Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to Term 4! It’s been lovely seeing students gradually come back onsite as the stagged return of year levels occurs. By Monday, 25th October we will have all our students back onsite which will be amazing. It’s been such a challenging time for everyone this year, and our students continue to display the true meaning of resilience and strength.
Earlier in the week families would have received information about student mask wearing requirements. For those that have not yet read the information we have included an excerpt below.
As students return to onsite learning, BSS will implement key measures to maintain the health and wellbeing of students and staff. The new guidance around masks states:
- Secondary students (aged 12 and above) must wear a mask at all times both indoors and outdoors at school, unless a lawful exception applies. Students can remove masks when eating, drinking, or exercising.
- Face masks are required for students in Year 3 to Year 6, only when indoors on school premises, unless an exception applies.
- Face masks are highly recommended for students in Prep to Year 2.
Exceptions for all year levels include:
- Students with a physical or intellectual disability are not required to wear a face mask where their disability means it would not be suitable (for instance, due to medical, physical, communication or other individual risk factors).
We have had a very busy start to Term 4 when it comes to staffing for 2022. We have just finished the process of recruiting a leading teacher along with numerous teaching positions. We have recently advertised for several ES classroom assistants, 3 ES Mini school role positions, an Integrated Services Team leader, a Physiotherapist and an Occupational Therapist. We will also be advertising for a Learning Specialist (LS) focusing on the A to C curriculum, and another LS in the Inclusive Outreach position. So, as you can see there is a lot going on with recruitment as we get ready for the 2022 school year. At this stage we project student enrolments of 430 to begin 2022.
In some celebration news, despite it being a roller-coaster year with COVID, we would like to share with you the great success and achievements of our Senior School students that have obtained School Based Apprenticeships. This year we have had the assistance of HeadStart, that work with the Department of Education in helping teenagers gain employment through School Based Apprenticeship Training (SBAT). These students attend school studying VCAL, and also complete a Vocational Education Training (VET) certificate as part of their SBAT. The VET certificate coincides with their field of employment, and students generally work 1 day per week.
Congratulations to the following students that have obtained SBAT’s this year, the senior school and extended school community are very proud of you all:
Nathan Forssman- Midlands Golf Club (Cert 3 in Horticulture)
Simone Austin- The Forge (Cert 2 in Kitchen Operations)
Braiyden Oakley- 1816 Bakery (Cert 2 in Kitchen Operations)
Eloise Buck- The Lake View (Cert 2 in Kitchen Operations)
Jack Innella- Beare Landscaping (Cert 3 in Landscaping)
Alex Habicht- BK joinery (Cert 3 in Cabinet Making)
Shakira Heath has an SBAT trial at Aunty Jack’s (Cert 2 in Kitchen Operations)
Abbey Sturdy has an SBAT trial at Green Leaves Childcare- (Cert 3 in Early Childhood Education & Care)
Our Cert 2 in Horticulture SBAT Students have been completing their certificate onsite at the FARM with South West Tafe, and doing work placements one day a week:
Brodie Coon- Mt Pleasant P.S
Jesse Bickerton-BRI
Nigella Williams- McCallum Industries
Connor Jones- Magpie P.S
Bella-Rose Blake- BSS with James Selkirk
Toby McPhan-Burton- Ballarat Lawn Services
Jasmine Warke-Taylor- Ballarat Cemetery
We look forward to seeing all our students back onsite in a few weeks, and as always, if you have any questions or require assistance with anything, please don’t hesitate to contact the school.
It is noted in the dates below but please remember that there will be no school on the 2nd November due to the Melbourne Cup holiday.
Kind regards,
The Principal Class Team
Photos below are of SPLT2 students modelling mask wearing, and some of the students doing Cert 2 in Horticulture.
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Term Dates 2021
Term 1 Students commence 28th January to 1st April
Term 2 19th April to 25th June
Term 3 12th July to 17th September
Term 4 4th October to 17th December
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Other Important Dates
Melbourne Cup Holiday- Tuesday, 2nd November
End of school year Years 11 & 12 – Friday 26th November
Term 4 Curriculum Day (Pupil free) – Friday 3rd December
End of school year Prep – Yr 10 – Thursday 16th December
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