Bridgewater High School

An information sheet will be distributed to parents outside the PCYC this morning
(containing the information on this web page)

No other new information has been added since 11.00pm last night.

See below for more information about the return today (THURSDAY)

BUSES

As we first said a few days ago, TODAY (Thursday) students will meet at the PCYC, Greenpoint Road, at the usual starting time of 8.30am, for an assembly commencing at 8.45am. They will later be taken to Geilston Bay High and Claremont College.

But where will you meet at other times, and where will buses bring you back to? The answer is:

From THIS AFTERNOON (Thursday), 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 (but not THIS morning, Thursday) 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 these 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.

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.

- this information is dated Wednesday 31 October, 8.15pm. Updated 9.37pm

See below for information about the return on THURSDAY

GYM DEMOLITION

Demolition extended through the aerobics room and the table tennis rooms to expose the interior of our students' much-loved gym yesterday (Tuesday).

The weights room had been burned in the fire.

A person can stand near the netball courts and see all the way to the gym's two basketball rings that will never be used again.
 

MONDAY'S DEMOLITION

SECOND FIRE

A second fire broke out at the school site on Sunday afternoon but it was easily extinguished.
It appears to have originated from smouldering ashes in the area of the music room.
For safety reasons demolition of that area was accelerated.
The music rooms and the music corridor have now been demolished.
The demolished area of the school now reaches a corner of the grade 8 computer room.
The gym area has been demolished only to the aerobics room at this stage.
- This message is dated Monday 29 October, 9.45pm. Updated 30 October, 7.00am.

THE FIRE AFTERMATH - UPDATED

Information from Mrs Chris Gee, Acting Principal
 

SUMMARY: Classes will resume on THURSDAY (not Wednesday
as originally planned), at Geilston Bay High and Claremont College
- meet at the PCYC in Greenpoint Road at 8.30am

The Minister for Education, David Bartlett, announced on Friday that:
- classes will resume on THURSDAY this week, 1 November.
- students will be taken by bus to Geilston Bay High School and Claremont College, and
- our school's whole building will be demolished, including the parts that were not burned (structural damage from heat and smoke damage was considerable)

More information about what the Minister said is contained in his media release.

Here are more details of how we are changing over to the Geilston Bay High and Claremont College locations. If you have Internet access keep checking this website (www.bhs.tased.edu.au). Note that on Thursday morning near the PCYC we hope to hand out to parents and others an information sheet containing most of the information on this web page.

• On Thursday morning this week (TODAY), we will all meet at the PCYC in Greenpoint Road (between the new Woolworths supermarket building and the police station).  Arrive at the usual time, 8.30am. Those who come by bus should catch their bus as usual.
• 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.
• The junior grades - grades 7 and 8 - will be taken by special buses to GEILSTON BAY HIGH SCHOOL for their classes following the assembly.
• The senior grades - grades 9 and 10 - will be taken by special buses to CLAREMONT COLLEGE for their classes following the assembly.
• Your teachers will go to those schools to teach you.
• On Thursday (today), though, don't go directly to those places: come to the meeting of the whole school at the PCYC.
• This Thursday morning (today), students on Metro school buses will be able to get off the bus at the PCYC. Contract buses might arrive later than 8.30am but should be able to drop students off at the PCYC by 8.45am.
• Bus arrangements from THURSDAY afternoon (this afternoon) onwards: 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.
• On Friday (tomorrrow), 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.
• On MONDAY, TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY this week, 29, 30 and 31 October, teachers made preparations for teaching you at the new schools. STUDENTS stayed home on those days. (Originally, the plan was for students to stay home only on Monday and Tuesday but it turns out that we cannot use both schools on Wednesday.)
• When you return on Thursday (today), be sure to wear your Bridgewater High School UNIFORM.
• 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. 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.)
• On FRIDAY (tomorrow), the grades 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.

* Students who are scheduled to have 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.

- Updated Tuesday 30 October, 11.00pm

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.
 

REMEMBER - listen to the news and check the school website.

We hope you appreciate our efforts to keep you informed.

PDF file containing most of the above information
(This is a notice dated Tuesday 30 October that was distributed to many local shops and other
organisations in the Bridgewater-Gagebrook-Brighton area on Tuesday, as well as to primary school
students with high school family members)

An updated information sheet will be available for any parents and others who drop students off at the PCYC on Thursday morning.
 

TEMPORARY DROP-IN CENTRE:

The Minister for Education, David Bartlett, has announced that a temporary drop-in centre has been set up at the PCYC in Greenpoint Road.

If you wish to talk to someone about the fire before coming back to school on Thursday, then that is a good place to go to.

- This message is dated Sunday, 28 October 2007, 9.00 am

CRIMESTOPPERS:

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

- This message is dated Sunday, 28 October 2007, 9.00 am.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

BUSES: "Will I have to catch two buses to and from home, or one?"
- If you used to catch one bus from Bridgewater High, then you will most likely now have to catch two - the first bus is the one provided by the school that takes everyone to or from the old Bridgewater High School bus turning circle. The other bus is the one you used to catch.

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.

PHONING THE SCHOOL OR COLLEGE:
- See our school contacts page (but we would appreciate it if phone calls could be avoided if at all possible today and on Friday)

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.

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.

- This message is dated Sunday, 28 October 2007. Updated Monday 29 October, 9.00pm and Wednesday 31 October.
 

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.

The information on this page was last updated at 11.00pm, Wednesday 31 October.
Wording has been changed to reflect the fact that TODAY (Thursday) is the day of return!

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The url of this page is http://www.ourbhs.com/news/changes-oldpage.htm