Principal’s Address

 2022

June 2022

Dear parents/carers, staff and students,
Parents are reminded that the Semester 1 student reports will be sent home electronically through Connect. Given significant absences of students and staff due to COVID-19, we have extended the date for reports to be sent home. The reports will now be sent out on Monday, 27 June 2022.
The information provided in the report provides a summary of your child’s achievement, effort and attitude. The report is just one of a number of strategies used by the school to communicate with you about your child’s progress. Parents and carers are asked to spend time with their children to discuss the report. We believe this to be a very valuable exercise and would encourage all parents to acknowledge the wonderful work completed by their children and look at setting some goals for Semester 2. Position Grade reports will also be sent home.
It is most important that parents ensure that they have registered on Connect prior to this date. If you have not done so or are requiring assistance with this, please contact Amanda.Downing@education.wa.edu.au
Early Close – Report Interviews
Parents/carers that wish to discuss their child’s report with the classroom teacher/s and or specialist teachers, have the opportunity to do so during the scheduled early close on Wednesday 27 July, 2022. The purpose of these meetings is to allow time for a discussion between parents and teachers, regarding any concerns and or queries you have regarding your child’s report. Students in Year 4 to Year 6 are invited to attend the meeting with their parent.
The school will close at 11.15am; students are to be collected from their class at this time. If you would like your child to walk/ride home or be collected by someone different it is important that you provide the class teacher with a note. Parents are asked to make alternative arrangements for their child/ren on this day.
Students Arriving Late to School
Did you know that students that consistently arrive late to school each day can lose up to 50 hours of instruction time, with up to 200 interruptions to class over the school year ?
It is of concern that we are seeing an increasing number of students arriving to school after the siren. In many classes, up to a quarter of the students in the class are arriving late. This is not acceptable unless there is valid reason for being late. We do understand that there are times students arrive late for a valid reason, which is beyond their control; however, the majority of late arrivals to school are without a valid reason.
Campbell Primary School values every minute that a student is in class. Students that arrive late to class interrupt the teaching and learning programme, this impacts not only the student that is late but all other students in the class. We implore parents to support the school in having your child/ren here before the school siren at 8:40 am. All classrooms open at 8:25 am. Students that arrive this little bit earlier have time to be organised and settle in for the day’s learning.
I expect to see a great improvement in this area.
Keeping our Children Safe
Just last week in a neighbouring school a student was run over in the car park. Fortunately, the child is ok. We have also had a couple of near misses over the course of this term. This is a very timely reminder to all parents of the need to slow down, use the cross walk and be patient when using the car park. By doing just this you can help ensure the safety of not only your own children but all children.
I thank the many parents that are making good use of the school’s Kiss and Drive facility. Accessing this is alleviating considerable congestion in the car park.
In-Term Swimming
According to the National Safe Kids Campaign, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children ages one through 14. It is absolutely crucial that all children know how to swim at a young age. There is water all around us, even if it’s as small as a bathtub. Making sure that your child is comfortable in and around water is essential to their safety.
Swimming lessons are the best way to significantly decrease the risks of drowning. The earlier our children start lessons the better.
All students in Pre-primary, Year 1, 3, 5 and 6 will receive information next week, regarding in-term swimming lessons commencing on Monday 1 August 2022. Please be advised, the cost for swimming lessons will be $55.00 per child. This cost is lower than the cost for Term 2 swimming lessons due to the number of buses required.
We hope to see all students attend the lessons as it is so very important that our children learn to swim. Parents are reminded that the pools are heated, and that despite the cooler weather the students greatly enjoy the lessons alongside their friends.
Staffing Semester 2
Farewell to Mrs Cunningham
We sadly farewell Mrs Cunningham at the end of this term as she has made the decision to retire. On behalf of the school staff and community, I thank Mrs Cunningham for the outstanding contributions she has made to the education of our students. Mrs Cunningham commenced at Campbell PS in 2004 and has worked across many year levels. She will be sorely missed by the staff, students, and community. Community members will have an opportunity to farewell Mrs Cunningham at the senior assembly, which is scheduled for the 30 June 2022 at 8 :40 am. We wish Mrs Cunningham all the very best for her retirement and the future.
Student Enrolments
If your child is starting Kindergarten, Pre-primary, Year 7 or changing schools in 2023, it is imperative that you enrol your child/ren before 22 July, 2022. Information is provided on the school’s webpage.
Thank you to our P&C
As you know, the Campbell PS P&C have continued to work tirelessly to support the school financially through fundraising, with the recent Mother’s Day stalls, election day sausage sizzle and uniform stalls. I thank all members and volunteers for their continued support of our school.
I would like to wish all parents/carers, staff and students a very safe and relaxing holiday. Term 2 has been another very busy and highly productive term at Campbell and I am sure that everyone is now looking forward to the break. I look forward to Semester 2 and welcoming all back to school.
Kind regards,
Lynne Bates
Principal

April 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,

As the term draws to a close I would like to acknowledge the collective efforts of all in supporting our students to have a successful term, despite the distractions of COVID-19. It has most definitely been a term like no other, with the significant disruptions we have experienced across the school due to COVID-19. We know that many families have had to manage periods of isolation and/or have been unwell with COVID-19. Several of our staff have also had to isolate as close contacts and have been unwell with COVID-19. Such times have shown just how resilient and supportive our school community is.

This term we have had a total of 55 positive COVID-19 cases reported to the school, 6 of whom are staff members. We have had a significant number of students and staff on COVID leave due to being close contacts and needing to isolate. 166 of our students have accessed Learning from Home units of work whilst they have been isolating or COVID-19 positive and well enough to complete work at home.

I thank all families for your understanding whilst we have had to staff our school during such difficult times. I, like you, hope for a more settled term ahead, however, this of course is not certain. I can say though, that our staff are well-prepared and will ensure that the focus remains on prioritising both student well-being and ensuring our students access a rigorous curriculum, even if they are learning from home at any time.

Thank you all for your support this term whilst we have implemented many operational changes in response to Department of Education COVID-19 guidelines.

As you may be aware, public health and social measures have been eased for schools for Term 2, details at wa.gov.au. We continue to follow the current health advice and I am writing to let you know what the changes mean for our school.

We are pleased to advise that parents/carers are allowed on school sites in Term 2 for the following purposes:

o   to attend year group assemblies

o   to attend face to face parent/teacher meetings

o   to attend indoor and outdoor sporting events, infrequent special events, performances and other interschool events with masks and physical distancing

o   to attend face to face meeting e.g. P&C and school board/council meetings

o   to volunteer in roles outside of the classroom, including the canteen

o    drop-off/pick up outside of classrooms

Parents/carers attending school must continue to wear masks on school grounds and adhere to physical distancing, where possible. Please note parents/carers are not allowed inside classrooms.

Please note you do not need to report COVID-19 positive cases to the school during the school holidays. However, all positive RATs must be reported to WA Health via www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/ratregister.

I encourage parents to continue to support your child at home during the holidays with the Holiday Reading Challenge.

Staff Farewells

We farewell the following staff at the end of Term 1:

Mrs Claire Tan – School Psychologist. Mrs Tan will be on maternity leave for the remainder of the year. We wish her all the best for the safe arrival of her first born.

Mr David Turner- Physical Education Specialist. We thank Mr Turner for both his great positivity as a staff member and his contributions to the Physical Education programme. We wish him all the best for the future.

Ms Kim Tan – Year 1, LA5 – tandem teacher. Mrs Tan no doubt will be back with us again in the near future.

In-term Swimming

Students in LA21, LA23, LA24 and LA12, LA13, LA16 from Years 2, 4 and the 2/3 and 4/5 classes will be able to participate in In-term swimming classes next term. Swimming lessons will be in Week 7 and 8 of term. Information regarding Interm swimming lessons will be sent out early next term.   Lessons commence on Tuesday 8 June, 2022 with the cost being approximately $60.00 per child. Final costing will be advised early in Term 2.

School Security over the Break

Parents are asked to be alert and report any suspicious behaviour within the school to School Watch 1800 177 777.

Return to School

Parents are reminded that Term 2 recommences for both staff and students on Tuesday 26 April 2022.  Please visit the school webpage on www.campbellPrimaryschool.wa.edu.au for information on the upcoming events in Term 2.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday and I look forward to seeing everyone next term. I also wish to extend my sincere thanks to the school staff for their incredible support of the Campbell school community during this term.

Lynne Bates – Principal

L  

Monday, 21 March 2022 @2:33PM

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are starting to see an increase in the number of students, staff and/or their family members having COVID-19. Of course, this is having an impact upon the school’s operations. Your child is likely to have different teachers from time to time over the coming weeks. They also may have one of the specialist teachers or a deputy or principal as their class teacher.  We appreciate your understanding during this time.

You would also be aware that many of our school events have been postponed. This is due to the Very High Caseload Guidelines we are required to put in place. Schools have been requested to minimise cohort and contacts where possible. As such, there are several changes to our normal operations. I have listed below some of the ways in which we are doing this at our school:

Assemblies/Whole school activities

  • Online WebEx delivery.
  • Use of Microsoft Teams and online platforms to share key presentations and critical information to parents, staff and students. This includes P&C and School Board meetings.

Staff meetings and gatherings

  • Meetings held via online.
  • Staff eating recess and lunch in their teaching blocks.
  • Physical separation of key staff (e.g. limiting access to other staff workspaces). Staff stay within their block and do not cross teaching blocks unless required to do so.

Timetabling

  • Staggered recess and lunch breaks with half cohorts of students at a time.
  • Specialist areas taking Year Level cohorts on given days.

Outdoor learning/activities

  • Increased opportunities for outdoor learning.
  • Scheduled breaks within a lesson outside, eg Crunch and Sip
  • Separated play/recreational areas with daily rotations of play areas on the school oval.

Teaching and learning

  • Education Assistants assigned to cohorts.
  • Executive Team members allocated to blocks except the Principal who goes across all teaching blocks.

Health and Hygiene Practices

  • Allocated toilet blocks for cohorts of students. (e.g. year levels).

Library

  • Year based roster for use of the library. Establish bulk loans opportunities.

As you can see we have put a lot in place to support minimising the spread of COVID-19 within our school. We expect that this will be in place through Term 2 also.

 

Furthermore, given the requirements to minimise contact between cohorts we are not able to run our before and after school clubs, these include:

Dance Troupes

Numero

School Choir/Ensembles

Before school fitness class

How can you assist as a parents?

  • Please read all the information that is sent out to you regarding COVID-19 and requirements regarding isolation.
  • Please let the school know immediately if your child has tested positive to COVID-19 by emailing Campbell.PS@education.wa.edu.au. This allows us to determine close contacts and advise families quickly. Please be aware, we do not publicly identify individual students as COVID positive.
  • If your child is isolating at home following being identified as a close contact from someone at school, please let the school know that they are returning to school as they have returned a negative RAT test or PCR test by completing the survey sent out via SMS.

I appreciate that parents and students may be disappointed with many of the operational changes we have put in place, however, I do expect that you will be supportive and understanding of the changes.  Comparisons to what others schools may be doing is not helpful. I remain steadfast in supporting the guidelines we are given from the Department of Education and for prioritising your child’s health and well-being, at all times.

We are in a pandemic and doing all we can to ensure that your child’s well-being and time at school is maximised and met with minimal disruption. This is our priority.

 Kind regards,

Lynne Bates

Principal