Dear Parents,

There was a strange stillness around the streets of Melbourne this morning as we embrace the challenges of working from home with children who are also home from school for the next three days.  We are committed to supporting all families and students during this difficult time so that we all stay connected, safe and that learning continues and is accessible to all.

This morning the Leadership Team met to map out various contingency plans so that we can be responsive and prepared for the weeks ahead.

Plan A 

Stage 4 Lockdown Monday - Wednesday 15 - 17 February

• Students work from home 
• Teachers provide unplugged activities on a grid where students are provided with choice in the activities they complete.
• Specialist teachers will contribute to the grid
• No devices will be sent home.
• Staff who can work from home will work from home.
• Onsite supervision is provided for children of essential workers and vulnerable students.
• Students return to classrooms on Thursday

Plan B

Stage 4 Lockdown continues until Friday 19 February

Arrangements continue as in Plan A

Plan C 

Stage 4 Lockdown continues for another 5 days 26 February

Arrangements continue as in plan A

Teachers do daily check-ins on google meet with their class.  For those students who do not have access to a device - please contact Cath Knights on cknights@spbentleigh.catholic.edu.au

This will be timetabled for families who have more than one child 

Plan D

Stage 4 Lockdown is extended beyond 26 February

• Staff will prepare for remote learning (2020 style)
• Teachers come onsite on 25 February to prepare ‘red’ packs to be sent home with remote learning resources 
• Packs stored in Hall.
• Friday - families drive through for  pick up in alphabetical order 
• Yr 6 chrome books to go home in packs
• Any other families who require a device will be sent home.

I will continue to provide regular updates as new information is provided by  the Department of Health and MACS. (

We are all optimistic that all students are back on site on Thursday.

Information Nights Scheduled for this Week

The Prep and Yr 6 Information Evenings scheduled for this Thursday will now be online.  The presentations will be pre recorded and sent out  to families on Thursday afternoon. 

Sacramental Information Evening Reconciliation for Year 3 and 4 parents will be a live presentation by Fr Elio Capra. You receive an email  inviting you into the zoom meeting today. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 7pm.  All families are expected to have one adult present.

Year 5 Camp

We contacted Sovereign Hill last Friday with a request for another date for the Yr 5 camp. If this is not possible we will pursue other camp opportunities.

Posting on your own Social Media

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have issued a warning for all parents. Images with children in school uniform, their name or indicators of their location in the background can be used by offenders to build a profile and groom parents and children. The AFP is continuing to regularly seize images of children in the collections of online child sex offenders. The AFP have advised that if you do post on social media that you lock down your privacy settings.

A reminder to all parents to monitor the digital health and screen time of your child. 

Food Sharing

To ensure safety to the health of all our students we have a food sharing policy that requires staff, students and families to ensure there is:

• No food sharing or trading during snack or lunch
• No food sharing for birthday celebrations - this includes cakes and lolly bags
•  No food to be given as rewards
• Limited use of food for classroom celebrations   

I ask all families to assist me in enforcing this policy.

Parent Teacher  Meetings

All parent teacher meetings scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday 23, 24 February will now be online. Bookings information will be emailed out Wednesday 17 February.

Children who are will be attending school on Tuesday and Wednesday will need to bring with them their pencil cases and any supplies that were sent home on Friday. They can wear sports uniform on both of these days.

Take care,

Catherine