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Next Week Reminder

27 Mar 2020

Students to stay home next week. There will be supervision if needed. Please contact the teacher if your child will be at school Mon- Thurs.

End of Term 1 Arrangements

26 Mar 2020

Tomorrow (Fri 27 Mar) & next Friday (3 Apr) are Pupil Free Days- no students at school. Next Mon- Thurs students supervised if parents work.

Update- End of Term 1 Arrangements

26 Mar 2020

End of Term 1

As a result of the evolving COVID-19 situation, today the Queensland Government has advised that next week Queensland schools will be student free. While students are not required to attend school next week, the school will provide supervision for students, from Monday to Thursday, where their parents are required to attend work and for vulnerable students (e.g. those living in out-of-home care). Schools will not be providing supervision for students on Friday of next week.

The change to the end of Term 1 arrangements is designed to help our staff and school prepare for the remote delivery of teaching and learning in Term 2. Should this eventuate, it would involve learning at home for many families.

I want to thank our dedicated staff for their continued support of our students during this very challenging time. Their wellbeing is also a key factor in our planning and preparation.

Term 2 Arrangements

As the Premier advised, the precise arrangements for Week 1 of Term 2 will be advised closer to that time and will be guided by the advice of health authorities.

Consistent with the Premier and Prime Minister’s recent announcements about the need to provide appropriate social distancing at schools, we anticipate that parents who can support learning at home will be asked to keep their children at home from Week 1 of Term 2.

It is also likely that schools will need to remain operational at the start of Term 2 for those parents who need to send their children due to work commitments (unless their child is sick) or because the student is vulnerable (such as those living out of home). As a school, we are committed to supporting our essential workers at this challenging time.

We will confirm the specific arrangements for Term 2 as soon as we are able to.

Student Wellbeing and pastoral care

We know this is an unsettling time for the whole community and it is important that as a school community and as families we provide reassurance for our students and keep their lives as normal as possible.

Students will be supported with their learning as much as possible whilst working from home. Teachers will continue to be available should you have questions about the any aspect of this.

Tuition fees

We acknowledge the difficult economic circumstances many families now find themselves in and we would encourage any family facing difficulty with tuition fees to contact me at any time to discuss various options. We remain committed to providing an education to all students through these difficult times.

As the school will continue to operate and our staff will keep working to provide continuity of teaching and learning, including under learning at home arrangements, tuition fees will continue to be charged. As mentioned above, there will be special provisions available to families experiencing financial difficulties relating to COVID-19.

School Communications

Although we are likely to commence under new arrangements in Term 2, we will continue to communicate with you through the normal school channels whenever new information is available.

You can contact the school via email at lourdes@twb.catholic.edu.au or by phoning 46341922.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the sick and the vulnerable at this time and also with the frontline health and emergency services workers bringing care and healing to those affected by the virus. I also wish to acknowledge the efforts of our school staff who continue to provide educational and pastoral support to our children and their families.

I know this will be a difficult time for our whole community and I thank you in advance for your support for our students and staff and your understanding as we go forward.

Yours sincerely,

Chris

Chris Golightly

Principal

March 24 Newsletter

24 Mar 2020

Click here to view the March 24 Schoolzine eNewsletter!

No Chess Tomorrow

23 Mar 2020

Unfortunately, there will no chess tomorrow morning in the library.

COVID-19 School Update

18 Mar 2020

Firstly, I wish to thank the parent community for your calmness and common sense approach to the ongoing effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Following on from our initial correspondence regarding our school's action plan and response to the current situation, I can assure you all, that the school recieves regular updates from the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office and Government agencies.

At this stage there is no definite plan to close schools but as mentioned in our previous correspondence, planning is well underway to cater for any type of closure. The amount of online learning provided by your child's teacher will depend on the timing of any closure. However, teachers will be providing families of sufficient online and hard copy resources. Due to the nature of our ability to communicate with families via email, dojo etc, continual updates of online resources can be provided on an ongoing basis.

It is the prerogative of parents to self isolate their children earlier than an official closure of the school. Some families, due to exisitng health concerns of other family members have already chosen this option. The school will provide as much support as possible to all families no matter to what decision is taken. A simple email to inform us of your decision to withdraw your children prior to any official closure is all that is required. 

All families will recieve a further communique by the end of the day.

This situation is of course a first for all of us. Your continued support of the school and reading of official information is greatly appreciated.

Update regarding Covid-19

17 Mar 2020

Please refer to the latest update on the school website https://ollourdesps.schoolzineplus.com Cancelled events: assembly, sports, swimming

COVID-19 Coronavirus

14 Mar 2020

This message is regarding current concerns about Coronavirus and the subsequent impact upon our community.

At this point, no members of the Lourdes community have reported needing to undergo testing for the virus. Please if your child develops flu-like symptoms or has had contact with someone who you may suspect has been at risk of contagion, do not send them to school.

The number of confirmed cases continues to rise in Australia and many countries overseas. While the numbers in Australia are small there have however been impacts on schools with school closures in NSW and some cases in Queensland Catholic schools where students, staff or families have been tested. At this stage, there have been no school closures within our Toowoomba Diocese.

If a case is identified we will work closely with relevant authorities, including Queensland Health in managing our response. The health and wellbeing of staff and students are paramount. The leadership team is meeting this weekend to devise a plan in response to school closure if there is a confirmed case. Once this plan has been approved by the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office, our community will be notified. We are currently developing strategies to ensure learning will continue. 

In the meantime, we have organised for more regular cleaning services of the school. We ask that parents speak to their children about strict hygiene practices such as regularly washing hands with soap, sneezing/ coughing into the elbow and dispose of tissues in the bin immediately. 

Please note that these are just precautionary measures. There have been no cases reported and no closures authorised by Toowoomba Catholic Education Office at this stage.

March 12 Newsletter

12 Mar 2020

Click here to view the March 12 Schoolzine eNewsletter!

Cross Country CANCELLED 10/03/20

09 Mar 2020

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