Healthy Community

Staying COVID Safe

There is at present an increase in community transmission of COVID-19 in Victoria.

You can help us keep our school as safe as possible by taking 2 important steps:

1. Ensure your COVID-19 vaccinations are up to date. Information on how and where to get vaccinated is available on the Get vaccinated webpage.

2. If your child shows symptoms of COVID-19, please ensure they stay home and get tested. The easiest way to test is to use a rapid antigen test (RAT).

If your child has symptoms but tests negative, please ensure they stay home until they no longer have symptoms.

If the RAT test result is positive, please ensure they say home for at least 5 days and until there are no more symptoms.

Thank you for your support – these steps will help us all stay well.

Vaping

Smoking and Vaping is banned at and around schools

The Tobacco Act 1987 bans smoking or vaping on school premises or within 4 metres of any pedestrian access point to school premises. The smoking and vaping ban applies to:

• anyone present on school premises during and outside of school hours including students, teachers, and school visitors
• all activities that take place on school premises.

Smoking and vaping are also not permitted during school events and excursions held off school premises.

Smoking is burning something to breathe smoke into the lungs, such as a cigarette. Vaping is breathing in vapor from heated liquid.

Both smoking and vaping involve breathing in chemicals that can harm your health.

How vaping affects your child's body

Vaping can cause significant harm to your child’s body:

• Short-term it can cause vomiting, nausea, coughing, shortness of breath, mouth irritation and asthma
• Long-term it can cause lung damage, heart disease and cancers.

E-cigarettes are still being studied, but most experts think it is likely vaping will cause lung and mouth cancers.

Nicotine is a poison that can make people sick if swallowed and has been linked to the deaths of small children.

Exposing children and teens to nicotine can harm their brain development and lead to higher risk of dependence. Children and teens who use e-cigarettes are more than three times more likely to move onto smoking cigarettes.

E-cigarettes can also explode and catch fire.

Talking to your child or teen about smoking and vaping

As a parent or carer, you have an important role in protecting your child from smoking and vaping. Parent views on smoking and vaping can influence their children’s behaviours. The most important thing you can do is to talk to your child or teen about smoking, vaping and other drugs.