Welcome to Term 1 2022
Welcome from the Principal
Dear families
I hope you have had some good time with your loved ones over the holiday break. Our team have been back for a few days and are looking forward to welcoming you back. We look forward also to getting to know our new families.
All schools have measures to keep our people safe. The Department of Education has provided much information for families which can be accessed here https://www.education.wa.edu.au/covid-19
I appreciate that the start of school on Monday may be worrying for some of you. With so much in the news, you still may be unsure about what coming to school might look like. I hope to answer some of your questions below.So that you know what these measures mean at Malibu, please read the summaries below;
Parent / carer pick up and drop off considerations
In week 1, families of new students and those in the Junior cluster (year K to year 5) are welcome to come in via the Student entry, to drop off their child to their class in the morning. We ask that parents do leave by 9am. The door will be open between 8.45am and 9am. Arrivals after 9am will need to sign in at the main reception.
Each morning, our staff are ready to meet all students out the front to take them to their class and will take students to meet the bus or their family members at 2.45pm each day. We hope to reduce the number of non-staff entering our buildings each day over time and ask that you communicate with your child’s teacher out the front of the school or via See Saw or email where possible.
Masks
All staff, visitors and secondary students are required to wear masks. This means that all students in the Senior Cluster and most in the Middle Cluster must wear masks. Students in year 6 are part of the Middle School Cluster and are encouraged to wear a mask. Malibu School students have exemptions from mask wearing, however, we do encourage students to wear masks where possible.
Keeping your child home due to complex health needs
All students are encouraged to attend school from Monday. If you are considering keeping your child home for medical reasons for more than 10 days, we are happy to support you and your child’s education which may involve additional support from the School of Special Educational Needs: Medical and Mental Health. We will, however, require you to;
- Complete a consent for the release and exchange of medical information form; and
- send us a medical certificate with an END date.
Please do send these through at you earliest convenience and your child’s teacher will be in touch to discuss possible alternative plans.
We are committed to ensuring our school is a COVID-19 safe space. We have been provided with a clear direction of what we all need to do to keep students, colleagues and our community safe. If you have any queries, please contact me.
Have a wonderful weekend and we look forward to seeing you on Monday.
Kind regards
Merrilee Wright
Principal
Staying away when sick
Our staff understand the rules and importance of staying away if they have any symptoms and we know families want students and other families do the same. WA Health state that if you have any symptoms, please get tested immediately and isolate until you receive a negative result. The symptoms described include;
- Fever at or above 37.5C
- Coughing
- Sore throat
- Runny nose
- Shortness of breath
- Acute loss of smell or loss of taste
For the safety of all, if your child presents with any of these symptoms, we will be isolating and monitoring them and asking for you to collect them to be tested, as per health advice.
Vaccinations – requirements to enter the school site
All of our staff will have been double dose vaccinated before school starts and are keeping up with their third vaccination requirements.
- Students are not required to be vaccinated unless they are in Senior School and attend a Work placement that requires vaccination.
- Working visitors (eg therapists, contractors) must provide proof of full vaccination
Parents/carers are not required to be vaccinated when:
- dropping off or picking up their child from school
- attending an event such as an assembly or parent teacher interview
Parents / family members are required to provide vaccination evidence if they are
- attending Malibu Kindy Stars Playgroup Plus
- volunteering at the school more than once a week (includes the school uniform store or an in-class program)
School session times
8.45am – Buses arrive / transition to class
9.00am – Session 1
9.45am – Session 2
10.30am – Eat, toilet etc.
10.50am – Recess break
11.10am – Session 3
11.55am – Session 4
12.40am Eat, toilet etc.
1.10pm Lunchtime Break
1.40pm Session 5
2.30pm Pack up, reflections, toilet
2.45pm Parent / Bus pick up
Choose your language
Our website and Schoolzine apps now have a multi-language feature. With over a hundred languages, please select a language that best suits. We hope this will increase the enjoyment in our school stories for some of our families.
Family Meet and Greet – Friday 4th February 8.45am – 10.45am
We know a strong connection between families and school is important. This year, we have made some changes to our Meet and Greet and hope you will take the opportunity to join your child for a few hours to get to know your child’s team.
8.45am – 9.25am Class activity, Q&As
9.30am – 10.10am Morning tea and Q&As with the Principal and Deputies in the MAC
10.15am -10.45am Class picnic
Please RSVP here https://malibuschool.schoolzineplus.com/form/16
We ask that anyone who has any symptoms or feels unwell to remain at home and follow the current health guidance.
IEP meetings – Monday 7th February 3pm – 8.30pm
This year we offer after school sessions for families to meet with your child’s teacher to discuss your child’s learning plan for the semester.
These meetings will be a little different to previous ones as we work together to support a greater alignment between your child’s long-term planning (similar to that found in your NDIS plans) and opportunities to strengthen outcomes in partnership with external service providers.
A link will be sent to families next week so that you may book a 40 minute session.
Therapists on site
We will be reducing the amount of external therapists services that we have on site this year and ask that you consider the information on our web page and discuss suitable options, including therapy at home, with your relevant therapists in the first instance.
Our priority is to support educational access for your child and to work in partnerships with you, through collaborative models that have therapists working with our staff and students in class. We are particularly keen to have therapists directly supporting our staff to build and sustain specific practices as this the most efficient, effective and sustainable type of support to provide to your child for every session, every day.
Models whereby therapists are withdrawing students from the class each week will not be approved, unless there are exceptional circumstances, or by acknowledgement that the provision of such educational focused learning is not able to be provided at school. Please do book an IEP meeting with your child’s teacher to discuss therapy options and your child’s learning goals further.
A message from Ziggy's family
Hello everyone, families and friends, the medical teams who attended on Ziggy's funeral service on Monday 24th of January 2022. It is my pleasure to thank all of you for your sincere thoughtfulness and generosity and for supporting us emotionally and financially during this difficult time.
It is greatly appreciated and will not be forgotten by the family of Ziggy. He is our guardian angel now in Heaven.
Ruby, Ryan, Chanel, Kingsley and Robert
SeeSaw
Our teachers and EAs use SeeSaw to communicate with families. Please contact your child's teacher, or the front office on 9553 8450 or through our web Contact Us page if you have not yet received a SeeSaw communication from your child's team.
Upcoming Dates
Please check our Malibu School website calendar regularly for upcoming events. The calendar is also available on the Schoolzine App on your phone or device.
Safe return to school plan