Dear Parents and Guardians,

In response to the recent announcement by the Victorian government with regard to the Stage 4 COVID restrictions, students and staff have today been advised to travel home with their devices and necessary resources for the Learn@Home program next week.

Please note, the ELC remains fully operational onsite for classroom learning.

This week, the St Catherine’s School ICT Team have worked with students to remind them of the functional elements of using MS Teams, the School Portal and for the younger Barbreck students, the Seesaw App. This has included information such as downloading the MS Teams App on new devices and specific training for certain age groups, notably our Year 7 cohort and today, our little Prep girls. Further details can be found in the ICT support page here https://myportal.stcatherines.net.au/homepage/24162

The Barbreck girls will travel home with their device inclusive of the power adaptor. Parents are requested to closely supervise the equipment whilst at home to ensure it is not damaged, particularly for younger students who are not accustomed to travelling with the device in their school bag.

If your daughter is absent from School today, please make arrangements through Reception to collect any necessary resources from your daughter’s locker or her classroom. The School Reception will be open until 5pm.

Our Boarding residents will remain supported during this time within our Boarding House. Head of Boarding Mrs Sue Collister will liaise directly with boarding families regarding arrangements.

I am mindful of a heightened sense of concern amongst our students with a return to lock down in Melbourne and urge parents to liaise closely with Heads of Year, and classroom teachers in Barbreck and the ELC over the course of next week. The St Catherine’s staff are well versed at supporting our students and teaching online. We will certainly focus on maintaining momentum with the academic programs within a culture of care and warmth for the students. Further information our Learn@Home program and wellbeing support can be found here https://myportal.stcatherines.net.au/homepage/24032

Please note: Daughters of Permitted Workers are again able to be supervised onsite and parents are requested to register their daughter’s attendance here https://stcatherines.formstack.com/forms/supervised_learning_program_onsite

At this stage, we look forward to a return to School campus on Thursday, 18 February unless otherwise advised. I would like to thank you very much for your ongoing support during these unprecedented events. I understand this a challenging time for all, and I encourage your patience and care for all members of our community.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Michelle Carroll
Principal