New Bell Technology
You may have recently heard a change to our school bell or noticed that you no longer jump out of your skin when you are standing at the top of the stairs near the Library at 3:00pm.
On the last day of Term 2, a new more modern system was installed. The new technology has many benefits, some of which are a bit of fun and others that further improve our ability to provide a safe environment for our staff, students and wider community. Some of these new features are:
- greater coverage across the school (vital during emergency procedures) – additional horns added and the internal PA system is now integrated into the one platform
- an easier interface that allows adjustments to bell times and signals without the need for an external technician
- the ability to play music (mp3’s) through the system, instead of just a traditional bell sound
- emergency tones can be adjusted to ensure they meet industry standards and align with our Emergency Response Plan
One way in which we have already used the new technology, is through the introduction of two additional signals during the day. These new signals are intended to provide the students with an indication that recess/ lunch is about to end and that it is time to start making their way back to class. At the end of both break times a fun song plays for approximately three minutes (currently a Jack Johnson song but the students are putting together a play list), during which the students are asked to start making their way back to class ready to start the next session before the song concludes. Although the new signals have only been in place for a week, an improvement in the time it takes our students to transition back into class has already been observed.
Change Coming to St Dominic’s Offical Start Time
A decision has also been made to shift the schools offical start time from 8:45am to 8:40am. The shift will provide additional settling in time for our students and enable staff to commence the morning routine and Literacy block that little bit earlier, taking advantage of what we know is the peak learning time for our students. The change will also ensure that our school continues to meet the requirements of the non-government schools registration standards.
All doors will continue to open across the school at 8:30am, with students in Year 1 to 6 able to arrive from 8:15am. Students should not be arriving at school prior to this time without parental supervision. The ideal time to arrive at school is 8:30am as students can walk straight into class and commence getting ready for the day.
We understand and appreciate that this shift to 8:40am may impact your family and the routine you currently have in place, so following the introduction of the new start time in Week 6 (Monday, 22nd August), there will be a period of adjustment during which staff will be understanding if students arrive to class a bit later.
An outline of the new bell times can be found on our school website here and below is an image taken from this page.
For reference and in additional to the information above, a copy of the Schools Attendance Guidelines and Procedures document can also be accessed here.
Leon Bolding
Principal