The return to school for
Bridgewater High School students

Information from Mrs Chris Gee, Acting Principal
Issued on Thursday, 1 November 2007, 8.00am
This information is based on information already provided on our website (as at 7.00am this morning).

SUMMARY: Classes will resume on THURSDAY (today), at Geilston Bay High School and Claremont College. Students are to meet at the PCYC in Greenpoint Road at 8.30am

The Minister for Education, David Bartlett, announced on Friday, 26 October 2007, that our school's whole building will be demolished, including the parts that were not burned (structural damage from heat and smoke damage were considerable).

At the PCYC, we will have a whole school assembly for students and staff in the PCYC gym for about 30-45 minutes, commencing at 8.45am. As this will be a very special time for us we will restrict admission to our school community only. Following the assembly:

The junior grades - grades 7 and 8 - will be taken by special buses to GEILSTON BAY HIGH SCHOOL for their classes.
The senior grades - grades 9 and 10 - will be taken by special buses to CLAREMONT COLLEGE for their classes.
Your teachers will go to those schools to teach you. They will be with you from now on.

LUNCH: On Thursday (today), grade 7 and 8 students will be provided with a BBQ lunch at Geilston Bay High. Geilston Bay High's canteen ordering system for prepared food will be explained. On Thursday (today) you will be able to buy items at recess but probably not at lunch time, because of a special event on that day. (That is why we are providing you with a free BBQ lunch.) Grade 9 and 10 students will use the Claremont College canteen.

GRADE 9 AND 10 FRIDAY: On FRIDAY (tomorrow), the grade 9 and 10 students will not be taken to Claremont College (because of an event that will be taking place there) but will have other activities. They should meet at 8.30am at the PCYC. They may use the PCYC facilities until 9.30am when a bus will take them to the GLENORCHY POOL. After 12.30pm they will go to the TOLOSA STREET reserve for a BBQ lunch. They will be returned to the Bridgewater High School bus turning circle by 3.00pm.

OTHER ARRANGEMENTS:

* Students with Work Experience this week should go to their work experience locations as planned.

* Youthbuild will go ahead as usual on Thursday. Students will take part in the assembly at the PCYC first. A bus will then take them to Youthbuild at the Showgrounds.

* Part-time students should come full-time for Thursday and Friday. Their programs will be reviewed.

* The Wilderness Camp that was to have been held this week has been CANCELLED.

* Students with library books and musical instruments to return, and completed assignments to hand in, should keep these at home until after Friday. Wait for advice about what to do.

* The immunisations scheduled for Wednesday 14 November will go ahead, but at Geilston Bay High and Claremont College.

* The next School Association meeting has been rescheduled to 3.30pm on Tuesday 6 November in the PCYC meeting room.

UNIFORM: Be sure to wear your Bridgewater High School UNIFORM at Geilston Bay High and Claremont College. It is now more important than ever for your Bridgewater High School uniform to be worn.

STUDENTS' LOCKERS:

The grade 9 and 10 lockers were destroyed by the fire.
The grade 7 and 8 lockers appear to be undamaged. They were removed (complete with students' belongings inside) from the school on Saturday for placing at Geilston Bay High where they have been assessed properly and cleaned. Grade 7 and 8 students will have access to their lockers on Thursday (today) when they go to Geilston Bay High.
Students who have lost items as a result of the fire or have had items damaged by the fire can write out a list of these items with their details, and forward their claim through the school.

PHONING THE SCHOOL OR COLLEGE:

- At Claremont College: 6249 6955. At Geilston Bay High School: 6243 8633. (However, we would appreciate it if phone calls could be avoided if at all possible today and on Friday.) [See our Contact Us page.]

BUSES:

From THIS AFTERNOON (Thursday) onwards, it will be BACK TO THE OLD BRIDGEWATER HIGH SCHOOL bus turning circle in front of the school

(apart from grades 9 and 10 meeting at the PCYC on Friday morning for their excursion)

You will:

- meet at the turning circle in the MORNING at 8.30am, ready for the school to bus you to Geilston Bay High or Claremont College (however, on Friday morning, tomorrow, grade 9 and 10 students will meet at the PCYC for their excursion), AND

- be returned to the turning circle in the AFTERNOON by 3.00pm, ready for catching whichever bus you used to board after school. In other words, afternoons will be just like before, only instead of walking out of the school doors to board a bus or walk home, you will arrive in front of the school in a bus.

Although the bus taking you back to the Bridgewater High bus turning circle each day will travel past many students' homes in Old Beach, Gagebrook and Bridgewater IT WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE FOR DRIVERS TO LET STUDENTS OFF ALONG THE WAY because any stopping will make them late for their next schedule.
You will not have to pay for the buses that the school provides specially for travelling between the bus turning circle and Geilston Bay and Claremont College.
Students on country buses will be able to connect with buses to both Geilston Bay High and Claremont College.
We will arrange for ALL students to leave Geilston Bay High and Claremont College EARLY to be able to reach the old Bridgewater High School bus turning circle by 3.00pm, as some students will have to catch their usual connecting buses.

CARS AND BUS DEPARTURE TIMES FROM SCHOOLS

On Friday (tomorrow), parents taking grade 7 and 8 students to Geilston Bay High by car are asked to drop them off there at approximately 8.30am, but not before 8.15am

For parents who wish to collect students from school at the end of the day, the following information may be useful:

at Geilston Bay High, the expected departure times are 2.15pm this Thursday, and 2.35pm from this Friday onwards.
at Claremont College, the expected departure times are 2.25pm this Thursday, approximately 2.25-2.40pm on Friday, and 2.40pm from Monday onwards.

OTHER INFORMATION

BOOKS AND STATIONERY:

"I haven't got any books and stationery as it would have all been lost in the fire. What will happen when I return?"

- The school will provide you with new books and stationery at no charge.

ORIENTATION DAY FOR GRADE 6:

"Will the Orientation Day for grade 6 students still go ahead?"

- We are assuming we can hold it on the same date, Wednesday 5 December. We will provide details at a later stage.

CRIMESTOPPERS:

If you have information that might help the police, then phone Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.

NEXT YEAR:

"How long will we be at Geilston Bay and Claremont College for?"

- In his media release the Minister for Education, David Bartlett, said: "Grade 7 and 8 students will be relocated to Geilston Bay High School and Grade 9 and 10 to Claremont College until the end of this year. There is still further work to be done in relation to locations in 2008." In other words, we know what is happening for the rest of this year, but decisions for next year have not been made yet.

COMPUTERS:

All of your work saved on the computers is safe. It has been copied to computers at Geilston Bay High and Claremont College where you will be able to log on and access any files you had before the fire.

SCHOOL MAGAZINE:

The school magazine is definitely going ahead. It is likely to be bigger and better than last year's.

All staff look forward to seeing all of our students again.