Congratulations to Emma, Rachel and Paris from Year 12, who competed in this years Lions Club Youth of the Year. Each student did an outstanding job of representing themselves and the College, and we are very proud of them.
The school released a communication regarding the Coronavirus on Wednesday, and I wanted to thank you for all you are doing to help reduce risk and ensure the safety of those in our community.
As serious as this situation may become, I believe it is an opportunity for us to demonstrate a godly approach to uncertainty and suffering, and not to panic but to use calm discernment in the decisions we take.
It is in these situations I believe we are presented with an opportunity to model a mature faith in God to our students and families, being prayerful and prudent in fulfilling our responsibilities to others, as we grow in our own character and faith. It is an opportunity to present our faith response as one that can make a positive impact and have a positive contribution in our world.
The Bible speaks of pursuing love as the most significant way of responding to many things, and I think this truth can apply here also. 1 Corinthians 13 says that “love is patient and kind… love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance”. It is often when we respond in selfishness and fear that it leads to no toilet paper, tissues or flour!
However, if our first concern though is to love; to be patient, kind, understanding and enduring then we are better equipped to look after everyone, including ourselves. And, this is the difference we are striving for in ourselves and in our students. Isn’t it? It seems we are being presented with an opportunity to practice what we preach.
Following is the brief I released on Wednesday for those who missed it:
Management of COVID19 – Novel Coronavirus
"Dear Richmond Christian College Community,
I want to reassure you that we are closely monitoring the COVID-19 (‘novel coronavirus’) situation as the authorities continue their efforts to contain the virus.
The School Board and the Executive team are committed to ensuring a safe environment for all our staff and students and are monitoring this situation. Today I have been in contact with relevant local and state authorities to receive the most up-to-date, accurate information.
We are also tracking several key departments’ notifications to keep abreast of current warnings and advice at national, state and education department levels (see list below). This will ensure we are responding appropriately and in the best interests of our students, staff and whole school community.
It is vital that we all reinforce to our students good hygiene practices. Good hygiene including frequent handwashing and avoiding touching the face are the most effective ways to reduce the spread of the virus. Additional hand sanitisers and cleansing materials have been ordered for this purpose.
Consistent with guidelines, students and staff who are unwell should remain at home until symptoms (fever, cough, runny nose, shortness of breath) resolve. If any student becomes unwell at school, please remind your children to ask the teacher to go to the sick bay. The School Office will then contact parents and guardians to collect their child.
If you are or have been travelling overseas, or if you are contemplating doing so over the Easter holiday break, you should follow the advice from the Australian Government regarding overseas travel. If you have been in any situation which might expose you to the virus, for example, if you have recently returned from a high risk country or have had close contact with someone who has tested positive to the virus, you must not attend school for 14 days. You must contact the School Office immediately to advise if you will be absent from school for this reason. The school will be keeping a register of those having flu-like symptoms to help us fulfil our duty of care to staff and students.
We have addressed high school students today to reassure them that there are simple hygienic ways to ensure the virus spreading is minimalised and to affirm what is communicated in this letter. Primary teachers will continue to remind students to be hygienic and safe without referring specifically to the virus.
In the case where a student is absent for an extended period of time staff will continue to ensure that the student is provided with the necessary information to continue with their schooling as best they can.
Please feel free to talk with me should you have any specific concerns regarding our approach to this situation. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and I will keep you up-to-date with relevant information via our usual channels: email, Facebook and the Skoolbag app. Should you not have access to one of these please contact the School Office for further details.
For further reference I include the main information sources relied upon by the school. You might like to familiarise yourselves with some of this material:
· Federal Department of Health
https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert#current-status
· NSW Department of Health
· NSW Department of Education
https://www.education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/school-safety/novel-coronavirus
· Federal Department of Education, Skills and Employment
https://www.dese.gov.au/news/coronavirus-covid-19?12=
· Federal Government Department of Home Affairs (Travel Restrictions)
https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/news-media/current-alerts/novel-coronavirus
· Smartraveller Website (Providing Australians with the latest information and advice for safe travel overseas)
https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/news-and-updates/coronavirus-covid-19
· NESA
For now, we operate business as usual. Rest assured we will keep you informed as best we can.
Should you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact the school for more details.
Good tidings,
Jonno
