Hello, and welcome to the eighteenth of my monthly Principal's blogs. In this post, I will provide a general update of the school, a special day we had with our students and information on upcoming events.
Update
Richard Gill School in Muswellbrook and our neighbouring Upper Hunter LGA’s were very pleased to have our Covid restrictions reduced from Level 4 to Level 3 on Thursday, September 16, allowing the school 1 single day with our children on-site before school holidays, following 6 weeks of remote learning.
One Special Day
We had the most wonderful day celebrating a belated Book Week, launching Spoonville and handing out care packs the Richard Gill Staff had put together for our students and their families. The children loved seeing their classmates once again and had lots of fun catching up, playing and learning. Miss Presland asked the students what they had missed the most and many of them said ‘our friends’ and ‘doing music every day’, which was great to hear. Our first face-to-face music lesson in weeks was undoubtedly wonderful for all.
Book Week 2021
Spoonville 2021
HOLIDAY CARE PACKS
Our “Holiday Care Packages” sent home with families on the final day of Term 3 proved to be quite popular with both families and the local media. These were a fun way to wish our families all the best for the holiday period, and to hopefully put some smiles on the faces of our school community. See below some pictures we shared via our Facebook page a couple of weeks ago, and the radio interview I did with Dylan and Dana from 98.1 PowerFM
Listen to: Power FM Radio Interview
Lockdown was no doubt a challenging time for our families and community, and we thank them for their efforts and resilience during the 6 weeks of remote learning.
Unfortunately, while the freedom was wonderful, it was somewhat short-lived, with Muswellbrook being placed into a new “snap 7-day lockdown” on Monday 27th of September, due to end on Tuesday evening. We are grateful for the time we were able to see the children and are hopeful this new lockdown will be lifted and not impact Term 4 at Richard Gill School - which commences on Wednesday. Let’s all keep our fingers and toes crossed! In good news, the NSW Government has announced all K-1 years will recommence from October 18 across the state.
Upcoming Events
For families considering enrolment at Richard Gill School we have 2 exciting events approaching in the coming weeks, lockdown permitting.
The first is our “Family Info Night”, which is on Wednesday, October 13 from 6-7pm at Richard Gill School -
The second is our “Kindy for a Day” program, which is on Friday October 22 from 9:30am-2:30pm for children to experience a day of Kindergarten at Richard Gill School. Registrations for both events are essential, so please follow the links below:
Enrolment
Enrolments for Richard Gill School are always open, and in 2022 will open to Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. Our prospectus, enrolment form, parent info and fee information can be found here.
AdditionAL Transport
A new, daily, school bus service has just been announced from Singleton to Muswellbrook, so we are excited to begin promoting Richard Gill School to our neighbours in Singleton. If you know of any friends or family living in Singleton who may like to know more about the school, please feel free to share.
For more information on school buses, contact Osborns.
Scholarships
Scholarship applications are now open and available to local children entering Kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2 in 2022. Scholarships are available across a range of areas, including Equity, Academic and Talent.
If you are looking for a scholarship or know a family who might benefit, please don’t hesitate to apply today.
Scholarships at Richard Gill School are to provide wonderful opportunities for students who, because of financial or other special circumstances, would not normally have access to the educational opportunities provided by the School - as well as a way to build up areas of excellence within the School. Families can apply for a scholarship in confidence by contacting the Principal or filling in an application form here.
Thinking of everyone enduring what seems to be a never-ending set of lockdowns, and remaining optimistic for brighter days just around the corner.
Yours in Music,
Chris English – Principal, Richard Gill School