for more than two hours. The following link to the DHHS website contains more information regarding contacts.

https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/victorian-public-coronavirus-disease-covid-19#how-do-you-define-closecontact

In the case of a St. Francis Xavier student or staff member testing positive after having attended school, closure of the School will be enacted. A clear process will be communicated to parents and carers, including options for your child to travel home, or remain at school under strict supervision until the end of the school day. The School will take advice from the DHHS and the CEOB and begin contact tracing immediately.

As well, the School will undergo a complete decontamination clean. Classes will be taught remotely via the same platforms on which the first period of remote learning was delivered.

Children and staff travelling to school from a restricted zone within metropolitan Melbourne, are required to have their temperature checked daily. This is a very quick process using a non-contact infrared thermometer and will be conducted indoors.

The Victorian State Government has mandated the wearing of masks for all of Melbourne and Mitchell Shire but this is not mandated for Ballarat. However, the St. Francis Xavier supports the wearing of a mask by students and staff should they wish to, particularly given the recent trends of increased spread of the virus across the state. Whilst not compulsory, this action will help keep our teachers, children and families safe from community transmission.

Please have a conversation with your child about this and consider providing them with a face mask for use in class and on public transport where social distancing cannot be practised.

As you are aware, the school has had to cancel or postpone many assemblies, events and gatherings. We are working with our staff and students to provide some opportunities for alternative activities within our own school community. These arrangements will continue to be communicated through the school newsletter.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding.

Evolving COVID-19 situation (Thursday 8th July 2020)

Just to keep you updated on the evolving COVID situation in Victoria and any implications for our school community, the CECV response and communication is presently with the Premier’s office.

At this stage school resumes as normal for St. Francis Xavier Primary School at 8:55am next Monday 13^th July 2020.

Although lock-downs and possible school closures are localized to metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell shire, I will inform you of developments as soon as I receive them from CECV.

Thank you for your patience.

Arrangements for Beginning of Term 3 ( Thursday 25th June 2020)

There were no clear guidelines supplied by CEOB in yesterday’s COVID 19 circular regarding arrangements for the beginning of Term 3. The Director’s circular reiterated the Restrictions Update that Premier Daniel Andrew’s announced on the weekend …see below. There is no reference to schools.

COVID-19 Restrictions Update for Victoria

The Premier has announced a number of changes to restrictions from 11.59pm on Sunday 21^st June 2020. View the following for more information:

Considering this information and the uncertainty it provides schools We have made a School Decision to continue with the current School Arrangements until at least the end of Week 4 in Term 3. This means a continuation of the following arrangements:

Gatherings of adults e.g. Assemblies, Staff meetings, Uniform Shop & Hot Lunches cancelled
Camps, Trips and Excursions cancelled
School Health and Safety Measures continue for children
Regular School Cleaning
Any child who is unwell must not attend school
Beginning of the Day Drop Off arrangements
End of the Day Dismissal arrangements
Entry and exit points to the school will be open, with additional staff allocated to ensure children are safely supervised
Parents are not to enter classrooms at any stage and are to adhere to social distancing guidelines when waiting to collect their child at the classroom door
Asking parents to avoid or minimise time spent in or around the school grounds
Frequent announcements, messages, signage and red gaffer tape around school to remind staff, children and families of the need for changed behaviours

We have also made the following decision:

All concerts/performances for this year cancelled (Foundation Nativity TBC)

I will continue to update you with information as it is provided and changed.

Thank you for your understanding and ongoing support.

IMPORTANT: Return to face-to-face teaching – (Tuesday 12th May 2020)

Please find below details regarding a return to face-to-face teaching pending confirmation of finer details via CECV bulletin later today.

The Premier and Minister for Education Announcement this morning advised (all progressing well) a cross-sectoral agreement has been reached around:

• Monday 25th May Pupil free day
• Monday 25th May – return of staff (except a small group of potentially-vulnerable staff)
• Tuesday 26th May – Return of Foundation and Years 1 and 2, 11 and 12 (plus Year 10s in VET/VCE classes) and special schools
• Tuesday 9th June – Return of Years 3 – 10

School will look different:
• Protocols for staggered drop-offs, plays, lunch breaks, TBC
• Cleaning regimes will be strict; every day for rest of Term 2 and all of Term 3 TBC
• Adults will socially distance as much as possible
• Significant additional support for hygiene, hand sanitiser, PPE (where needed), additional cleaning cost allocations

St. Francis Xavier continues to remain open now for specific students (9- 10% on average).

Premier’s Statement on how we will continue Limiting spread of virus:
• The very small number of active cases in community indicate that we can move steadily and progressively to full operation of schools.
• Aggressive testing of teachers/LSOs – mobile testing stations and voluntary testing
• Staggered pick up and drop off times
• Minimising parents/others to schools .
• Assemblies, camps, excursions not on for now
• Children using drink bottles, not bubblers
• Staggered lunch breaks
• Social distancing of adults and older children
• A small number of vulnerable staff remain working from home

The long notice period is for parents/families and for us to prepare and ease the transition.

The Premier offered a very strong vote of thanks for parents, schools, principals, teachers, staffs.
The Minister thanked educators, principals, teachers, support staff for their incredible work, then parents and students.

Schools can expect further detail in the CECV bulletin later today.

As a school community, we will seek to identify any gaps in our understanding/provision over coming days, but we do have a little time to work on this together.

I will keep you informed and updated as more information becomes available. Thank you for your ongoing support!

Newsletter: Term 2 Week 5 – (Monday 11th May 2020)

St. Francis Xavier Primary School is aware of today’s announcements by the Premier Daniel Andrews, and the many media reports speculating about arrangements for returning to school. This is something that the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) is working on in liaison with the Victorian Department of Education. We want to be consistent and deliberate in our actions so that when we do return to school-based learning, this is done carefully, systematically, intelligently and in a way that takes account of what is best for students, staff and families – on every level.

The last few weeks of flexible and remote learning have been challenging for everyone in education.

It has been a difficult period for teachers, students and families as we have all adjusted to new ways of learning and teaching.

The transition has not been an easy one at times for families or teachers, but where we have been successful, it is because parents and carers are partners in achieving learning outcomes.

So, I wanted to take this opportunity on behalf of St. Francis Xavier Primary School and in particular our teaching staff, to offer my thanks for the support you have provided during this transition.

I have been inspired by the commitment and energy shown by parents and teachers in educating our children, and this is reflected in the innovative and creative ways we have come together to ensure continuity of education.

Last week for example the following occurred in our Connected Learning Community!

Examples like this show how our school community is supporting each other through this period.

I believe that meeting this challenge together has strengthened the partnership between our school and our community, which will sustain us through the learning and teaching of the weeks to come.

That partnership is, and will continue to be, the foundation of a high-quality Catholic education at St. Francis Xavier

Our school and our staff are here for you and, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us as we are available to help during this challenging period.

REMINDER: Process for Parents to book for Onsite Child Supervision at St. Francis Xavier Primary School

ALL families (including those that have booked previously) need to follow the process for booking children for Onsite Supervision.

If your child is not booked into Onsite Supervision correctly they will not be able to attend and you will asked to collect them from school.

Bookings are currently open and continue to do so every Thursday at 9:00am for the following week.

1. Instructions for Booking:
• Bookings are made through Care Bookings (a similar program to School Interviews) . The school code is SS47S and will not change.
• Please click on the link and follow the online instructions: http://www.carebookings.com.au/code?bcode=SS47S
• Bookings can be made for one week at a time only
• Bookings open Thursdays 9:00am for the following week
• Bookings close 8:00pm the night before for the following day
IMPORTANT:
AS communicated previously due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all children who can learn at home must learn from home for the foreseeable future.

Our school will be available to families with special cases, for on-site learning, only in the following exceptional circumstances:
• Reason 1 – For children whose parents can’t work from home and who require supervision
• Reason 2 – For vulnerable students without access to a suitable learning environment at home.

2. Arriving and Departing School:
• Children to arrive no earlier than 8.30am
• Please proceed straight to the Library, parents are welcome to accompany their child but asked not to go via the office or other areas of the school
• Children’s bags are to be placed in the Library Foyer
• Pick up time 3.15pm from the Library, no later than 3.30pm
• School uniform is required to be worn each day
• Children will engage in the same online learning program as their classmates who will be at home

3. Student Health:
• To ensure the health and wellbeing of all students and staff during supervised study, each parent will be required to complete the Australian government-approved symptom checker for their child attending prior to attending each day at: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/symptom-checker/tool/basic-details
• If there is a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis in your family, please advise the School immediately via email principal@sfxballarat.catholic.edu.au
• We request that students who feel unwell remain at home.

In the meantime, we thank all in the St. Francis Xavier community for your ongoing understanding. Stay home and stay safe!

Learning from Home in the CLC Update – Tuesday 28^th April 2020

In writing to you today, let me begin by saying that I hope you are all well and in this time of social isolation finding ways to enjoy family and your time together. We are living in a time that will mark and influence our lives indefinitely and undoubtedly the world and Australia will be different because of it. Hopefully economic, social and physical recovery will be quick and we will learn from the experience.

I wonder what memories our children will carry with them and what stories they will tell their children in the years to come? We are certainly living through an event that will define our lives.

I know there has been much speculation in the press about return dates to school and returning our curriculum to a physical one at school. Announcements have been made in Western Australia,

South Australia and New South Wales about a programmed return to school. No such announcements have been made in Victoria. Minister Merlino and Premier Andrews have both made it clear that at this stage we can expect remote learning to be the program for Term 2 and that continues at present to be our thinking and planning at St. Francis Xavier. At the same time when we do return, we do not know what the regulations will be imposed around social gatherings and I continue to look at School events to see how we might achieve them. Most will be postponed if possible and if not cancelled.

I understand Home Learning in the Connected Learning Community is going well and that both the teachers and children are doing a great job. Congratulations to parents, children and teachers. This really does demonstrate to me that we are a genuine learning community that aspires to improve opportunity and outcomes for our whole community.

Parent and Student Surveys:

Please find attached a summary of the survey responses and feedback from parents and children in the first two weeks of Home Learning. I wish to thank everyone who took the time to respond as your feedback is important to us and given us lots to think about. As you can see the feedback is overwhelmingly positive and supportive!

As we have stated from the beginning we will learn as well as we go, some things will work, others won’t, so we will learn and change and get better as we go. We will continue to provide opportunities for feedback as we welcome your insights and constructive feedback.

Whilst we cannot commit to make adjustments for everyone’s individual needs we will endeavour to when it becomes a concern for most. We appreciate the respectful way that people have provided the feedback as, gossip and taking to social media with concerns and complaints can be detrimental to building community. Our philosophy as a school is that we would rather know than not, as then we can act on the concern, so to continue to provide opportunities for discussion and feedback is very important to us.

As communicated last Wednesday and based on your feedback we have made the following changes to our Connected Learning Communities:

Overview CLC planning documents from Foundation to Year Six will be uploaded to Seesaw on Friday afternoons between the hours of 3:00pm and 5:00pm. This will provide families with time to read the documents and plan for home learning for the following week.
Daily activities relating to and referenced in the CLC overview planners will be uploaded to Seesaw at 8:00am from Monday through to Friday.
From Week 4, teachers will begin to upload videos that include the concept of ‘new learning’.
From Week 3, children will be provided with the opportunity to connect and check-in with their teacher and peers daily via the platform
The amount of, and frequency of notifications to be reduced.

Zoom Classroom Check-ins:

Today we have commenced our Zoom Classroom Check-ins and at the time of writing this message the Junior and Middle School have successfully completed their first web conferences! We hope that these opportunities provide children opportunities to interact socially with their teachers and classmates.

Please also include your feedback on the Zoom Check-in in this week’s parent surveys.

Finally:

We continue to be immensely proud of the way in which our children have approached the possibility of home learning. This will be different and there will be challenges along the way but they will be overcome as we all learn how to navigate this new learning environment.

The School and the St. Francis Xavier teachers and staff are all working to ensure the best possible outcome for our children. We will advise you as clarification is received. Please stay calm and do not worry. Please let me do the worrying for you as I am really good at it!

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any queries or concerns.

Update: Monday 13th April 2020

Frequently Asked Questions for Families regarding Term 2 and Home Learning

Please find below information aimed at providing our parents and children with as much information as possible in one easy-to-read format about Term 2 and Home Learning.

We have endeavoured to create answers to some of the questions being asked as there are some central themes.

We will update this section from time to time, rather than doing more posts so the information stays together rather than families going in and out of posts.

Frequently asked questions:

What will home learning look like?

The first Connected Learning Community task sheet will be uploaded at 9:00am on Wednesday 15^th April. This will be three days’ work and we will post each successive learning contract on Monday mornings via and/or Google classrooms.

For each family it will look differently. What it will not look like is teachers giving a lesson at the front of the classroom and then uploading the lesson. For some families both parents will be working from home and have little capacity to sit and work with their child all day long, others will have someone completely devoted to teaching their child and will try to run it like a school. Our teachers may also be working at home and may also supervising their own children, the elderly or sick relatives, so they are trying to combine duties as well. What we can only do is do the best in the circumstances we are working from. Classes or year levels have either SeeSaw or Google classrooms with recommended work for the week. The work will be broken into subject areas and include well-being exercises or activities and physical exercises and other things. Some children will get all this done, others will struggle to complete it. We will just do the best we can?

Is there a set time for home learning?

In some sense yes, and in some sense no. Teachers are working school hours, but for some families that will not suit. Please see the attached document and use this as a guide.

Will students have to login at a certain time?

No. The work will be on SeeSaw and Google classrooms, how and when that is completed is managed by the family. Students will not be logging into a lesson at certain times every day.

How will the teachers communicate with families?

Some teachers and families are already using the forum which is part of SeeSaw and the Google classroom. Children and parents have already started posting questions and teachers are answering the questions, so we think this will be the main communication tool. Some teachers are starting to use videos to teach some concepts, but remember this is new to us as well, so some staff are better at using technology than others. We will learn as well as we go, some things will work, others won’t, so we will learn and change and get better as we go. Teachers are discussing now whether they have to be available at a set time for parent questions – this probably will not work as working parents cannot get on at certain times and if a teacher is in front of a classroom, they will not be available, so posting questions may be the best tool.

Teachers will endeavour to respond to emails, SeeSaw communication, phone calls etc. between the hours of 9:00am and -3:30pm.

Mr. Bissinella and Mrs. Bosworth will post a daily video message (Daily assembly) via SeeSaw to announce birthdays, special achievements and events.

Will teachers give individual feedback about children?

I would suggest yes, but we have not quite worked out how we do that and it will differ depending on the age and needs of the student. Teachers do not give weekly feedback to families now, remote learning does not change that. Officially we have to report formally twice a year that has not changed. So teachers will find ways to give informal feedback as we go along.

Will my child fall behind?

In the big scheme of things, one term is not going to make a huge difference and your child has not stopped learning, it is just being done in a different way. In fact, this might be the best thing for a child’s learning as they become more independent. When we do return to school teachers will be assessing, as they always do, to see where your child is at and what the next thing they need to learn is. There is a lot of research that says the resilient child goes further than the academic child, so in some senses making sure that your child has resilient practices might be more important than the academic practices. So, time for reflection, looking at how they can contribute to society, meditation, exercise, good eating habits are really good things to learn at this time to. Having good routines around going to bed and getting up would also being important, limit the technology time etc.

I can’t get my child to do the work, they just want to play.

Classrooms are built around routines and rules and you will need to establish these in your home early. In fact, children love routines and like to do the same things at the same time. Most teachers spend the first week in school mainly focusing on this, some things are set, some are negotiated, but if you do not start with these, it can be very hard to establish these later. So whatever works for your family, needs to be worked out early. This may mean you have set times for work and breaks. It may get messy some days, but at least have something as a starting point. Eg. TV/technology goes off at 9:00am and not allowed on again until 3:30pm. Phones on the fridge during the day. You may not be working for all that time, but it may help to define the day and the school work becomes a routine rather than having to ask them to do it constantly. Teachers will always have a big discussion at the start of the year about always trying our best and aiming for the stars, this is so students become self-motivated, not just doing the work because we are nagging them. So however you set up your home for this, just have some set routines and rules and talk to them about doing their best work. It will look different in every family.

How do I know they are doing their work on their device?

Check histories occasionally, have them in a public space, work alongside them, be somewhere you can see their screens. It is very easy to be distracted by social media and gaming for all of us. We do not want students just sitting on computers all day, so most of the work should be off computers anyway.

What about the maths?

Yes, it is different from when you were a child. We were taught with a lot of rote teaching with not much understanding, just learn the formula and the rules and you would be right. Thankfully we have moved away from a lot of that. There is much more around the understanding behind it, which is much more important than just getting the answer. Do the best you can, if you really get stuck there is plenty of things on YouTube that explains it and ask the teacher, it is actually what we love to do! More importantly involve your child in as much real maths as possible, cooking, helping with the online shopping (Am I the only one doing a lot of online shopping now?) get them to fill the hand sanitizer bottle and tell you how many millilitres it is? What is the cost of a single toilet roll in one of those pack, older students can work cost per sheet? Make it fun and use the things around them. Time your shopping. Get them to tell what day it is, the date, (someone has to know in the house because I have certainly lost track of it) how many days since they saw Grandma, make it fun and make it real!

What is happening with the building project?

Well, everything is going to happen quicker, so this is a real bonus. So hopefully when we come back it will underway or very close to it!

What if my circumstances change, can my children come to school?

Yes, just let us know what is happening as we need to make sure we have the right ratio of teachers 1:10. Most of the staff will not be at school and will be working from home.

REMINDER: If you are one of the very small number of parents that will require your child to attend school please complete the survey below by clicking on the link that follows by 9:00am Tuesday 14^th April 2020.

Families are requested to complete this survey, if their child/children requires supervision no later than Tuesday 14^th April with the following information. Please complete one survey for each child:

Survey Link: https://forms.gle/8uQvx5V1PK59oFZ59

Child’s name
Child’s year level
The reason why your child is unable to learn from home
The days your child will be attending
Confirm the results of the Australian government-approved symptom checker at: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/symptom-checker/tool/basic-details

What about school reports?

Good question, not sure at this stage. The teachers usually start to work on them soon, so they certainly have the capacity to write reports, it will means we will have to work out ways to get student work that we can mark and assess. I would not be surprised if the curriculum authority makes some sort of announcement about this in the near future.

What happens when we come back to school?

It will not be like that we are strangers, we will be communicating as we go along, just like we are all doing with our families through Zoom and other tools. However, I think we need to do something to bring our community back together, whether it is a whole school picnic or something like that. However it will may be cold and it could be too cold for me to be outside picnicking!

Enrolments for 2021

Yes, this has been disrupted and the cut-off date has been extended. We certainly will still take enrolments at this time, so tell your friends to make sure they get their enrolment papers in!

School Fees

If you need assistance talk to us, some already have and we are happy to work something out. Will there be less school fees, I am afraid not, we are still paying staff, and so our costs have not changed much.

Students with special needs

Are your children with special needs allowed to attend school, yes, will they have support in the classroom, yes. Remember they will be doing the same work as the students at home in a sense, but we will be providing the adjustments where required. For students who are at home our staff will be in contact regularly and provided the best support we can in the circumstances. It may mean we send special work and/or ideas home, all depends on the needs of the child.

Face masks – should we be wearing them at school?

The medical advice is no. They have some value for people who have COVID 19 preventing them from spreading the disease but for others it has been found to help spread the disease. COVID 19 can stay alive on surfaces for many hours. People who have face masks have been found to be touching their face more often. One of the main ways people catch COVID 19 is by touching their face after they have touched a surface with COVID 19 on it. So at this stage, the medical advice is to not wear face masks. Social distancing, hand washing are our main forms of protection.

Finally.

Stuck for things to do? …. Reading, writing and maths ideas

There are many things to write about at home, from descriptions of people and surroundings and children can take photos for visual prompts. Is there anything lovely growing in the garden? Do you have interesting ornaments to describe?

If completely stuck, pobble365 https://www.pobble365.com/ has daily writing prompts, questions and sentence starters. Using a mind-mapping site such as Popplet is also https://popplet.com/ useful. Recording spoken ideas can motivate writers and free presentation sites like Prezi https://prezi.com/ allow typing in an interesting format.

Children can use technology to create a movie, a song, or a digital poster that shows their understanding of a topic. For a challenge, they could work on writing and illustrating picture books for others self-isolating, or use Google translate to make their story accessible for children in other countries.

Ideas for using technology creatively:

Draw online art using Pixlr: https://pixlr.com/
Create a music podcast using Soundation: https://soundation.com/
Edit a video using Kizoa: https://www.kizoa.com/
Create a comic strip using Pixton: https://www.pixton.com/
Write a story using Storybird: https://storybird.com/
Create an animation using Powtoon: https://www.powtoon.com/
Build a 3D model using Tinkercad: https://www.tinkercad.com/
Code a game using Scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu/

Share your finished products with principal@sfxballarat.catholic.edu.au

This is a great time to connect with our children, help them develop a love of reading, learn some card games, enter a couple of competitions, play board games and do some puzzles. We will get through this, be better people and be a stronger community.

Principal’s Update