Principal's Report
Welcome Back
A belated welcome back to Term 3. I trust that the break provided an opportunity for recharge ready for a busy term ahead. Of course, we are back in the all too familiar territory of lockdown and I want to express my thanks to the staff who moved so adroitly to online learning on short notice and to our students who have demonstrated our “perseverance” value so admirably by remaining focussed on their learning. I want to acknowledge the invaluable role played by you as parents/guardians in both facilitating online learning and continuing to provide encouragement to our young people. We pray that this will be a short lockdown and we will soon be able to return to face to face learning.
General Achievement Test (GAT)
Please note that the VCAA have announced that the GAT will be postponed until Thursday August 12. Every student undertaking a VCE Unit 3/4 study must complete the GAT and, as a result, it is a massive logistical exercise at Aquinas. As in previous years, we will close the College on the day to all students except those completing this test and teaching staff will have Professional Practice Time to work on an area related to their own professional needs. The old date in our calendar for the GAT (July 29) will now become a normal school day.
Covid-19 Updates
We will endeavour to keep you informed via our College website: https://www.aquinas.vic.edu.au/latest-covid-19-update and will also email important updates to parents/guardians and, as appropriate, to students. We will not be using our social media to communicate information related to Covid-19. Of course, should you seek clarification you should contact the College on 9259 3000 or principal@aquinas.vic.edu.au.
Parent Forum
The strong level of interest in our recent Parent Forum with Dr Andrew Fuller highlights our desire to continue to learn from trusted experts how we might best support our young people during times of uncertainty. Unfortunately we could not accommodate all who wanted to attend and our efforts this week to share links to webinars being offered by Dr Fuller have also been a source of frustration for many as they have sold out immediately. It is timely to remind you that resources produced by Dr Michael Carr-Gregg are available for you at Aquinas College's SchoolTV on a range of topics including responding to Covid-19.
Stormwater Project
It is pleasing to inform you that the significant project to address flooding caused by stormwater is now completed and we commence the process of repairing the grass play over the coming months as the sun starts to shine. In the meantime, it will remain fenced off so that foot traffic is kept to the new path. I want to thank all of those who have contributed to ensure that we have a good outcome. We will use this opportunity to move student foot traffic away from the pedestrian crossing near the boom gate during our busy drop off and pick up times to both help relieve traffic congestion and improve pedestrian safety. Students will be informed about these changes when they return.
Darren Atkinson
Principal