SCHOOL LEADERSHIP MESSAGE

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

COVID update and Rapid Antigen Tests

What we are noticing, in terms of other schools who have had students or staff test positive to COVID is that schools are closing for a short period of time and then reopening relatively quickly. Schools are now allowed to notify close contacts prior to DFFH contacting primary close contacts. This is certainly speeding up the process. Currently, we have not had a confirmed case of COVID this year, however, in the event that this should happen, it is most likely the school will be closed to allow for contact tracing to occur, and for any cleaning to take place. The list of primary close contacts will be narrowed down to a grade/classes, teachers, and any other students the student or teacher may nominate as having been in contact with. All other students will be allowed to return to school as soon as possible. Vaccinated individuals now only need to isolate for 7 days (providing they return several negative results). Non-vaccinated people must continue to isolate for the full 14 days (and be tested). We did note that one secondary recently had a staggered return to school, and we imagine that this may have had something to do with the amount of staff who were required to isolate. We are very conscious that we may find it difficult to staff our school if a number of staff were required to isolate. Parents may also need to be prepared to continue with alternate childcare arrangements should we be unable to adequately staff the school post a positive case.

The Department of Education has announced that they will be providing Rapid Antigen Tests to a number of schools. At this stage, it is unlikely we will receive these testing kits. Should we receive them, our understanding is that we will be able to offer these to parents of students who are unvaccinated and primary close contacts, with the goal to being able to shorten the students’ isolation period. Clearly the Department’s goal is to get students back to school as soon as possible. The announcement that schools will be receiving these tests may have caused some parents concern. Please be assured that we will not be administering these tests but rather offering them to parents. As school staff, we are not health professionals, medical attention/intervention of any sort (unless in an emergency) is rarely something we do and is always undertaken with parental knowledge and approval. The type of medical/intervention we generally administer, is for example, giving Panadol and other medications, and only ever with parental approval.

Again, to reiterate, our best strategies appear to be working and are our best defence against infection spread and school closures:

• Stay home if unwell and get tested if you display any signs consistent with COVID
• Wear a mask indoors at all times
• Sanitise your hands regularly
• Socially distance where you can.

Our school also continues to maintain an excellent cleaning schedule throughout the day and have been provided extra funds from the Department of Education to do so.

Exam period

The exam period for students in Years 8-11 begins next week, 15th November. All students’ exam times should now be in their Compass schedule. Parents are also able to view this. As mentioned in the previous newsletter, practising sitting exams is an incredibly important skill and one which we know leads to better performance in VCE and in a number of important arenas of learning and life.

Parent Payments Policy

We are looking forward to another great year of teaching and learning in 2022. As per the changes to the Parent Payments Policy, we would like to advise that all contributions in 2022 are voluntary, however, we continue to need your support as we do not intend to remove any of our programs for 2022. 

Your financial contributions allow us to:

• Offer a wide range of subjects and experiences for students across all year levels
• Provide books and materials for electives (e.g. Food, Woodwork, Textiles etc.)
• Run incursions
• Give access to students to Edrolo and other online resources/tools
• Provide IT support.

Please note that in 2022, The Department of Education will not be providing schools with additional funding to top up a reduction in parent payments. Schools are meant to allocate all their funds every year and not accrue savings. We are flagging that at this stage, we are unsure of our capacity to meet any shortfall should parents choose not to contribute as we do not carry savings from one year to the next. 

Building works

Currently the tender is out to the builders for our upgrade. We are on schedule to begin building either at the very end of this year or at the start of next year. Parents, students, staff, and community may notice shortly that an area at the front of the school will be cordoned off. To facilitate the new build, we will be dropping three trees, removing the cricket nets at the front of the school, and temporarily removing our yarning circle and totem poles. 

Lastly, John and I would like to thank the community for their recent support during the power outage. All staff have remarked that we have never had two closures due to extreme weather in our careers. We hope this is not a sign of future times. The recent storms made it extremely dangerous for students, parents, and staff to travel on the roads. I would also like to acknowledge and thank our bus companies who had a very challenging day. Well done everyone for being sensible and putting safety first.

Principal - Vaya Dauphin

Assistant Principal  -  John Wilson