Dear parents and carers
As we continue to prioritise student and staff learning and wellbeing while at school, our layered COVID-smart measures will continue for Term 3. These ‘baseline measures’ are aligned to the NSW Government’s general community settings and include:
- staying home and getting tested if unwell, and only attending school when symptom-free
- strongly encouraging mask-wearing for all staff and students, particularly in the first four weeks of term
- rapid antigen testing for symptomatic students and staff, and close contacts attending school to learn and work
- strongly encouraging COVID-19 vaccinations for students, staff and their families, including a booster shot (when eligible)]
- strongly encouraging students, staff and their families to get a flu vaccination
- strict requirements for close contacts attending school
- good hygiene practices
- maximising natural ventilation
- boosted cleaning during the day, with particular attention given to high touch surface areas
- responding to local COVID-19 conditions when necessary by working with the department’s Health, Safety and Staff Wellbeing team.
Continuing these baseline COVID-smart measures allows us to prioritise student and staff wellbeing while giving our learners a consistent and productive learning environment this term.
What’s new in Term 3? As winter continues, our COVID-smart measures have been updated in consultation with NSW Health to provide appropriate protection to our school community.
Vaccinations. The department has updated its policy regarding COVID-19 vaccination for employees following an independent risk assessment of school (and corporate) settings and consultation with unions and relevant stakeholders. While vaccination will no longer be a requirement for our staff from 1 August 2022, it is pleasing to see that a recent survey highlighted that more than 99% of the department’s active school-based workforce have had at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. We will continue to strongly encourage all our staff to keep up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations to protect themselves, students, and our school community.
Boosted day cleaning. The department has made a slight change to its cleaning process. Cleaning of school sites will now be more concentrated during the day, with an increase in cleaning during school hours and a subsequent reduction outside of hours. Boosted day cleaning will continue to focus on high-touch areas and other hard surfaces, door handles, lockers, light switches and handrails in stairways and movement areas.
What’s continuing for Term 3?
Masks. Masks are an effective way of minimising the transmission of respiratory viruses and infections and protecting our community, especially those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and flu. We strongly encourage all students and staff to wear masks for the first four weeks of Term 3, particularly in indoor settings or when distancing is impossible. The latest NSW Health advice also recommends wearing a mask for people who have recovered from COVID-19 and recently completed their 7-day isolation period for an additional three days (from days 8 to 10 after receiving a positive COVID-19 result). Additionally, as outlined in the below section on close contacts, mask-wearing is mandatory for staff and high school students returning to school as close contacts for five school days and strongly recommended for primary school students returning to school as close contacts for five school days. Students or staff identified as close contacts who cannot wear a mask will be supported to learn or work remotely.
Rapid antigen tests (RATs). The school has sent another round of RATs home this term. Once these department-supplied RATs are exhausted, please continue to access store-purchased RATs, which are now readily available in the community or PCR tests. Alternatively, let the school know that you need more, and we will try and assist. Additionally, our school will maintain a reserve stock of RATs onsite to support symptomatic testing in the event of an outbreak in our school community. Please also remember that positive RAT results must be registered with ServiceNSW, and students who test positive for COVID-19 must not attend school until their isolation period ends and they are symptom-free.
Close contacts. Students identified as close contacts remain able to attend school, providing they are symptom-free, notify the school and return a negative COVID-19 test result daily for five consecutive school days. Primary students, while not required, are strongly encouraged to wear a mask for five consecutive school days (except when eating/drinking or exercising). Please note that students identified as close contacts are still unable to attend overnight excursions, including camps. Visitors identified as close contacts who are engaging directly with students must return a negative COVID-19 test result before attending our school and wear a mask.
Responding to our local situation. We will continue to liaise with NSW Health and the department’s Health, Safety and Staff Wellbeing Case Management team to ensure our COVID-smart settings keep up with the latest developments. If local conditions require it, this may mean reintroducing temporary additional COVID-smart measures to act as a ‘circuit breaker’, including:
- mandating mask wearing for all staff and students in Year 7 and above (high school settings)
- mandating mask wearing for all staff (primary school settings)
- postponing or limiting non-essential activities like excursions, indoor assemblies and visitors to the school
- directing cohorts to learn remotely for short periods of time.
Maximising natural ventilation. The department has reviewed environmental differences across NSW as part of their winter ventilation planning to ensure that local climatic conditions at each school are considered. The department will continue to provide local guidance to schools, including advice on maximising natural ventilation while balancing thermal comfort and using indoor and outdoor learning areas for school activities to support schools to adapt to local climate conditions throughout the winter.
Reducing the risk of illness this winter. Finally, it is important to note NSW Health’s advice to reduce our risk of not only COVID-19 but other illnesses that may affect our school at this time of year, such as the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), both of which can be serious in younger people. We can all protect our loved ones and our community by:
- staying home and getting tested if unwell or displaying any symptoms
- keeping up to date with our vaccinations – including the flu vaccine, which is available from your local GP, pharmacy or Aboriginal Medical Service now - flu vaccines are free for all children aged six months to under five years, or for a small charge for those aged five years and older
- getting tested immediately for COVID-19 if you become symptomatic and isolating until you receive a negative result and are symptom-free
- practising good hand hygiene by regularly washing with soap and water
- taking a RAT before visiting vulnerable loved ones or attending large gatherings and events.
On behalf of our school, I want to thank you again for your ongoing support and resilience as we continue to work together to support our students.
Louise Purss-Semple
Principal
