Good morning Sherwood families,
With less than a week left before we welcome you officially back to school for 2022, we thought it pertinent to share some back-to-school reminders. We thank you for your patience as we've waited for the latest Queensland Government announcement, in order to make the necessary adjustments to our plans for the first weeks of Term 1. Please read this email carefully as it contains information including changes to school start and finish times, and important COVID-19 arrangements.
First morning of school
School will return for all students on Monday 7 February, with staggered start and finish times in order to prevent large gatherings of parents and students. The below arrangements will be in place for the next four weeks at this stage, and we will advise when the usual arrangements can return.
Prep: Start school at 8.30am, and finish school at 2.30pm (with morning drop-off via the path inside the Hall Street entrance. A parent or guardian will need to sign Prep students in/out.)
Year 1: Start school at 8.30am, and finish school at 2.30pm (students and parents will meet teachers at a designated spot on school grounds for morning drop-off.)
Year 2 - 3: Start school at 8.45am, and finish school at 2.45pm (students need to be dropped-off at the school gate, as per Queensland Government guidelines.)
Year 4 - 6: Start school at 8.45am, and finish school at 3.00pm (students need to be dropped-off at the school gate, as per Queensland Government guidelines.)
Students will be supervised in the quadrangle for play from 8.20am, and students arriving prior to this time must sit under A Block. This does not apply to Prep students, who will need to be signed in by a parent or guardian throughout Term 1.
Pick-up zone and afternoon collection
Parents of students in Prep and Year 1 are invited on to school grounds to collect their children at the conclusion of the school day. Parents of students in Year 2 - 6 should make arrangements with their child as to which school gate they will meet them at. Be assured we will support your children during this time to avoid anxiety or confusion. Certain class groups or year levels may also make local arrangements which they will contact you directly to provide.
The pick-up zone will operate from the first day at school and be staffed from 2.30pm to cater for families with multiple pick-ups. Prep and Year 1 students can use the pick-up zone if requested by parents. If you are a new family, you can request a family vehicle tag by contacting the office at admin@sherwoodss.eq.edu.au
We realise these new arrangements are not ideal for some families, however we discourage you from collecting older students early (at 2.30pm or 2.45pm) on a regular basis, as it disrupts classroom learning. We are happy to supervise your younger children from 2.30pm at the pick-up zone if you would like to make just one pick-up after 3pm.
Mask requirements
As per the Queensland Government announcement, masks will be supplied and strongly encouraged for students in Years 3 - 6. Teaching staff will help support and educate students around when they should be wearing their mask in class time, and when it can be removed ie. outdoor play time. More information about COVID-19 requirements at school are included further down in this email.
What to bring
If you opted-in for the Essentials for Learning (E4L) and Student Resource Scheme (SRS) levies, you only need to arrange the following items to bring on the first day of school:
Prep: Library bag, lunch box (as well as a brain snack/ 'munch & crunch'), water bottle, RED broad-brimmed hat, over-the-head headphones, all clearly labelled in a school bag.
Year 1 - 6: Lunch, water bottle, BLUE broad-brimmed hat, library bag, chair bag, over-the-head headphones, all clearly labelled in a school bag.
‘Toolkit’ for Years 4-6: Prep-Year 3 will NOT need a ‘Toolkit’ pencil case in 2022. Parents are asked to supply a small pencil case (‘toolkit’) for children in Years 4-6. The following items: 2x HB pencils, 1 x eraser, 1 x red biro/pen, 1 x blue biro/pen, will be added to this pencil case ‘toolkit’ from the E4L supplies, and this toolkit will be used when students are not in their classroom. Year 4 -6 parents will also need to send the below items to school from the start of Year 4 and they will be returned home at the end of each year, to be used again the following year. These include a Macquarie Dictionary, a Sharp EL240SB Solar calculator, and an 8G USB (all clearly labelled please).
iPad classes: If your child is in an iPad class, you should have received an email from their teacher including a list of apps. Please ensure these are downloaded prior to the start of school.
Parent Information Evening
We were due to hold our Parent Information Evening next week for all year levels, however this will now move to a digital format. Your child's teaching team will email a link to a video of their prepared presentation. Please feel free to email any additional questions you have to your teacher and they will be happy to answer them for you.
Before and after school activities
Please note, before and after school extracurricular activities are allowed to commence as expected, however we encourage you to contact your activity provider to confirm no change in arrangements.
School map & teacher contacts
Prior to the first day of school, you may want to refer to this digital map, which includes all 2022 classrooms. A list of teacher email addresses is also available on the school website here. If you operate a @gmail email address, please check your junk folder regularly as sometimes emails from teachers and the school's admin can be filtered here unless you list us as a safe address. You should have received correspondence from your child's teacher by this point in time, and if not, this could be the reason.
Updating your Qkr! app profile
The first time you access the Qkr! app this year, you will be prompted to update your student/s class details. This is essential for successful payment of activities, excursions, fundraisers, and to order tuckshop. Click here to watch a short video demonstrating how to navigate Sherwood's Qkr! app page.
Tuckshop
The Sherwood SS tuckshop will reopen on Monday 7 February and all orders can be made via the Qkr! app. When ordering, please ensure you double-check you have the correct order date, and navigate through the final order confirmation (including payment) so your child does not miss out on lunch, as happens on occasion throughout the year. As our tuckshop is pre-order only for meals, we will phone you to request you bring lunch for your child if no order exists for that day.
Uniform Shop hours
Tuesday 1 February: Closed
Wednesday 2 February: 12-4pm
Thursday 3 February: 8am-12pm
Friday 4 February: 8am-12pm
Senior shirts
For our Year 6 students, pre-ordered senior shirts (with student names printed on the back) are expected to arrive closer to Week 5 of Term 1. On arrival, they will be delivered directly to student classrooms. We apologise for the delay.
If you were seeking a senior shirt without names printed on the back, they are currently available for purchase from the Uniform Shop.
Process for unwell students
If your student is unwell, we ask you to please keep them home, and notify us via the following methods: absentee@sherwoodss.eq.edu.au or by phoning (07) 3716 2160.
For part or all of Term 1, to assist us to keep your child and our staff better protected and COVID free, if your child becomes unwell during the school day, they will be asked to wear a child-size mask while in the health room or in a supervised ‘waiting’ space on our Administration verandah that is in the open air, and we will request you collect them immediately. With COVID-19 a key consideration at the present time, we do not have limitless room to adequately socially distance and monitor multiple students. So please carefully consider your child's health before they head to school each day, and have arrangements in place should we need to phone you to collect them during the work day. As you will be aware from the recent Queensland Government announcement, Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) will be made available in schools for students who develop symptoms while on-site.
Medical conditions
If your child has a listed medical condition requiring medication, this (and the updated Health Plan, should this be required) needs to be delivered promptly to the office, preferably before the first day of school, complete with a doctor's label. These can be supplied by the school office, or available on the school website.
COVID-19 arrangements
We will continue to follow all Queensland Health and Department of Education directions, and ensure all staff are well informed of measures which need to be taken to ensure the health and safety of our students.
All our staff (and volunteers) are fully vaccinated and are wearing masks indoors when moving around or when they cannot socially distance from students, as per requirements. As always, we will be prompting students to practise good hygiene and provide hand sanitisers in all rooms. School-based sanitising products will also be used to spray and clean commonly-used surfaces regularly throughout the day. Air conditioning units will not be used in classrooms, with windows and doors opened to promote ventilation.
At this stage, there will be no regular all school assemblies (or other large gatherings) during Term 1. You will receive correspondence shortly for sport, swimming, and incursions which will be continuing during this period.
As you saw last week, we will continue to notify families by newsflash email if we are made aware of a positive COVID-19 case in our school. We remind you if your student/s, or anyone in your family develops even the mildest of symptoms, please stay home and get tested.
We have communicated this message previously, but a reminder that as a parent, you are not required to be vaccinated or provide proof of vaccination to be on school grounds (unless you are volunteering or working in the school). However, until QLD Health mandate otherwise, we ask you to wear a mask while indoors at school, including in the office or your child's classroom.
We hope the vast majority of you have remained healthy and well during this period, and we thank you for your support during the past fortnight of 'non-learning' time. We sincerely look forward to welcoming your student/s back on Monday.
Yours sincerely,
Amanda Hawkswell
Principal