Good morning Prep families,
Only one week to go until we officially welcome your child to Prep. Our teaching team have been working very hard these past weeks to ensure their introduction to school is a positive and exciting one. The latest Queensland Government announcement however, has made it necessary to make some adjustments to what we had planned for the first few weeks. Please read this email in full as it contains information including changes to school start and finish times, and important COVID-19 arrangements.
We hope the below will assist you in preparing for Day 1 on Monday 7 February. We know it is a lot to digest, so if you have any questions, please contact your class teacher or the office and we will gladly assist.
First day of school
For the first four weeks of Term 1, the school day for Prep students will now begin at 8.30am (usually 8.45am), and finish at 2.30pm (usually 3pm). This is part of a staggered approach to the school day, so we do not have all parents and students arriving at the same time. We will advise all families when the usual arrangements can return.
On the first morning, we ask you to please enter the school via the Hall Street entrance (near the pedestrian crossing) at 8.30am, and the Prep team will meet you along the path. You will be familiarised with the sign-in routine (which will continue throughout Term 1, as is usual process for our Prep students).
You will also be required to sign your child out when you collect them at 2.30pm, although we will consider requests for Prep students who would like to use the pick-up zone immediately ie. those with older siblings. Note, the pick-up zone will be supervised from 2.30pm for the coming weeks.
Unfortunately, we have had to cancel our annual Tissues, Tea, and Tim Tams session for families on the first morning, however our staff have prepared some special packs for you to take home when you drop your Preppie off.
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.
School drop off and collection
Should your pick-up arrangements change throughout the day, please phone the office. Teachers are busy teaching students throughout the day and may not be able to check emails frequently.
Before school, teaching staff supervise children playing in the quadrangle from 8.20am, however please consider that Prep students will need to be signed-in by a parent or guardian at the designated location during Term 1.
For a more detailed breakdown of the usual school bell times during the day, click here.
Packing the school bag
Please ensure your child comes along to school with the following labelled items in their school bag:
- 'Munch & crunch'/ 'brain food' morning snack (usually a piece of fruit or a small container of healthy snack choices)
- Lunch (enough for two eating breaks)
- Drink bottle
- Red wide-brimmed hat (specific for Prep students)
- Library bag
- Over-the-head headphones
- Spare uniform (preferable, particularly for Term 1)
Downloading the Qkr! app
The Qkr! app will need to be downloaded (for new families) or updated (for existing families) to reflect your new Preppie and their class details. This app is necessary for successful payment of activities, excursions, fundraisers, and ordering tuckshop, during the year. Click here to watch a short video demonstrating how to navigate Sherwood's Qkr! app page.
Student absentees and illnesses
If your Prep 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 needs to be delivered promptly to the office preferably before the first day of school, complete with a doctor's label and accompanied by the relevant forms, which can be supplied by the school office, or available on the school website.
Tuckshop
The Sherwood SS tuckshop will reopen on Monday 7 February and all orders can be made via the Qkr! app. If you haven't used the app before, 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.
Uniform Shop hours
Tuesday 1 February: Closed
Wednesday 2 February: 12-4pm
Thursday 3 February: 8am-12pm
Friday 4 February: 8am-12pm
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.
Follow us on Facebook
We love to share our fun school days with the Sherwood SS community, and so encourage you to follow the school's Facebook page @SherwoodSSOfficial It is also a key platform we use to pass on important messages and reminders for upcoming events.
School map & teacher contacts
If you are a first time Sherwood family, 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.
COVID-19 requirements
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 we will 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. During these first 4 weeks, air conditioning units will not be used in classrooms, with windows and doors opened to promote ventilation. Students in Prep are not required to wear masks at school, however are welcome to do so if they prefer, providing they provide their own supply from home. At this stage, there will be no regular all school assemblies (or other large gatherings) during Term 1.
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.
Wishing you all the best as you prepare for this milestone day for your child. Please get in touch with the office or your child's teacher if you have any additional questions in the lead up. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you in a week.
Yours sincerely,
Amanda Hawkswell
Principal