Latest News and Views from the Principal

Welcome to my weekly update regarding everything occurring at Tate St. Primary School and as always, it has been an extremely busy one. I can tell you that it is a very different type of busy that we are used to though! With the COVID-19 outbreak we have seen absences surge (understandably) as parents elect to keep their children isolated which is their right. We have over 50 absences as of today, Friday the 20th of March, which is approximately 25% of our school population. I believe that many schools in Melbourne have considerably higher absences in larger schools especially. Having said that we are 'business as usual' and will continue to provide an excellent education for the children who are attending everyday. At present, the best place for students to learn is at school. On the other hand, if the Government changes it's stance and decides to close schools before our holidays start at the end of next week, all of our teachers are currently working on plans for students to complete schoolwork from home, much of it online, though we can provide relevant home projects if you don't have access to the internet. 

These are very different times to what we are normally used to with people hoarding toilet paper and gatherings of 100 people now against the law. I can't go and see the Bombers play on the weekend sadly, but if that contributes towards the overall plan of stifling the spread of this virus, then that is a very good thing.

I trust that you will appreciate the challenges that this situation presents. However, we are encouraging our staff and students to embrace a number of our 'Play is The Way' 'Liferafts': pursuing your personal best; being sensible, being the master, not the victim of your feelings, being resilient and adaptable during this time.

I will keep the community updated as often as I possibly can and whenever I hear any updates from the Education Department via the Compass app.

I wish all of our families all the very best in these uncertain times.

Terry Scott

Principal