An Important Message From The Principal Relating To The Closure of the College

Dear Staff, Parents and Students,

[avatar user=”Mark” size=”thumbnail” align=”right” /]

[avatar user=”Father Cranshaw” size=”thumbnail” align=”right” /]

As you know, the State Government has announced a lockdown effective from tonight which at this stage is planned to last until Thursday of next week inclusive. A number of activities over the coming days have been cancelled as a result. Our plan is as follows:

  • Friday 28th May 2021 will be a Student Free Day for all students. No classes will run tomorrow. Students in Years 11 and 12 have been encouraged to use this day as a study day in preparation for their exams next week. Students in Years 7 to 10 have been encouraged to use the day as a catch up and consolidation day as they prepare for exams in two weeks’ time.
  • From Monday 31st May 2021 to Thursday 3rd June 2021,
    • A separate letter outlining requirements for VCE students will be sent home tomorrow morning.
    • Our Years 7 to 10 students will be completing tasks through Google Classroom and Meet. Where technology issues exist, we ask parents and students to communicate clearly with the school. Codes for each class are included below. The Deans of School will send instructions relating to work to be done to parents and students tomorrow afternoon.
    • Our Years F to 6 students will be working on tasks assigned by their teachers. Learning materials have gone home with students today. Teachers will send further information to parents sometime tomorrow afternoon. Our Year 6 students will be touching base with their core teacher twice daily during the break times for Secondary students (ie at around 10:10am and 1:00pm daily). Class teachers will send home more details about work to be completed tomorrow afternoon.
  • If parents require the College to assist them in looking after their children during the lock down (ie both parents are essential workers, the student is vulnerable etc), we ask that parents let us know the days and times they will be sending their child/ren into school so we can adequately prepare for their supervision. In some cases of student vulnerability, the reason for attendance at school is to ensure work is completed. In these instances, please consider sending your child/ren in to school for the first part of the day and then taking them home at an agreed time. It is also important to note that normal classes will not be running Monday to Thursday. Most of our staff will be working from home next week, so we need warning to ensure we have adequate supervision in place ahead of time. An email to office@stac.vic.edu.au at some point tomorrow would be greatly appreciated.
  • The Meeting Codes for relevant sessions have been provided in Mr Stanton’s previous email.
  • For all students in Years 7 to 10, the MORNING House Mentor sessions are mandatory and we will be doing attendance through these meetings. Codes are included in a previous email.

As we continue to monitor the situation closely, we will keep you informed via email and sms, our newsletter and our website. For broader information, please refer to the official Australian Department of Health website.

All Secondary students have been advised to take home the books they need for the coming week. Primary students have also been instructed to take home materials needed for next week.

We pray for our staff, students and families at this time and hope we can get back to school as quickly as possible.

The College’s phone numbers (03 5629 2500 and 1300 911 727) will remain operational throughout this period. If you need to talk with a teacher or someone else at the College during this time you can ring one of these numbers and we will endeavour to get that person to get back to you as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can email our staff using the standard email address format for all staff at St Thomas Aquinas College (ie firstname.surname@stac.vic.edu.au).

God bless and may His Angels protect us.

Fr Andrew Cranshaw – Principal

Mr Mark Stanton – Deputy Principal