These are very challenging and uncertain times for us all but be assured that we are here for you and your family. I would also like to publicly thank our staff, they have gone above and beyond in so many ways over the last couple of weeks, running in-school and home programs, while preparing on-line learning in case of a postponement of term 2.

Rosary School is committed to ensuring educational, spiritual and pastoral support for every child in our school and Catholic Education SA is supporting this for all of our schools.
The COVID-19 pandemic impacts every aspect of our life – our families, our work and our wellbeing.
Every day there are new restrictions in place and many new questions.

Well what a week! 

Something different for our School, State, our Country and the World.  At Rosary School you would know that we have been making adjustments to school life, to meet the challenges of Coronavirus - COVID-19.

As a Catholic Parish School, we take our directions from Catholic Education SA (CESA) in this area.  CESA are following the advice of government agencies concerning how the current outbreak of coronavirus impacts students, staff and parents. Our focus is on minimising risk and ensuring we do all that we can to ensure our communities are safe. 

This is a fluid and rapidly changing situation and CESA are updating their page regularly…

Click here for CESA Alerts

Damian Weeks

The issue of coronavirus (COVID-19) is being reported on daily by the media and you are no doubt aware of the information that is available concerning this virus.

I do not intend to replicate advice that is provided by official channels, so links to official websites are included which carry the latest information:

• www.health.gov.au 
• www.health.gov.au/covid19-travellers 
• SA Health

Read more below:

covid_19_parents.pdf

On 14th March, an electronic letter was sent to all families on our SchoolStream App concerning the ongoing situation re COVID-19. This letter can be found on our school website.

Last night we received a major update that will change the usual practices that occur in our school for the remaining weeks of this term. read more:

Read more below:

COVID-19_Update

Now is the time to take action!

We are now at step 2 of what is a long process.

Step 2 is where we have to show the Director of CESA that we could put a financially viable program together. This is done by the following survey.

Now is the time to take action – if we DO NOT receive enough responses we will not be able to establish a service!

Click on the following link to take the 5 minute survey…

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8R2LY6K

This survey will be open until Friday March 27

At this uncertain time, we can feel such a myriad of emotions.

We must be mindful of each other, care for those in our lives and help our children navigate these unusual times. I have two documents here that may be of assistance.

1. A Beautiful Poem titled “Pandemic” which helps us to see some beauty in our slowing down….

2. A children’s story about the Coronavirus – which may help your child to understand more about the virus.  Click Here. This also is translated into other languages.

I hope you find them useful.

Go gently at this time.

At this week’s School Board Meeting we made the decision to postponed the interviews that were going to occur in a couple of weeks time. We feel this in the best interest of the wellbeing of our staff, parents and in some cases students who would attend.

Once the health situation settles more we will re-program the interviews. If there are problems to the addressed, our teaching staff have already been in touch. However, as a parent if you have an issue that needs addressing please email your child’s class teacher.

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Thank you to those who were able to attend Monday night’s Family preparation session. For those unable to be there here is a rundown of what was covered:

1. We went through the actual Liturgy and had a practice of what to do for Reconciliation

2. We gave out the Booklets from this session.

We have sent home the booklet to those unable to be there.  We encourage all families to spend the time together on some of the activities.

I also wanted to reassure you that each year 3 class will have a practice and go through the Reconciliation Liturgy with their respective class.

At this stage there is some discussion as to the best way to proceed next week with the Reconciliation Liturgies.

Bishop Greg O’Kelly is providing some advice around this to Parish Priests and we will keep you updated.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Parish or your school contact person.

 Kind regards, The Parish Sacrament Team.

There have been some changes to this program and families that use this service should note: The bus between our Schools will continue but Parents must understand and commit to the following:

1. Any student with flu like symptoms will be excluded from the bus

2. Parents of students from Rosary must follow normal protocols and keep home any student with flu like symptoms and not to drop the student at Blackfriars in the morning.

3. Blackfriars cannot guarantee effective social distancing on the bus as per Government Guidelines (1.5m) although we will advise passengers to utilise all the available space on the bus and keep separate as much as practical.

Vacation care will not be provided in the April School Holidays

Major gatherings and events for the day across the nation are cancelled, but here at Rosary we will still focus on this theme. Your child will be given a pocket sized card to bring home with some tips on them. 

Here’s some tips on what kids can do…https:///bullyingnoway.gov.au/ForKids

Learn some strategies to talk about with your child

These pages provide tips and ideas for different bullying situations. One idea is to practise strategies at home to help your child feel more confident.
If your child is being bullied

If your child is bullying others

If your child has seen bullying

Watch the Quick Tips for Parents videos by Dr Michael Carr-Gregg for more ideas.

Please visit:https:///bullyingnoway.gov.au/RespondingToBullying/Parents for further information.

This year, students in Years 3 and 5 will take part in NAPLAN from Tuesday, 12th May to Friday, 22nd May (Weeks 3 and 4 of Term 2).
All testing will be online except for the Year 3 Writing Test that will be completed on paper.

Both year levels will follow the required test sequence: Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy.
Adjustments are available in NAPLAN tests for students with a diagnosed disability to support students' access to the tests.

If you wish to discuss adjustments for your child, please contact their class teacher. In special circumstances, a parent/caregiver may withdraw their child from NAPLAN.

This can be for philosophical or religious reasons.
Should you wish to withdraw your child please contact our Principal by email:undefined damian.weeks@rosary.catholic.edu.au  by Monday, 6th April, so the necessary paperwork can be completed.
Likewise, if you know that your child will be absent during this testing window, please contact their class teacher.

This Monday, 23rd March at 11.30am, all students in Years 3 and 5 will also undertake the National Coordinated Practice Test.

This is designed to not only familiarise the students with the online platform but also for confirmation of ICT and administrative processes in place for NAPLAN online. Year 3 students will participate in the Omnibus Practice Test which lasts for 45 minutes (plus a 15-minute introduction) and includes reading, conventions of language and numeracy questions. Year 5 students will participate in the Writing Test which lasts for 42 minutes (plus a 15-minute introduction) where students will be asked to complete a writing task in response to a ‘prompt’.

Please note, student performance in the National Coordinated Practice Test is NOT assessed. For further information about NAPLAN 2020, please see attached link. 

https:///www.nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/naplan-online-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf?sfvrsn=23

Unfortunately due to the current situation we have had to cancel this year's Italian Language and Culture celebrations.

As the number of coronavirus cases rise across Australia, the level of anxiety within the community is increasing.
Feelings of worry and unease can be expected following a stressful event, such as the recent declaration of a global pandemic, however, it is important that we learn to manage our stress before it turns to more severe anxiety and panic.

Read more :

tips_for_coping_with Coronavirus.

Catholic Schools Music Festival Choir:

During Choir time on Wednesdays, Year 6’s will come 11:30 -12:30 followed by year 5’s 2:05 – 3pm.

Other Choirs:

As we have such large numbers for the Rosebud and Little Blossoms choirs, they will be suspended until further notice.

Unfortunately due to the current situation we have had to cancel this year's Italian Language and Culture celebrations.