Dear Parents and Carers,

As we come to the end of a very unusual Term 3, we are reminded of how important being patient and resilient are. When parents and teachers remain positive and focused on the wellbeing of others, our children feel supported and can cope with everything happening around them. It is important that we keep life as normal as possible and allow children to enjoy their childhood, learn in different ways, have heaps of fun and make lots of mess.

It is great to see our students learning at home surrounded by toddlers, animals of all sorts and of course slightly tired adults doing their best at being teachers. We know the last few weeks have not been easy for our families and we are very grateful to you for doing the best you can during the lockdown.  

Term 4 Arrangements 
At this stage, remote learning will continue for all students after the holidays. Staff will have a Pupil Free day on Tuesday October 5 and students will commence their learning on Wednesday October 6. No staff will be on site for supervision on Tuesday October 5. 

Children, whose parents are essential workers and are unable to care for them at home are able to attend school from Wednesday October 6. I once again thank our parents and carers for continuing to follow the Government’s direction and caring for their children at home if they possibly can.  

We are currently busy planning for a safe, staggered return of our staff and students to St Mary’s. At this stage, the dates of return remain at October 25 (Kinder and Year 1), November 1 (Year 2 and Year 6) and November 8 (Years 3, 4 and 5). By November 8, all staff will be fully vaccinated and hopefully all students aged 12 and over. To do this safely, we will need to place students in small cohorts with their teachers and support staff. Staff and students will not mix across cohorts both in the classroom and on the playground. More information will be sent home in early Term 4 about these arrangements. 

The NSW Government has stated that vaccinations for all school staff will be mandatory from November 8. This will offer our parents and carers a deeper level of confidence for when their children return to school. 

School Fees
A reminder that during Term 3, Catholic Education will again support families who have been financially impacted as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. If your family is currently experiencing financial stress due to job loss, being temporarily stood down, reduction in hours, business downturn or closure resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, full or partial fee relief is available for this term.  A letter explaining the process was emailed/placed on Skoolbag a couple of weeks ago and a reminder posted earlier this week.

Please complete the fee relief form and return it to the school office as soon as possible so we can apply your fee relief to your Term 3 school fees. The remission will apply, even if you are currently on a partial fee remission and/or have a direct debit set up.

If the current situation continues into Term 4, the same process will happen to help take pressure off our families. Please contact Mrs Hazell if you require a fee relief form to be emailed to you or if you have any questions.  We really want to help you during this difficult time. 

We hope and pray that we reach our 80% vaccination rate in the very near future so that we can all go back to enjoying life. As soon as we are allowed to, we will have our students back at St Mary’s and we will have an amazing finale to the 2021 school year.  Enjoy the break from school and the beautiful Spring weather. Camping in the backyard is fabulous fun!