Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Our updates on COVID-19 for today:

  • I can not urge you enough – inform the school if your child is going to be absent. The office spent two hours today, chasing up on the whereabouts of your children. We totally support your decision to keep your children at home. Please respect our office staff and school by letting us know your intentions. If you have made the important and difficult decision to keep your children at home, this is reasonable according to the attendance policy. However, there are strict guidelines that surround this. They are not to be coming and going from school. That is to say, at home on a Monday for ‘Self-Isolation’ and then back at school on Tuesday. We support your decision and can extend their absence in advance until further notice or the end of the term. Please do this via the school website: https://mindarieprimary.wa.edu.au/absentee-notification/
  • Please don’t plan to pick children up throughout the school day to ‘Self-Isolate’. This is another cause of contention among students, some of whom have been getting upset when their classmates leave.
  • Teachers at Department of Education schools have been instructed by the Director General of Education to focus on the students who are at school and classroom learning. We as a school went above and beyond this direction to provide a localised work package to support our kids with their immediate learning. We are currently working with the Department of Education as to what remote learning will be supported by the Department. We are very aware that our families across our school have varied access to technology and we need to be mindful of this to ensure equity for all students across our school and Western Australia. As we know more, we will release more on this matter. Please do not ask your child’s classroom teacher for any extra work.
  • When arranging to collect iMaths books for distance learning, please do so before, or after school. Please keep your visit to the classroom to a minimum.
  • Friday the 27th of March will be the last day for Lunch Orders through the P&C.
  • Sports equipment will now be set into Year level groups. The equipment will be washed thoroughly by the school at the end of each lunch session.
  • We have had to make the very difficult decision to stop the dogs coming to school until such time as we can revert to the front door being closed, this is to ensure the safety of the dogs.
  • Senior Choir has been postponed until further notice.

Students Before and After School

Thank you for your support so far regarding this.

Students are not to arrive at school before 8:15am.

Children are to be picked up at 2.45pm unless attending before / after school care. This is a matter of safety and security.

Attendance

It is imperative that parents and guardians inform the school if you are not sending children to school. On top of our already increased workload, our office staff have spent countless hours contacting parents to confirm the whereabouts of your children.

Please keep sick children who are genuinely sick at home.  Children with bad coughs, sore throats, sneezing and so forth.  This will reduce the work load and stress levels of all at school. Please advise the school office via email, Connect or the absentee notification link.

https://mindarieprimary.wa.edu.au/absentee-notification/

Thank you in advance for your support. If you wish to discuss any of the above, please phone the school. Please be assured that we will provide you with updates as we are provided with them.

Kind regards,

Barbara Bromley
Principal
March 24 2020