Dear all,
Welcome to Term 4 – our shortest and busiest term of the year.
Staffing Update
Ms McMillan is absent this week and we have a relief teacher, Stephanie Clements, in the class for the week. The students have worked with her before and she is a great person to have about the place.
Mr Woolford is on an extended absence until the end of week 6 (at the earliest) and we have had Doug Dunsmore covering his PE this week. We will endeavour to have the same relief teacher in place for his absence.
We have 2 staff members who will be going on leave at the end of Term 4 this year and transitioning into retirement in 2021. Mr Wakefield and Mrs McDonald have indicated that they will make this huge step into the next phase of their lives.
Mr Heard will be moving from his position as Deputy Principal to an Upper Primary class teacher in 2021. This is a great outcome for him and us, particularly as we did not want to lose him from our Porties family. We will continue in our search for a new Deputy Principal.
We are unable to allocate staff to potential classes for 2021 yet as we are unclear about whether we will have 16 or 17 classes next year. Today we have had students telling us that they are moving schools but we haven’t heard from their families. I ask that you please advise us if you are leaving PNPS at the end of this year as soon as possible so that we can accurately plan for 2021.
I will keep you informed as more staffing information comes to hand.
Whole School Events
Due to COVID-19 and the challenges faced with physical distancing and density requirements, we have moved to online provision of our whole school events. While this is not the desired platform, it is the best alternative we have at present. Our events will go ahead but with modifications including those that are spectator-free (no spectators / parents/families on site).
Book Week Assembly: This event is being held on Wednesday 21st October (Week 2) from 9:15am. It is a spectator-free event but will be streamed for families to view.
Colour Fun Run: This event will be held on Friday 23rd October (Week 2) from 2:15pm. It will be a spectator-free event and we will stream the event.
Beach Carnival: This will now be a spectator-free Sports Day to be held on school grounds on Friday 27th November (Week 7). Students can be collected from 2:15pm on the day. We will stream the event.
School Concert: This event will go ahead but be held in the daytime as a spectator-free event. We are considering all classes filming their performance ahead of time and our concert time being used to view the performances. This will be streamed on our YouTube site for families to view. We will hold our ‘concert’ on Tuesday 1st December (Week 8) at 1:30pm in the gym.
Presentation Assembly: This event will go ahead as usual and will be a spectator-free event that will be streamed for family viewing. It will be held on Tuesday 8th December (Week 9) from 9:30am. We will invite the recipient of the volunteer award to attend.
Year 7 Graduation: We will hold a graduation ceremony for our Year 7 students on Wednesday 9th December (Week 9) from 7:00pm. Due to the constraints caused by COVID-19, attendance of this event will be limited to graduating students and 4 adult members of their family. Younger siblings may attend and all in attendance must adhere to the physical distancing and density rules. Each student will be provided with 4 tickets later this term and these must be presented to gain entry to the ceremony. More information regarding the assembly will be provided later this term. The ceremony will be streamed.
I recognise that this is very different to our usual way however, 2020 has provided us with an opportunity to try new ways of doing things and sharing our events with the broader school community. I am hopeful that we will be able to provide a blended approach to events in 2021 where families can attend and also view online.
Thank you for your patience and support in this new and, at times, challenging environment.
Take care,
Marie Wright
Principal