Dear Parents & Carers,
Welcome back to School! We have had an exciting week of learning where our students and teachers have enjoyed sharing holiday stories and engaging with this term’s learning. I have been most impressed by how much many students have grown over the holidays. In every class I found students who had sprouted a few centimetres over the holiday break. The growth in our year 7 cohort was most noticeable as there were quite a few more towering over me than I remember from last term (maybe I’ve shrunk!).
We welcome some new students to Mitcham Primary this term, William B in Room 18 and Max B in room 6 and we also welcome back Hamish & Samuel K-G who left to live interstate for a few years. On behalf of our Mitcham Primary community I warmly welcome both families to our school.
Sadly we have two staff who will not be with us this term. Ms Cathy Kendrick, our fabulous Front Office receptionist had an accident in the holidays requiring surgery to her shoulder. Ms Michelle Gabrisch will be covering our front office in her absence. Also, Ms Chrissa Connor’s husband was hospitalised following an accident in the holidays therefore Chrissa has taken leave to support her husband during his recovery. Ms Robyn Garrett has been appointed to Room 6 in Chrissa’s absence. Our best wishes are with both ladies and their families and we look forward to welcoming them back soon.
As we head towards the end of the year, we have been planning for several Term 4 events where members of our school community come together to celebrate what Mitcham Primary has to offer. The current COVID-19 regulations have governed our decisions and have made many of these difficult, if not impossible, to hold in the same fashion as we have done previously. I have listed below some of the events that we are currently working through. Please remember to check your child’s dairy, communication book, our website or the Skoolbag app to stay informed of any new news.
• Sports Day will be held on Friday 30th October 2020 (Week 3). We have undertaken a risk assessment to see how we can safely run this event effectively within the COVID-19 guidelines. As sports day is held outside we are able to spread out classes (and parents) across our school grounds. However, to ensure that we meet Department for Education requirements and respect the Department of Health guidelines we need to put the following points in place.
o We are only able to host one parent per family attending sports day between 9.30am and 1pm. We will be holding whole school events before and after this time which, due to COVID-19 restrictions, cannot be held if parents attend. We ask that you support us with this request as it would greatly disappoint our students if we were unable to continue.
o Social Distancing: parents must adhere to Social Distancing guidelines (1.5m spacing) at all times whilst on site. Please do not congregate in groups. We will have Covid Marshals in attendance to offer gentle reminders.
o Toilets for visitors will be behind the Komlos building (Blue Room) next to the Kibby building.
o Please do not enter the school buildings (except for the Komlos toilets) during your visit.
Families will be provided with further details about sports day soon which will include further information regarding our Social Distancing requirements for the day. With your ongoing support we can make this event exciting, fun and memorable for all but especially for the children.
• Choir & Instrumental Music Night: due to the small number of participants we are extremely hopeful that we can host both our choir and instrumental music nights. We are currently reviewing our COVID-19 risk assessments for these events and will provide more information to families once this has been completed.
• Family Night: Due to the number of family members that attend this event we are not able to host this year's Family Night based upon current COVID-19 regulations. We average approximately 2,000 – 2,500 people at this event and we believe that the mandated 1.5 metre social distancing required would be impossible. There may be a possibility of some smaller performances being offered by individual classes at some point. Your class teacher will provide further information on this if it is a possibility.
• Transition: We welcome our preschool students for their transition visits this term. On Wednesday of Week 6 and 8 our 2021 reception students will be visiting the Madlurta building and will return again on Wednesday 9th December for our whole school transition where students will meet their classroom teachers for 2021.
• Excursions: Your child’s teacher will continue to offer excursions or incursions this term however, our teachers need your assistance to ensure their success. If you volunteer for an excursion you are still required to sign in at the front office and complete a COVID-19 questionnaire prior to meeting your class teacher. We continue to have difficulty securing parent volunteers for excursions. Can I ask that you let your class teacher know your availability ASAP if you think you can help. We very much thank you for your assistance with these learning events and without you, we would probably not be able to go.
• Year 7 Social & Graduation: We are looking at providing the most authentic celebration for our senior students within the current limitations. Our Year 7 Social is on Friday, 4th December 2020 followed closely with our Year 7 Graduation on Thursday, 10th December 2020 at Concordia College. Our Year 7 teachers will provide further information soon to families about each of these exciting events.
Further information will be provided by your class teachers on these events and others along the way. I look forward to a great final term for what has been quite an interesting year for us all. As always, thank you for your continual support - it is very much appreciated.
Warm regards, Scott
Scott Greenshields
Principal
Mitcham Primary School
20a Hillview Road, Kingswood SA 5062
p (08) 8271 2227 | e dl.0270.admin@schools.sa.edu.au | w www.mitchamps.sa.edu.au