Transition back to onsite learning
By Greg Van Es

Transition back to onsite learning
By Greg Van Es
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) has advised that a ‘venue density rule’ of no more than one person per four square metres is not appropriate or practical in classrooms or corridors, nor is maintaining 1.5 metres between students during classroom activities. Therefore, the previously established ratio of 10 students per class is no longer required in schools.
The college will enforce the following guidelines:
Year Level Active Recreation Areas:


School health and safety measures
The return to onsite school attendance is based on the advice of the Victorian Chief Health Officer. The message from the Chief Health Officer and health and safety advice for schools are attached to the 15 May COVID-19 update.
Schools should consider a variety of strategies to support physical distancing, particularly among adults, and good hygiene practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission within the practical limitations of a school environment. The following actions are to be considered, adapted and implemented as necessary, according to the school setting and the individual needs of the staff, students and the wider school community:






Sport and Recreation:
In line with community advice, reasonable precautions are still recommended to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the context of sport and recreation:
No SIS involvement for term 3 – Virtual events to be considered
Weights room and equipment not to be used.
Outdoor facilities are preferred for the purpose of physical education and recreational play. Where indoor facilities are used, please limit the number of students.
Non-contact sports should be encouraged.
Hand hygiene must be practised before and after use of any sporting equipment.
Management of unwell students:
It is important that any staff member or student who becomes unwell while at school returns home. While it is unlikely that a staff member or student who is unwell with flu-like symptoms will have COVID-19, there are some sensible steps schools can take while a student awaits collection by a parent or carer as a precaution.
Staff and students experiencing compatible symptoms with COVID-19, such as fever, cough or sore throat, should be isolated in an appropriate space with suitable supervision and collected by a parent/carer as soon as possible.. It is not suitable for an unwell student to travel home unsupervised.
School transport:
The Department of Transport continues to work closely with the DHHS and transport operators to implement measures to limit the risk and spread of COVID-19 so that students can feel confident travelling on public transport to school.
Students should practise hand hygiene before and after catching school transport (i.e. prior to leaving home and at the end of the school day), and practise physical distancing at bus stops, train stations and interchange locations for other shared transport services.
Parents and carers, particularly of students with complex medical needs, should consider all transport to school options and may opt to use private transport.
All Public transport and Chartered School Buses are operational from Tuesday the 26th of May.
Students continuing to learn Offsite
We have been informed by some parents that students may not return to school for their classes due to various reasons.
These students will be marked in SEQTA as ‘Learning from Home’ for attendance purposes.
Students to access SEQTA for coursework and resources, teachers are not required to teach remotely and in the classroom but will need to respond to student questions or concerns as quickly as possible but not necessarily during that class or that day.
Students must confirm with teachers how assessment tasks are going to be undertaken and if they can be done from home or if the student could be expected to come in even just for the assessment.