06 Sep 2021
Dear Parent/Carer,
Currently the clear message from NSW Health is that families should be keeping children at home unless it is necessary for them to attend school.
We understand learning from home can be a difficult experience for our students and parents/carers, you are all doing an amazing job. Unless you are an essential worker and are rostered on during school hours and there is no-one else at home then please continue to keep your child/ward at home.
Please note with restrictions in place there is minimal staff onsite each day and we cannot increase the numbers of staff attending under the current guidelines.
Looking ahead, on Friday 27 August 2021 the Premier announced the return to school roadmap for students in NSW. Students will return to face-to-face learning either through a ‘staged return’ or ‘full return’, depending on NSW Health conditions in their area.
Full return (Level 3)
Areas across NSW that are removed from stay-at-home rules will return to school under Level 3 settings. This is a full return for all students to schools, with reduced mingling and on-site activities.
Staged return (Level 3 plus)
Where stay-at-home rules are still in place but high community vaccination and low transmission conditions are met, students will return to school in a staged way. This is a staggered return for prioritised cohorts, with no mingling or on-site activities.
Students in Year 12 and those completing the HSC are already able to return in a limited way and this will continue for the remainder of Term 3 2021. From 25 October 2021, these students will have full-time access to school campuses and their teachers.
Local Government Areas of concern
Identified Local Government Areas (LGAs) and suburbs of concern operating under Level 4 plus restrictions will continue learning from home until we are advised otherwise by NSW Health.
Order of return
Students will return to face-to-face learning with NSW Health-approved COVID-safe settings on school sites in the following order:
From 25 October 2021 – Kindergarten, Year 1 and 12.
From 1 November 2021 – Years 2, 6 and 11.
From 8 November 2021 – Years 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
We will be providing further advice as we develop our plan for a staged return.
The return to school roadmap is subject to change depending on new information expected through the Public Health Order and additional advice from NSW Health. You can stay up to date with the most recent advice on our Advice for families page.
Vaccinations for school staff
To ensure a COVID-safe return to school, all NSW public school and preschool staff on-site to support the staged return of students will be required to be fully vaccinated. Any contractors, volunteers or people on site who require a Working with Children Check will also be required to have 2 doses of vaccination before returning to our school.
Our staff have been encouraged to make use of the various routes for priority vaccination available to them and to book appointments for whatever vaccine is available as soon as possible. We will continue to work with NSW Health to prioritise vaccinations for all staff across NSW.
All NSW school and preschool staff will be required to be fully vaccinated by 8 November.
The department’s COVID-19 webpage is constantly being updated, and outlines the restrictions in our schools as well as other useful information and resources to keep you up to date and supported.
Learning from Home
Week 9 Learning Packs are available from the front of the school today. If you cannot attend school to collect one, please call and we will deliver one for you.
All students will have a video lessons sometime this week within their timetable for an online check-in with their teacher and other students. From feedback last week the students really enjoyed catching up and connecting with each other.
The learning from home page has a wide range of curriculum-based activities to further supplement your child/ward’s learning, if required.
We understand the pressures of parents/carers both supervising learning from home as well as completing their own work. There are some helpful wellbeing tools available to help look after yourself and those around you. Parents and carers are the best judge of what is appropriate for your child/ward to be doing at home. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or your child/ward’s teacher if you need further guidance or something is not working for you.
HSC Students
The HSC exams for 2021 will be rescheduled to start from Tuesday 9 November. The revised timetable will be provided by NESA mid-September. There is new information regarding the HSC being released every week. It is important that parents/carers and students access this information on the NESA website and the department’s HSC Hub.
Thank you again for your understanding and support of our school, please do not hesitate to reach out if we can do anything to assist you and your family to help us all get through these challenging times.
Mr Ross Mackay
Principal