We hope this post finds all of you safe and well.

Like everywhere else in WA, COVID-19 seems to be the dominant topic of conversation in our school at the moment and we have had to navigate positive cases in school and the introduction of facemasks for students in Years 3 – 6.

We are extremely grateful for the way you have supported your children and the school during periods of isolation and with the facemasks we have received some really positive comments, as well as some really valuable and constructive feedback too. Thank you for all you have done to help us in this space.

Can I ask that you continue to support us by keeping your children at home if they are unwell or running a temperature. If they are unwell and you have taken the precautionary measure giving them a RAT test, which has returned a negative result and you have then brought them into school, we would be very grateful if you let us know. That way, if we see they have any mild symptoms, we will know they have returned a negative result and won’t necessarily contact you to collect your child.

Since the start of this year, the teaching staff have seen a steady increase of emails from you, asking questions and passing on various bits of information. We completely understand that not being able to speak with teachers face to face at the moment is a key reason for this. However, over the last week, we saw a huge increase in emails, which in some cases were unmanageable for teachers to respond to, while also teaching, planning and preparing isolation learning packs.

Could we please ask that you follow the protocols for parent to teacher emails sent out last year. To refresh your memory, please see the protocols at the bottom of this post.

Thank you again for all of your continued support.

Kind Regards

Andrew Johnston and Hannah Lockwood-Jones

And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ Philippians 4:7

 

Protocols for parent-to-teacher emails

To support our community and especially our teaching staff we would like to set the following protocols when using emails:

• Please keep all email short and to the point. Dot points are helpful.
• Emails are used to confirm appointments or a predetermined course of action.
• Emails can be used to ask a question.

Emails should not be used:

• To complain about an issue.
• To share complex and detailed information, this should be communicated in a pre-set meeting.
• To follow up on an incident at school – please allow your child to use their voice and advocate for themselves. We do teach students how to do this and students are encouraged to find an adult whom they trust to share any problems they are having at school and discuss a plan of action.
• Emails should be kept to a minimum and it would be helpful if this mode of communication could be kept between 8am and 4pm. If an email needs to be written at night, please draft these to be sent only between office hours. In this way our teachers can enjoy a restful evening at home with their families.

Can you help the Mowamjum Aboriginal Community make hill trolleys??

We are seeking donations of old bike helmets, knee and elbow pads to assist the students in Mowamjum community to experience the thrill of hill trolleys.

No hills in Mowamjum!!

It doesn’t matter, they have that covered, all they need is the resources.

Please donate if you have any of the above items at home and you are no longer using them.

Donations can be given to your child’s teacher for collection.

 

Dear Parents and Guardians

A big part of St Stephen’s School’s holistic education is about preparing our students for the world beyond School. Whether it be via an academic pathway or vocational route, we work closely with each student to understand their interests and strengths and guide them toward success.

Last year we reached out to our parent community asking for support with our Career Expo, Career Conversations and Work Experience and many of you volunteered your time and expertise, which was fantastic. I would like to extend the same invitation again this year. Would you be willing to be involved any of the following:

• Presenting to a group of students about your job/industry
• Providing Work Experience placements for our students – one day a week or a one week placement
• Chatting to students about your career pathway at our Career Conversations event in November

Specific details are included below. If you would like to volunteer to be involved in any of the above, or would like to chat about any further opportunities for our students, please get in touch with our Careers Adviser, Sarah Cooke at sarah.cooke@ststephens.wa.edu.au. We would love to hear from you.

Regards

Dr Darnelle Pretorius

Head of Campus