Head of Junior School Update – 27 February 2020

Building Works/Refurbishment of the Junior School

The Operations team of our school is nothing short of amazing. They greatly contributed to the success of our beautifully renovated Prep Centre and ELC foyer. They worked diligently, alongside external builders and contractors, to “gut” the Prep rooms once the children departed at the end of the year and remodeled the foyer of the ELC. We thanked them at our last Assembly. The ELC children made a ‘Thank You’ scroll, Prep children gave them cards and Ms Flood compiled a video of thank you messages and the children’s thoughts on the new rooms and furniture. As I mentioned recently to many parents at the recent Information Evenings, the Junior School is a big priority this year for general maintenance and refurbishment. We thank you for your understanding as some areas are cordoned off. We are currently finishing off the outer fascia walls of the Prep Centre and repairing the drains and retaining walls down by the third Prep classroom, Prep SC.

Our two Year 4 classrooms need some immediate maintenance work due to recent heavy rains and until this has been done, the two Year 4 classes of children will move to the Year 6 building where we are lucky enough to have two spare classrooms. We will continue to keep you informed on a regular basis about the building works in Junior School.

Before and After School Care
We have noticed several instances when parents are unable to get to school on time to pick up their child. It is important that you pre-register your child for Before or After School Care so that the service is there for you if you ever need it. It is like having an insurance policy for those times when life goes awry. Legally, the service is not allowed to accept a child (even in an emergency) if they have not been enrolled. Please put your mind at ease and register your child for the time when you genuinely need extra care for your child. It is not reasonable to expect our Junior School Receptionist to look after children who have not been picked up after school after 3pm. Administration and teaching staff have lots of other commitments and/or meetings before and after school. Here is the link to pre-register your child: https://www.campaustralia.com.au/schools/details/1BB2

After school Clubs provided by outside providers
Many of our children enjoy the after school clubs that we have on offer from outside providers like Bricks 4 Kids, Chess and Coding club. Please note the new venues of Chess and Coding Clubs is the Chinese Classroom as of Tuesday 25 February. In order to ensure the safety of all children we ask that your child is picked up on time from any after school club by a parent. We do not want children walking to other parts of the school e.g. back bus stop or the front of the school, waiting (unsupervised) for their parent. If your child has to catch a bus or alternate transport on a regular basis, please put that in writing to me as Head of School sayarl@stmargarets.vic.edu.au and inform the outside provider as well. If your child is registered for After School Care, the staff member from the club will escort them to the After School Care room. Thank you in anticipation of your support in these matters.

Homework Club request and new venue announcement – Year 4 to 6 students only
Students in Years 4 to 6 are encouraged to attend Homework Club in the new venue of the French Classroom each Monday and Wednesday. Please note that Homework Club is not scheduled in the first and last week of every term. Students can do their homework alongside peers and access the help of a Junior School teacher on duty if need be. Homework Club commences at 3pm and we request that all students are picked up promptly at 4pm by a parent/guardian from Room 13. Parents must notify the classroom teacher and Junior School Reception  junior_reception@stmargarets.vic.edu.au  well beforehand, if pick up arrangements differ from the above. Thank you for your assistance.

Ms Louise Sayar
Head of Junior School