Primary
Natanya Milner – Head of Primary School
Welcome to Term 3
Welcome to Term 3. It has been lovely to see the children settle back into school so smoothly and happily. There is definitely a buzz of joy and gratitude as we know that all being together is not something to be taken for granted. I am sure we are all watching cautiously as we make plans for the upcoming term. As always, we are taking advice regarding which arrangements are cancelled or altered and which can go ahead. We will keep you updated regularly as things change.
Go With The Flow (GWTF)
I apologise for beginning with such a blunt and confronting comment, especially to those of you who are consistently careful and follow the rules. My greatest general concern in both the mornings and afternoons is that I see many people who, in a rushed or busy moment, prioritise efficiency over safety. I do understand the temptation to speed things up (for example, by U-turning on Stanley Street, quickly pulling into a driveway and backing out of it in order to drop off or turn around, pulling into the GWTF queue part way through etc.) but I feel confident that if any of us ever injured a child whilst doing this, we would forever regret trying to save those few minutes. I ask you to always keep this in mind as you make decisions driving around the School.
As you may have noticed, the changes to GWTF have created additional congestion around the School. Whilst I understand that this is frustrating, we ask for your patience while we determine which are teething issues and which require change in the coming weeks. I assure you that all of our decisions consider efficiency but prioritise safety.
I ask for your support in the following areas:
- Please share the new GWTF information with whoever collects your children (grandparents, carers etc)
- Please respectfully follow the instructions of any Emanuel staff
- Please do not arrive early. There is a limited number of places and we are finding there is unnecessary congestion from 3.00 pm. The children will not be there until 3.30 pm and GWTF will not be closed if there are still a number of children waiting.
- Do not wait in the area in front of GWTF which is designated for cars to pull back into traffic
- Do not call your children from your position in the queue outside of the collection area. Only the staff are to call the children to the cars.
- If you are on foot and arriving in person, please remain in the allocated area (socially distanced). We do not want to block the pathway for staff, children and the public.
- It is important that you drive around the block rather than blocking the road or pulling into the bus zones.
- If your children are using a car seat, please ensure you have taught them how to clip themselves into it.
- If you need to get out of the car (e.g. to do up a car seat) or access the boot (e.g. to put in large musical instruments), please do not use GWTF but rather park in the surrounding streets and use the ‘in person’ queue.
Canteen closure
The canteen will be closed next Thursday 30 July 2020 due to Tisha B’Av. Please ensure your children bring all food and drink they will need throughout the day.
Years 3-6 Athletics Carnival
Unfortunately we have made the difficult decision to cancel this term’s Athletics Carnival for Years 3-6. We were hoping to go ahead, particularly because ASISSA was still planning to have their carnival and we wanted the children to be able to proceed to the higher levels. This week, ASISSA have cancelled their carnival and we have also decided to cancel ours. We are working to create some active and fun fitness and athletics related activities for the children to be involved in during the day/week of the cancelled carnival. Thank you for your understanding.
Protective Behaviours parent information event – survey
Deborah Blackman is a social worker with a background in Child Protection. She has been working with some of the classes in the Primary School (and does so every year) in order to ensure our community is well informed and proactive. We offer a parent session in Term 3 that focuses on ‘Keeping Our Children Safe’ and is open for ALL parents of Years K-6 children to attend.
We are looking to book in a session for parents with Deborah Blackman this term as a continuation of the learning happening in Years K,1,3 and 5. The parent session will be held virtually on Zoom this year. We recommend all parents join this as the information is incredibly valuable and important.
Before we secure a date and time, we would like to ask you for your input. Please complete this short survey by Friday 31 July 2020 8.00 am.
Once we confirm a date and the best time, we will send you some more information via email.
Shabbat shalom and have a lovely weekend.