As we are all too aware, we live in very different times to two or three years ago and this includes what happens when our children are sick. In previous years, it was enough to send a sick note a few days after an absence and say “Johnny was sick”. Unfortunately, as we emerge from COVID, a note with ‘sick’ on it is not enough.
We are very aware of keeping our community safe and free of illness so when your child is away because they are unwell, please send a note BEFORE they return to school, with details of why they have been away. You will need to add some detail as to the type of illness and, if they have any cold or flu type symptoms, they will need to have a COVID test. While this might seem over the top, it is part of our COVID Safety plan for all students and staff. If your child reports that they are feeling sick, especially with cold and flu symptoms, you will be asked to collect them and they will need to have a negative COVID test before they can return to school.
To give a short update on COVID restrictions in schools, while there has been quite a bit of easing of restrictions in the general community, those freedoms have not really translated to school settings. All schools in NSW will operate on updated Level 3 settings for the rest of Term 4. This means that school sports are allowed and any interschool sport can occur outside school hours. Assemblies and presentations are allowed but they must be outdoors, which can be problematic as we still must keep cohorts apart and the weather is heating up. Fully vaccinated visitors are allowed on site to support curriculum delivery, wellbeing programs and school operations.
Unfortunately, parents will not be allowed on site for the remainder of Term 4.
We certainly look forward to a smoother, brighter and freer 2022!
Some new things to look out for:
Our Library refit has finished and we are now awaiting the new furniture. This has been a large financial undertaking with a cost of $80,000 for the structural work alone and a further $30,000 has been budgeted for furniture to arrive early in 2022.
We have also received a large grant to renovate the boys bathroom. Tenders are currently open and this work will be completed in 2022.
Bringing toys to school:
Since returning to school we have noticed a number of children bringing inappropriate toys to play with. We ask that no student bring toys that resemble weapons to school. Toy guns, knives etc do not encourage the type of play that we encourage at school so we ask that they stay at home. If these are brought to school they will be confiscated and returned to a parent.
Mrs Willard
