Dear Parents and Community,
This week’s blog post has some important information about ways in which we are supporting students during a time of increased COVID numbers across the state. Please take the time to read through the email.
New Restrictions
The WA Government have just announced that, as of this Thursday, March 3, the State will move to Level 2 restrictions. These restrictions include students from Year 3 and above wearing masks. From Thursday, we ask that students in these year groups remember to bring their masks with them to school. We have some extra masks available for those who may forget but it is not an endless supply. The Premier has stated these measures should only be in place for a short time – possibly around four weeks – and will be reviewed at the end of the month.
Students in Isolation
Should your child need to isolate due to having COVID or being a close contact, we will be providing some activities for them to complete. These activities can be found via the newly installed ‘Isolated Learning Tab’ on your child’s class blog. There will be a range of activities which will include English and Maths. Please know that these activities are optional. If your child is unwell there is no expectation from the school for these activities to be completed. The Education Department has made it clear that as soon as children are well and out of their isolation period they should return to school.
Class Isolation
If a whole class is required to be in isolation, that class will be moved to an online learning platform. Students will access their learning via the “Online Learning’ tab on their class blog. It is essential that you have downloaded TEAMs and are logged in using your child’s username and password. This information has been provided via a ‘noreply’ email from the school on 11 February at 4pm to the primary contact as noted in SEQTA.
Unwell Children
If your child is unwell please do not send them to school as they will be sent home.
Contacting Teachers
Please be aware our staff are currently receiving a huge increase in emails. Due to the increased numbers of emails staff are responding to, we ask for patience in receiving a reply. Staff are unable to offer health guidance for your child. Information regarding current Covid isolation and contact requirements can be found on the WA Health website.
We understand that there is a lot of information to take in as you receive increased amounts of communication from the school. The team are trying hard to ensure that only essential information is being sent out to our community. Due to continual changes in restrictions and case numbers levels in the state, the school needs to be agile and make necessary changes or adaptions to ensure that we keep the community informed and safe.
As our State navigates the weeks ahead, please pray for our government leaders, health practitioners, students, community, teachers and school leaders.
We wish you and your family the very best.
Hannah Lockwood-Jones & Andrew Johnston
PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS 2022
Monday 14 March – Thursday 17 March
This is an opportunity for students, parents and teachers (Years 1 – 6) to meet online and discuss how 2022 has commenced. Appointments are in 10 minute intervals.
Online interviews will be conducted via Teams.
The online interview will be conducted utilising your child’s Teams account.
The Parent Portal can be accessed using the following URL: https://portal.ststephens.wa.edu.au/
Under Plan the Term > click on Interview Bookings > then Login to EdInfo to book an interview. Once in EdInfo, click on the Interviews tab and select your preferred time with the teacher.
Booking sessions open on Monday 28 February at 4pm and close on Thursday 10 March at 4pm.
Parents, to log into the Parent portal, use your parent username
(e.g. 12345@parent.ststephens.wa.edu.au) and parent password.
If you need to reset/modify your password, please go to https://password.ststephens.wa.edu.au.
If you require further assistance, please contact the ICT Parent helpdesk at https://help.ststephens.wa.edu.au/ or phone 9243 2160.
Hannah Lockwood-Jones & Andrew Johnston
St Stephen’s Primary – World’s Greatest Shave 2022
There are many worthwhile causes to support throughout the year and this is one that I would like to draw attention to. In 2014, my then three year old daughter was diagnosed with Leukaemia. Thanks to a privileged medical system and God’s mercy, my daughter is now fit and well. She is in her sixth year since treatment finished and her recovery has been very positive.
Throughout that treatment period and even beyond, the support for families dealing with blood cancers has been amazing. Fundraising initiatives like the Greatest Shave helped our family through a difficult time of our lives. We are extremely grateful to all of the selfless people who have generously given to this cause.
To further the cause, I would like to support the World’s Greatest Shave at St Stephen’s School. For those interested in supporting this fundraising effort, these are the details…
- Our Greatest Shave Day will be held on Friday 8 April(last day of term 1)
- Participating on the day can be done in the following ways
- Register online with parent permission (parents please email me at daniel.parker@ststephens.w.aedu.au to express consent), fundraise and then have hair shaved or cut (you must be registered and have sent in parental permission and fundraised to do the shave or cut)(some students like to participate by cutting off their pony tail)
- Don’t register online, but still colour your hair at home or wear a wig and then bring a donation on the day
- Students/staff/parents can support by giving online or registering as a participant at the link below
https://secure.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?TeamID=135432
*Under the red box saying “donate our team”, in little text it says “or sign up and join our team” – click on that to join.
I am fully aware that there are many worthwhile causes to support, so please do not feel any obligation to give to this fundraising, but of course we welcome it if you are willing and able.
Mr Daniel Parker – Primary PE Specialist at St Stephen’s Duncraig
