Principal's Piece!
Welcome Back
On behalf of Calliope SS, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new and returning students to Calliope SS for 2022. Whether you are a new family to our school this year, or you are returning once again, we are excited to have you as part of the Calliope SS community.
Thank you for your ongoing support as we work together to respond to the evolving COVID-19 situation. A special thanks must also go my teaching and non-teaching staff for all the hard work that has gone behind the scenes in preparation for the return to formal schooling from February 7 and for supervising our children of essential workers and vulnerable children over the past two weeks. Over the next couple of weeks, the school will settle into every day school life, with students engaged in learning.
Back to School – 7 Feb to 4 March
As announced by the Premier on Sunday 30 January 2022, the Queensland Government has released the COVID-safe Back to School Plan.
From Monday 7 February, key features of the Plan include:
- the suspension of school camps, excursions, assemblies, and large gatherings
- limiting visitors on site, with exceptions for parents and carers of students experiencing vulnerability, students attending Prep or Year 1
- special drop off and pick up zones
- masks supplied and strongly encouraged (not mandated) for students in Years 3 to 6
- priority access to RATs for students and staff at Queensland Health testing clinics
You can access the Back to School plan here (https://alt-qed.qed.qld.gov.au/covid-19/Documents/back-to-school-plan.pdf), and further information and FAQs on the Department of Education COVID-19 website (https://qed.qld.gov.au/covid19/).
Face Masks
When to wear a mask
All adults are required to wear a mask while on school grounds unless you are seated or physical distancing of 1.5m can be maintained. It is very difficult to maintain a distance of 1.5m in our school before and after school as there are a lot of children, parents and staff moving around the school and our walkways do not allow us the opportunity to safely distance without a mask on. For this reason, I ask you to keep your masks on, at all times, when in the school grounds.
Unwell children
Essential to the success of these measures is that if your child is unwell or displaying any COVID-19 symptoms, they must not attend school. I cannot emphasise this message strongly enough – it is critical to keeping our school community safe. Your child, if they have COVID-19 symptoms, can visit your local Queensland health testing clinic and will be given priority access to a free RAT.
Communication
If you have any questions or need support in any way, please ensure that you contact the school via phone or email between the hours of 8am to 4pm. Our contact details are:
Phone: 49 758 333
Email: admin@calliopess.eq.edu.au
School Pick Up
Like all Queensland state schools, Calliope State School treats the safety of students, staff, parents, carers and the wider school community very seriously. We work in partnership with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR), local councils and relevant stakeholders, to ensure there is a coordinated approach to road safety around state schools. I have been in discussions with the Department of Transport and Main Roads over the last week and will meet with them once face-to-face meetings are again in operation. I encourage all drivers and pedestrians near the school to exercise caution and patience, especially during peak periods. To help reduce traffic congestion and increase safety for students and other school community members, I encourage all families to abide by the stop, drop and go procedures, allow clear access for buses and even postpone the time that you pick your child up of an afternoon.
