Dear Parents/Caregivers,

The end of 2019 witnessed the school dealing with smoke alerts and following the bushfires and their impact on Year 7 and 8 camps. The start of 2020 saw the school dealing with record hourly rainfall and multiple class rooms shut down due to water damage. The last two weeks have seen us deal with a pandemic the scope of which has not been seen in over 100 years. Throughout all these events, the community support in the main has been great to see. I would like to thank the parents and community for your understanding as we dealt with each situation as it arose. I would also like to acknowledge the parents who contacted the school directly to gain clarification about decisions and school operations instead of using social media to vent frustration.

This week will see staff working on Term 2 planning as well as some final Term 1 activities. Teachers will be contactable by email through the week. If you have an emergent student welfare need, the Chaplain and Guidance Officers will still be working and contactable at school.

At the time of writing, we are due back on Monday 20 April.  It is my belief that one of these three scenarios will play out;

1. School returns as normal with the expectation that students come to school.
2. The school moves to online learning where possible with only the children of essential workers attending school.
3. Lock down for the community with school being cancelled

I would hope to inform parents by Friday 17 April about the status of Term 2 schooling, however this decision will be made by the Government.  We will let you know through

1. Text message
2. Email
3. Our social media  

The Easter period this year resembles more of a break from school than a holiday. Also at the time of writing, no students in the extended Palm Beach and Currumbin areas had returned a positive test for COVID-19. Students still need to be mindful of the social distancing protocols and congregating in high risk areas such as shopping centres and popular gathering areas such as skate parks.

Some of the recent school highlights include

• The Year 12 Construction IDT class has been building a shed for the Rugby League program next to the oval
  
  
  
• The Clontarf Foundation facilitating the employment of seven indigenous students at K Mart (the students had to earn their positions).
• Successful PBC Alliance Breakfast where a number of our students received substantial scholarships and former students Regan Hickey and Jackson North were awarded $5000 scholarships from Tugan Community Branch (Bendigo Bank).
• The installation of a solar system on N Block roof.

Please stay safe and well during the break.

Regards,

Chris Capra, Executive Principal