Returning to School

IMPORTANT ADVICE

Returning to school for your little ones will be an exciting time and welcomed by a lot of parents, I’m sure, but with it comes a little bit of worry. This is totally normal and expected, so let’s discuss this…..

The Delta variant of Covid -19 is very different to last year’s Covid-19. Delta is a lot more contagious and can spread quickly. Therefore, school will look different to the last time students were there.

After speaking to a few parents today, their main concerns are, if their child is going to catch Covid, and how they are going to move forward living with Covid in our community.

My main advice to all parents ….

Stay calm, as children pick up tension from their parents. Show your child/ren that you are calm about living with Covid in our community. Try not to talk negatively around them about the virus and not watch the news too much. Explain it to them at their level, not at an adult level. It is something that we all have to live with now, so try and make it as normal as you can.
Educate your child with Covid safety hygiene practices.
At the time of writing this newsletter article, the most recent Operations Guide strongly recommends that primary school students wear masks. Most children are excited to wear a mask, as they will now be like the adults and there are plenty of fun masks with great patterns on them that children will love. Parents and teachers can show students how to wear a mask properly; how and when to put it on, take it off and where to place it when not in use.
Teach your child to take care of their mask and, when they have to take it off, ask them to make sure they put their mask in their pocket, not on the table, not on the floor or in their lunch box. Remind your child to never share their mask with anyone else. For example, just because Susan has a nicer mask than them, they are not to share their masks! The teachers will certainly be teaching their students about mask etiquette, and I would love it if parents could also do this. If your child is wearing a reusable mask, please put their name on it!
Explain the importance of hand washing. This is THE most important part of not spreading germs. We have an opportunity to teach this next generation about cleaner, healthier living and to making our children’s generation more knowledgeable and educated around our combined responsibility towards public health.
Educate the etiquette of hygiene from coughing and sneezing into their elbows. After blowing their nose in a tissue, they must pop the tissue immediately into the bin and hand sanitize every time! Remind them that they are helping to protect their friends from getting sick and, so again, we are educating them to be kind and caring to others. To have empathy – another positive!
We are now living with Covid-19 in our everyday life. We can’t guarantee that our school will not close again, but we can certainly put 100% effort into trying to prevent it from happening.
Remember that you are the parent – not the child. If you feel your child is too unwell, or you know that they are suffering from a sore throat, headache, fever, sneezing or coughing – then PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL, even if they say they want to come. I will guarantee you that the school will be calling you to come and pick up your child straight away. We cannot afford sick students or staff members to attend school if they are unwell with symptoms of Covid. Remember, in children, Covid can present itself very mildly, something like the common cold. You will be asked to go and get a Covid test before coming back to school again once symptoms disappear.
If your child suffers from hayfever or other allergies that may present with similar symptoms to Covid, then please get in touch with Amanda in First Aid to inform her before your child returns to school. Students will be sent home if they have constant coughing or sneezing, unless a certificate from a doctor indicates the cause.
Many students will become fatigued more quickly than normal upon returning to school. If this means they need a rest during the day, teachers will enable this. In fact, lesson sequences will be planned to enable movement and brain-breaks with a balance between new learning and revision.
Parents can assist by ensuring that their children return to a routine of going to bed early so they are well rested for the next day ahead.

After all this being said, please remember…..

You are all doing an amazing job balancing the home life, working and remote learning with your children. Teachers and staff are doing an amazing job continuing to educate their students remotely, which must be terribly hard.

Be kind to everyone and remember that you are bringing up the next generation to be kinder, community-minded and more resilient adults.

Amanda Daemen

First Aid Officer