Our Lady of Grace Newsletter No images? Click here “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. TERM 2 WEEK 4 - 20 MAY 2020 PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGEDear Parents Our school is abuzz with the sound of children – it’s a great sound and one that makes the hearts of teachers sing! Thank you for the trust you have shown in us by sending your children back to school. We have surveyed parents, staff and students and are using the information provided to adapt and create processes and learning should we be required to go back to remote learning or close our school due to COVID-19 cases. I have sought the advice and assistance from both the Police and the Shire to find the safest way to move our children on and off our school site. Their advice is that we are doing an extraordinary job in extraordinary times. We seem to do really well in the mornings and well done to the many parents who navigate traffic, bikes, buses and roundabouts to deliver their child safely to school at three points around the school. The afternoon pick up remains problematic and as of Monday next week we will be staggering our end of day in an effort to alleviate the gridlocking that is occurring. A letter explaining these changes will be sent out this Friday. I am grateful to the many parents who have read instructions and been helpful in adapting to changes being made and following road rules. Last year we developed our Wellbeing SHARER Model for Our Lady of Grace – our definition of wellbeing is: “Feeling good, functioning well, doing good for others”. We are very conscious at the moment of the enormous shift in our children’s world and the possible impact on their physical, social, emotional and psychological health. Staff are vigilant in prioritizing the wellbeing of students and it has been noted that some of our children have settled really well, some are struggling with the return to school and some are unsure if they are at school! All of this is very normal given the circumstances of the last couple of months. So we have decided to celebrate all the good things we have and to highlight wellbeing on Friday 29 May with a Wellbeing Day. Our Year 6 leaders and our staff will facilitate all students across the day in sessions devoted to feeling good, functioning well and doing good for others. Information regarding the day will be sent home next Monday and students are invited to dress in their house colours for the day. Your wellbeing is important to us as well and we are working with the Parents and Friends Association to ‘check in ‘ with our parents. On Monday we’ll let you know what that ‘check in’ will look like. We’ve had tremendous support from our Parent Representatives and our P&F Association with their sponsorship of our Michael Grosse Parenting Ideas communication. We have been able to access Mass Online at Our Lady of Grace Parish because of your hard work and generosity with the BenQs in each classroom. Thank you for partnering with us in the education of your child and I look forward to sharing with you our exciting Wellbeing Day on Friday 29th May (the Friday before the long weekend and pupil free day). God Bless, Gabrielle Doyle Pupil Free Day - Tuesday 2 June Wellbeing - Michael Grose We need your help! A gentle reminder that library books need to be returned to the Hive ASAP. Children from next week can start taking out library books, however please make sure children have their library bags on their designated day. Family Meals and Kids Snack Packs Please note, when we reach the capacity for family meals, they will be closed off for ordering. We recommend ordering early to avoid disappointment. The updated meal menu will be available on QuickCliq and the school website by the end of the week. Recess and Lunch The P&F Executive Committee is back up and running and looking forward to re-engaging with the OLG school community over the next 4 weeks. A big priority for us is to ensure we hear from as many parents as we possibly can to seek feedback on how we best support OLG as we gradually transition back to ‘normal’ school life. We will be asking for parent feedback in the coming weeks so please be open to sharing some of your thoughts and ideas. Entertainment Book - Support OLG and your local community! Stay safe & take care everyone! Parents of children in Sacramental Years 3, 4 and 6 - ALL Sacramental programs remain delayed. We will work closely with our Parish to undertake the Sacramental workshops, programs and retreats once we have been advised by the Perth Archdiocese that it is safe to do so. We acknowledge the original custodians of this land, the Nyungar people, and show our respect for their ancestors and traditions. Our Lady of Grace School |