Weekly Wrap

Dear all,

 

Welcome to Week 4.

 

This week we celebrate the final day of remote and flexible learning. Ironically, we celebrate it on World Teachers Day.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all of the FHC staff for their incredible work throughout effectively two years of remote learning. The way our staff have applied themselves to the task of maintaining continuity of learning is nothing short of inspirational. They have learnt new skills and developed curriculum material to suit the online forum that has enabled students to continue learning.

 

We know it didn’t suit everyone’s style of learning, and we also know that not all students have been able to stay connected to online learning as motivation levels have waxed and waned. We are also aware that this means students, as they return, will be at a diverse range of readiness for the face-to-face experience. We know that social connections may have altered, mental health levels fluctuated and learning progress been variable. What we also know is our staff, as they have been throughout, will continue to support every student that needs it, as best we can. To all our staff on World Teachers Day, we say thank you, we are so proud of you and so grateful for you.

 

Year 12 exams commenced onsite on Wednesday with the English and EAL exam. The College has worked hard to keep the exam centre covid safe, and to this date everything is progressing well. The students look well prepared and appear confident with their performances as they exit each exam. We wish them all every success through this challenging period, and we look forward to celebrating their achievements later this year.

 

With the opening of the State comes the ability to return to a full College schedule. We are now able to run assemblies, excursions sport, music lessons and camps. The Final Year 12 Assembly will be a much more normal event, although density limits still apply. Any visitors onsite require proof of one vaccination.

 

Orientation Day, our key transition activity for incoming Year 7 students, progresses normally for all Grade 6 students who have selected FHC for Year 7/2022.

 

Presentation Night will proceed as normal, with no density limits, however all parents/ family members and friends attending will need to show evidence of full vaccination.

 

As students all return on Monday, can I remind you that masks must still be worn indoors. They are not required outside as of 6pm this evening. I urge students to stop wearing single use masks due to the impact on our environment. Reusable FHC masks can be purchased at the General Office for $7.50 each.

 

I would like to address the recent positive Covid case at the College. The identification of a positive case can be alarming, and I appreciate it may have caused some concern. The management of a positive case in a school is very complex. I want to provide you with transparency around the event.

 

Approximately 1.50pm on Friday 22^nd October we became aware that we had a positive case on site on Tuesday 19 October. As soon as the Primary Close Contacts were identified, we removed them from class. I spoke with them, outlining the situation and their parents collected them from school and took them to get tested. We contacted all families on Saturday to conduct a wellbeing check and they all stayed in contact with us sharing test results as they became known.

 

In our situation, we had less than 10 Primary Close Contacts. The Department of Health take over the management of the individuals once the school has identified all close contacts. Close contacts are then categorised into risk level, based on the level of exposure/risk. This influences whether they do a 7 or 14 day isolation. What we can say is that all Primary Close Contacts have returned negative tests and the risk of further exposure has been eliminated. I want to thank our community for the way the detection of a positive case has been handled and received. Our thoughts went out to all of the families effected as it was a particularly concerning and challenging period of time for them. We are so grateful that no one has developed concerning symptoms and no further positive cases have been identified.

 

Stay safe, stay strong.

David Rogers

College Principal

 

International School Library Month

 

October is International School Library Month, so what better time to give our school community a look at what has been happening in the school library over the last few months?

 

So, welcome to your school library. Let’s take a tour!

As you enter the library, the first thing you see will be our new circulation desk.

Moving the position of the circulation desk has allowed us to create a space for students to relax, read and socialize.

The library store room has also been cleaned out and that has allowed us to create a Collaboration Room, where students can work together in small groups, play board games, cards, work on jigsaw puzzles or access other supplied materials for creative projects.

The Fiction collection has been re-organized in a ‘bookshop’ style. Rather than shelves and shelves of books in alphabetical order, all the Fiction books are now shelved with other books of the same genre and the books themselves have been given stickers to show which genre they are.

This makes it much easier for students to find the type of books they like reading. For instance, if they like science fiction books, all the science fiction books are now shelved together in the same section.

Doing this has also allowed us to create reading nooks amongst the shelving, giving a cozy feeling to the space.

One reading nook has also been decorated with fake plants amongst the books, giving the feeling of a green space even though you are inside.

The other reading nook has direct access to the library courtyard.

A social space takes up the middle part of the library.

The back corner of the library has been set up as a study space for students to work individually or in small groups.

The classroom space has been upgraded with modern tables that were being underutilized in other parts of the school, a whiteboard and a large screen TV for teachers to share their laptop screen.

 

Finally, we have created an inviting gaming room for our students who find gaming a way to relax and socialize during breaks from classes.

We are looking forward to having all the students back at school and back in the school library.

Follow our Instagram account (@fhclibrary) to keep up to date with what is happening as we continue to make the school library a safe, inviting space for all our students.

 

Helen & Kym

Your school library team