Welcome back.
Yet again we face unusual times for staff, students and the community. However, I can't tell you how excited we all are for 2022. We have spent the summer recharging our batteries and we are ready to get learning!
This will be a fresh start for all students and especially for Year 7 students who are all starting their high school experience for the first time. In Year 8, Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11 we also welcome students who will also be first-time Gladstone State High School students.
Our school provides students with a new place to belong to, where students are safe, responsible, respectful and engaged. Our vision is for every student to succeed utilising a sharp narrow focus on engaging and differentiated teaching and learning.
This year, more so than any other, holds great promise for us. The foundations we have laid in 2021 through the development of our school-wide Teaching and Learning Cycle will guide our work from this point forward to achieve our goal of Every Student Succeeding.
COVID
There's still lots that we need to work through in the coming weeks, but the attached document should give you a solid starting point in relation to starting school next week. Thank you again for your patience and understanding as we work through this information - we know how lucky we are to have a community like ours!
As a general reminder COVID Normal now applies to all Queensland residents and comprises the recommended COVD-safe practices we are now very familiar with:
- maintaining physical distance of 1.5m
- wearing a mask indoor spaces or when distancing is not possible
- maintaining good hand hygiene
- get tested when required or if you have symptoms
- staying home when sick.
We ask parents to advise the school in advance via
to let the school know the particular days that your child/ren will be attending school. It is recognised that some parents will work on some days and not others and therefore students may only need to attend school on certain days. Parents should NOT send a child to school without first advising the school of their expected attendance.
Staff numbers on site will be reduced to minimise transmission and further protect the health and safety of the school community. Although school staff will supervise students who attend school, they will not be providing teaching activities during this time, nor are they expected to supervise remote learning for students who remain at home. Students will be supervised by a teacher or teacher aide however it may not be the same person each day and groups will be fluid with different children at school on different days.
Parents of Year 11 & 12 students are also asked to complete the 2022 School Information Survey to identify the level of access each student has to a computer and/or the internet at home. Students will be provided work in the following ways based on their parents' responses to this survey:
- Mail out of hard copy materials ONLY – for students without a computer or internet access.
- Computer and internet only – for students with sole use of a computer and good access to the internet, or where a parent requested the computer/internet based learning option.
- Both mail out and computer/internet – for students who have shared access to a computer or poor quality internet, where the parent requested hard copies of learning materials be supplied by mail out.
Further information for parents has been developed by the department including frequently asked questions and can be found at https://qed.qld.gov.au/covid19/frequently-asked-questions. I encourage you to stay informed of the latest developments relating to COVID-19 by regularly visiting the Queensland Government website https://www.covid19.qld.gov.au/.
If you have any questions relating to learning from home or school operations during any period of school closure, please email the school at Info@gladstonshs.eq.edu.au or call the school on 4976 6111.
I hope you and your family are coping well in the current situation and look forward to working with you to support the learning and wellbeing of all of our students.
Cheers
Leanne Martin
Acting Principal.