COVID-19 Update
Term 4 Update
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you and your child/children have settled into our final term of 2022. I want to provide you with an update on our COVID-smart settings, particularly with the latest change to isolation requirements and what this will mean for our school. Please review the following information and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have further questions.
On 30 September, National Cabinet announced that from Friday 14 October 2022, people who test positive to COVID-19 do not need to isolate. In line with this announcement, the NSW Department of Education have worked with NSW Health to support all schools to adapt to this change while continuing to prioritise student and staff wellbeing by minimising the risk of COVID-19 transmissions.
Students and staff should continue to stay home when sick
It is expected that when isolation requirements end on Friday 14 October, those currently in isolation will be advised by NSW Health that they may exit isolation. For our students and staff who have tested positive this does not mean they should attend school on Friday.
Students, staff and visitors should only attend school when they are symptom free. We strongly encourage all students, staff and visitors to follow the NSW Health Link . We will continue to send home students or staff displaying symptoms.
Anyone who believes they have been exposed to COVID-19 is strongly recommended to monitor for symptoms and test if they have any concerns, as well as wear a mask. We will continue to support our families to use rapid antigen tests (RATs) if symptomatic or if you believe you have been exposed to COVID-19. RAT testing may help identify the infection early and is important if you are in contact with people at greater risk of serious illness if exposed to COVID-19.
We are continuing our COVID-smart measures
Our school will continue to operate with our baseline COVID-smart measures in place throughout Term 4 to minimise transmission and keep our school open. This includes a combination of layered safety measures such as maintaining hygiene and cleaning practices, using rapid antigen testing (RAT) when experiencing symptoms, maximising natural ventilation, strongly encouraged vaccinations and strongly encouraging mask-wearing particularly when physical distancing is not possible.
In certain circumstances, NSW Health and the Department of Education may advise that additional COVID-smart measures be temporarily reintroduced at our school. We will provide further details of any changes to COVID-smart measures at our school, if/when required.
Reporting requirements from 14 October
Please continue to notify your school if your child tests positive to COVID-19 as we will continue to notify the school community of any known positive cases to prioritise student and staff safety and wellbeing.
Non-COVID-19 Vaccinations reminder from NSW Health
Due to the ongoing pandemic and stay-at-home orders that were in place over the previous two years, NSW Health have noted that some children and young people have missed out on the non-COVID school-based vaccination programs that they would have taken part in. The department would like to remind parents and carers to make sure that all of their child’s vaccinations are up to date, including other non-COVID vaccinations. If you are unsure about whether your child has missed any vaccinations, speak to your GP or go to NSW Health immunisation requirements in Primary schools.
Parents and carers who have children with persistent or ongoing symptoms of COVID are encouraged to have these assessed by their local health care professional. These symptoms may be related to other illnesses that require treatment and management by a doctor.
For more information on vaccinations refer to Vaccination requirements for school sites or the Australian Government COVID-19 vaccines links.
On behalf of our school, I want to thank you again for your ongoing support in helping to keep our students, staff, and community safe. I’d like to wish all our students and their families a great start to Term 4.
For further information see the link below.
Mrs Kocovska
Principal