It is so very lovely at present seeing children, big and small, frolicking together again, playing chase games and flying paper planes in our beautiful school grounds. After all the weeks of the school feeling empty and quiet, many teachers have expressed that hearing the joyful sounds of child's play in the school again, is music to our ears. Now that the Wintery coolness has arrived, chilly mornings and evenings encourage us to seek warmth and enjoy cosy times together with family. These cooler days are a time for children to come to school dressed warmly in the mornings, with bodies and legs clothed by layers, that can gradually peel off as the day warms up. Many children have been shivering at school in recent days, having dressed in light-weight shorts and t-shirts, which are not adequate for the season. Please be sure to check before leaving home that your child is wearing long pants or tights, a jumper or jacket and shoes and socks. For many, this is a favourite time of year,…

Hello everyone, What tumultuous times we are living in! Things are changing so quickly that it is hard to have any certainty from day to day - and yet we must find our 'anchor' and ground in the knowledge that we will get through this time. As we near the autumn equinox, we are also at the time when we focus on the message of St Michael - and this is a message about finding the strength and courage we all have. Please know that, as a school community, we are walking through this together. I am needing to make decisions I have never had to make before and these all weigh heavily - but please know that at the absolute centre of all, is the need to do the very best we can for our children. Thank you for your patience and support, we do have the courage to see this through. Peace Nerrida

Hello everyone, I am always amazed when autumn arrives here, it seems as though someone has flicked a switch and suddenly we see the features of autumn turn up. Cloudy skies, slightly cooler nights, mist on the hillsides - it is somewhat of a relief after the heat and frenetic activity of summer. This week we have enacted our school planned response to the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Australia. Whilst there are no confirmed cases in the Byron community yet, it is better that we are prepared and following best practice as the situation seems to be changing daily. I have sent emails out to all parents with details about this, however, the main point is that children who are showing signs of fever, sore throat, cough or runny nose should not come to school. We are asking for the community to really support us in this as we often have children coming to school who are unwell and should be staying at home. I do understand how very difficult this can be for working parents, however, in…

Hello everyone, What a challenging couple of weeks it has been with some wild weather and heavy rain impacting us all! The school sustained damage in a number of areas in the recent weather and we are working to address these issues as efficiently as possible. Thank you for your understanding last week when we asked those parents who were able, to keep their children at home. I understand the timing of this event was challenging, however we do hope you understand that we were making decisions within the timeframe and information we had to hand, always with the best interests of our students at heart. We have developed a School Closure and Restriction Policy and Procedure to assist everyone to understand our process when a severe weather event occurs. We will publish this on the school website in the near future. You will by now have heard that I will be leaving the school at the end of May to take up a position as Principal of a school in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. The Board…