Newsletters

Dear parents, guardians and families of our ASHS community,

Welcome back to term 3 which we hope will not hold any surprises. I do hope that families have had the opportunity to enjoy a school holiday break while exercising the freedom that we are all experiencing in our Phase 4 eased restrictions.

At the end of Term 2 the State Government gave schools instructions that enable us to move to more flexibility in our school activities while still considering the new normal continuing precaution of good hygiene practices and sensible physical distancing. I have no doubt that we will continue to evolve however cautiously forward in the coming months.

The Minister has outlined that; we have some way to go before schools are completely back to business as usual, while continuing to follow the very best health advice.

I would like to acknowledge our parents and families for the good will that they have shown us when processes are not always running smoothly. Thank you for your encouragement and support. I would also like to thank all staff for their continued commitment, flexibility and resilience to the many twists and turns that have been actioned. We continue to be in good shape and it is a good time to be a Western Australian! We are also fortunate to be in a profession that has been able to support students and our broader community in a very complex time.

When students return to school on Tuesday 21st July, we will be encouraging students to continue with our term 2 hygiene and social distancing practices.  These will be outlined to students on Tuesday morning and will not come as any surprise as they are our new normal in these times.

At a time when our world is changing we do need to look forward to some optimism. Our state is in a reasonable position and it would appear that there is a Federal Government’s investment in Future employment. I will not go into a lot of detail but the current situation will create some different employment opportunities for students both via university studies with a reduction in course costs for shortage and focus areas, and opens many doors in the area of Vocational Education and Training.  This is a very important message for our communities and students as it is a point of optimism in a time where there remains some uncertainty.  We will certainly provide details as they become available and hope to have this discussion with students and parents in the near future.

I trust that we may finally have a term that runs on a more even keel, as we continue to work through complex challenges in partnership, as strong communities do.

DOMENIC CAMERA

PRINCIPAL

20th July 2020

Enrolment information for Year 7 2021 at ASHS will soon be available to our feeder Primary Schools and the school community.
Enjoy this sneak preview of our specialist facilities and incredible staff enjoying happy school days in our state of the art, purpose built Egret Wing.

YEAR 7 TRANSITION

Kelly Prime

Program Coordinator – Transition

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Year 12 Student Declaration and Permission Online Completion

As part of their final year of schooling, all Year 12 students and other students enrolled in ATAR course examinations need to be aware of the requirements to achieve the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) and for sitting ATAR course examinations. The requirements are listed in the Year 12 Information Handbook, which is available on the Authority website athttps://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/year-12-information.

Student Declaration

Students are required to declare that they have read and understood the rules and procedures governing the ATAR course examinations, and that they are aware that their marks will be provided to the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC).

Student Permission

The purpose of the online student permission section is to enable students to give their permission for the release of certain personal information and the use of their written and practical examination responses and school assessments in resources produced by the Authority. Also provided is the explanatory information about the three responses and the terms on which the student materials will be utilised.

Before a student completes the Student Declaration and Permission online

Students must (if under 18 years of age) have discussed their responses with their parents/guardians before submitting them online. The online procedure has been developed so that you cannot complete the form unless you click ‘Yes’ to ‘I have discussed my responses to the above questions with my parents/guardians.’

Please note: Students will be required to complete the Student Declaration and Permission when they log in to the Student portal before they can gain access to other important information, such as their course enrolments, examination timetable/s and results.

Completing the Student Declaration and Permission online

To complete the Student Declaration and Permission online, the student will need to visit the Student portal on the Authority’s websitehttps://student.scsa.wa.edu.au/student-portal. Students can complete this at home, and will also be given the opportunity during school to complete this with Ms Roberts, Mr Mungioli or Mrs Nurse. Students require their 8-digit Student Number; this can be located on the front page of any of your high school reports, or by visiting Mrs Nurse in the front office before school, or during Lunch 1 or Lunch 2. Additional parent information and how to complete the declaration is attached. Please do not hesitate to make contact should you have any questions or need information clarified.

Tamara Nurse

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

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Please be advised from Monday 4th May, the Canteen staff will be unable to accept cash from students.

Students will only be able to purchase from the Canteen by online order or card transaction.

This survey is designed with the purpose of determining the number of students expected to return on Wednesday 29 April 2020. This will assist with our planning to manage the health and safety of our staff and students.

NB If you have more than one child at the school that have different attendance intentions ie. Year 12 attending, Year 9 staying home, you will need to submit two forms.

If they have the same attendance intention they can be submitted on the same form.

Please complete by Monday 27th April.

Click here to access the survey

Ben Lagana

ACTING PRINCIPAL

24th April 2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am writing to you again during the school holidays to update you around our arrangements for Term 2 as things continue to evolve.

I understand that there will be uncertainty around returning to school and that is why the State Government has given parents a choice about whether their children return to school for face-to-face teaching or learn from home.  It is a personal decision influenced by each family’s individual circumstances.

What I can tell you is that there is a strong encouragement for our students to be in a face to face environment, if this is possible, so that they are supported by the daily routines of school.

For students that do attend:

• Teachers will teach a face-to-face program and timetable for students attending school
• These teachers will not be required to teach the online and distance education component
• Our approach to supporting learning will be determined by our student attendance rates and
• school community needs
• Please ensure that students are in good health
• Students with any illness should remain at home
• Students who attend sick will be sent home
• Reduce all physical contact; Avoid direct social contact (handshakes, hugs, etc.).

Parent survey update:

By the end of Friday 24^th April, we will be sending a very short survey to parents/carers in an attempt to establish the number of students that will be returning to school.  We would request that parents please respond so that we can plan with confidence for our curriculum delivery.

Updates from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) in relation to all of our senior school:

The encouragement for Year 11 and 12 students returning to school in Vocational Education and Training, General Studies and ATAR studies is supported by decisions being made by the appropriate authorities. Parents, students and teachers can use the link below to access information provided by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority to ensure that students are not disadvantaged.

https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/curriculum-assessment-covid-19/overview

For students involved in Vocational Training the following advice is in place:

The South Regional TAFE, Bunbury Campus:

Week 1 of this term will continue to be the blended delivery model that was in place prior to the School holidays.  Lecturers will be in contact with students, over the course of the week as well as an individual notification being sent to all enrolled students. From Week 2, all campuses will return to face to face delivery of courses, when all recommendations will be in place as directed by the Department of Health.

The Bunbury Regional Trade Training Centre the following applies:

Lecturers will contact students as some courses return to a face to face delivery Week 1 and others certainly by Week 2.

Our Organisational Site Arrangements:

The Administration Office will be restricting foot traffic, and the area will only be accessible by appointment only. Parents will be informed of work collection processes once we have all survey returns.

Canteen Guidelines – Term 2

• To ensure our canteen is able to operate efficiently, and is able to follow COVID-19 hygiene guidelines, it is essential all families order online using the QuickCliq cashless system.
• Using the online service enables parents to order lunches online up to two weeks in advance, and also allows our Canteen staff to viably operate in uncertain times.
• We thank our school community for their assistance in ensuring this service remains available to our students.
• The physical picking up of food orders will be managed in a manner that is socially appropriate to our student numbers and will be reviewed on-going.

Cleaning and Hygiene:

• The State Government has provided additional funding to expand school cleaning, in line with the health advice.    
  
• The school will follow the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) advice on reducing the potential risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools.
• We have additional cleaning on site throughout the day and cleaners will work to ensure all high-use areas, such as benchtops, desks, doorknobs, taps, toilets and hand rails, are regularly cleaned and surfaces disinfected.
• We have hand sanitiser available for each classroom as well as wipes for desks.
• Students are still encouraged to have their own supply of soap and/or hand sanitiser for personal use.

Remote access other Learning from Home:
We have surveyed parents around access with on-line learning.  It appears that the engagement and capture has been positive with most families having reasonable access.

A reminder that to log into the Department of Education Portal, students should use their user name as firstname.surname followed by their usual password, this same process should be used for the Connect log in.  Please consider only using Firefox or Chrome as the preferred browser. Please Contact the school directly if you have any issue with your password or login.

For families that requires hard copy work formats they will be able to collect hard copy work packages including a USB with student work once we have the survey returns. Details to follow.

Student Attendance:

• Recorded for students that attend site as ‘Present’
• Recorded for students accessing on-line services and picking up packages as ‘An approved educational activity’
• An absence will be recorded where we do not have any engagement and we will discuss these engagement concerns with parents.

Our Term 2 Start-up timeline consists of:

• Monday 27^thApril      Anzac Day -– Public Holiday in lieu
• Tuesday 28^thApril      All school staff commence, School Development Day, students do not attend
• From the start of Term 2 the following staff will be moving into acting roles, namely;

Ben Lagana                 Acting Principal position         (Term 2)

Michelle Kimpton       Deputy Principal position       (Term 2 and 3)

Verity Page                  Acting HoLA English position (Term 2 and 3)

• Wednesday 29^thApril:

The first day of Term 2 curriculum activities:

The first 2 weeks of learning resources for student will be released through Connect, Hard Copy or USB resources to be picked up from the school by 1 family member by arrangement (collection times for each year group will be advised).

We hope that we are able to transition successfully to a full face to face program as soon as possible, to enable our community to begin to return to some form of a regular daily routine.

These arrangements will be in place and reviewed ahead of Week 4 commencing 18th May.  As always, State Government decisions will be based on the best health advice.

We will continue to support and inform all families and students so that are supported and can make informed decisions during this time. Please speak with us by email or phone if you have any questions.

We look forward to safely and sensibly moving into a full face to face mode of delivery as soon as practical.

Yours sincerely,

Domenic Camera

PRINCIPAL

24 April 2020

To ensure our canteen is able to operate efficiently, and following COVID-19 guidelines, it is now essential all families order online using the QuickCliq cashless system.
Using this online service enables parents to order lunches online up to two weeks in advance, and also allows our Canteen staff to viably operate in uncertain times.

Visit www.quickcliq.com.au to register

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Dear parents and carers

Chief Health Officer advice for parents on returning to schools

The COVID-19 pandemic is, and will continue to be, a very worrying time for many parents and carers as we see the devastation caused by this virus around the world. Importantly, schools are a central part of a child’s life. They provide stability, a sense of achievement and a rich learning environment for every child. This is especially important at a time when many children and young people are feeling stressed about COVID-19 and worried about what the future may hold.

Fortunately, Western Australia (WA) has been spared from widespread disease through effective border controls, contact tracing, quarantine and social distancing measures, and currently has very few cases and no evidence of community spread. I encourage you and your families to keep up the good work, as we have achieved a lot, but we need to maintain our efforts for some time to come. Thank you for all that you are doing.

My job is to ensure that the Western Australian community stays as healthy and disease free as possible. Together with the Chief Health Officers in other States and Territories, I have weighed up the pros and cons of children attending school.

With the very low levels of COVID-19 in Western Australia, along with the wider public health strategies now in place, I strongly believe there is no need for school closures in this state currently. Even when we had higher rates of disease in our state, only 1.5% of cases were school students, all of whom had mild illness and have fully recovered. There also was no spread between students or to teachers. I encourage families to feel comfortable and safe about sending their children to school.

However, if your child has a chronic medical condition or a compromised immune system, you may wish to consult your GP or paediatrician when deciding if your child should return to school.

I have been working closely with the Department for Education, Catholic Education and the Independent Schools Board to make schools as safe as possible for everyone. This includes increasing cleaning schedules, making sure there is soap and tissues for students and staff, having protocols in place to practice social distancing, not having large gatherings of the school community and teaching children, however young, to avoid passing on germs.

We have a clear protocol for a minimum 24-hour closure in the event of a case of COVID-19 in a school, to allow us to contact anyone at risk and to undertake a deep clean. These rigorous protocols have been adopted previously without further issues.

If your child/children are well, I encourage you to send them back to school this term. If they have symptoms of a cold or have a fever, please keep them at home until they are better. If you are concerned they may have contracted COVID-19, they can be tested through our COVID Clinics or in private collection centres.

I wish you and your child/children all the very best in health and education for term 2.

Yours sincerely

DR ANDY ROBERTSON

Chief Health Officer

22 April 2020

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