Dear Parents and Carers,

The focus of this edition of the newsletter is information regarding students returning to school. Prep - Year 2 students return to school on Tuesday May 26th and Year 3 - 6 students return Tuesday June 9th. We are looking forward to seeing the students and returning to some normality. School will be a little bit different and this is to ensure that we all remain safe. Please note that there will be no crossing supervisor until all students return on the June 9th.

There may be parents who are concerned that their child has fallen behind. I want to reassure you that teachers are very skilled at differentiating the work to suit the needs of all students, and I am confident that students will recover easily. Teachers will focus on ‘what has to be learned’ instead of getting through a lot of curriculum. You may be interested in reading an article ‘Does missing a term due to COVID-19 really matter? What happened to student results after the Christchurch quake’?

In preparation for our return to school we have developed policy and procedures that will assist in protecting the health and wellbeing of students, staff and parents. These guidelines are based on the advice we have been given by the Department of Education and Training. We ask that parents familiarise themselves with the new procedures by reading the COVID-19 Return to School Policy below. One of the most important areas for you to be familiar with is our drop off and pick up procedures, as these have changed to maintain social distancing.

We really care about maintaining open communication and we want you to know that you are always able to talk to us. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be a few changes for how we manage this. It will be difficult for teachers to chat before or after school at the gate, as their priority is to ensure students arrive and leave safely. If you need to talk to the teacher either email, phone or arrange a virtual meeting, our teachers will be more than happy to organise a time to talk to you.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all parents for maintaining positivity and for becoming the ‘home teacher’ during this period. For many trying to juggle work and family life it has been extremely challenging, and we thank you for all your efforts. Start typing your article in here...

Return to School dates and details

The following timeline will be followed for a staged return to school:

Attendance on-site

The Department of Education and Training (DET) advises that:

Perhaps the most important action school communities can take to reduce the risk of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), is to ensure that any unwell staff, children and young people remain at home.

While the risk of transmission of the virus is very low, staff or students most at risk of severe illness should individually assess appropriateness for onsite attendance at this time with support from their medical practitioner.

As the main risk of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the school environment is between adults, it is important that visitors to school grounds are limited to those delivering or supporting essential school services and operations.

This means that at our school:

All unwell staff and students must stay home.
Parents/carers of students with complex medical needs (including those with compromised immune systems), should seek advice from the student’s medical practitioner to support decision-making about whether on-site education is suitable, noting that this advice may change depending on the status of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Victoria. This is in line with the DET Health Care Needs policy.
Visitors to school grounds will be limited to those delivering or supporting essential school services and operations (e.g. student health and wellbeing services, specialist curriculum programs (Kidko music school), maintenance workers.
Additional staff, including parent volunteers, are discouraged from attending school at this time. Activities dependent on and involving parents or volunteers are cancelled until further notice e.g. parents helping with reading.
We ask that any parents/carers wishing to discuss any matters with a staff member to first use the options of either a phone call or email. If a face-to face meeting is needed, it must meet the physical distancing requirements of 1.5m between adults.
All inter school activities that involve onsite attendance by students from other schools will be cancelled.
School assemblies, excursions, camps and other non-essential large gatherings will be postponed.

School arrival and departure

DET advises that:

As the main risk of introducing coronavirus (COVID-19) to the school environment is from adults, close proximity between adult members of the school community should be avoided, particularly during school drop-off and pick-up.

This means that at our school:

We ask staff and parents/carers to observe physical distancing measures by not congregating in areas inside or around the school, including the Lakeside car park.
To minimise interaction of students and adults within the school and at entry points we:
Ask that all parents escort children to the school gates and not enter the school grounds.
Each year level team will be allocated a gate for pick up and drop off.
Each external school gate is manned by a staff member.
Parents may only enter the school grounds when essential to do so and to contact the school by phone or email where appropriate instead.
Students who arrive late to school must report to the office where admin staff will record the attendance on Compass. There will be no escorting of children by the parent to the classroom.
We ask that parents/carers do not linger while picking up or dropping off students and maintain social distancing of 1.5 metres at all times.
There will be no before or after school play time on the equipment or in the school yard.
Any student who arrives at school prior to 8:45am, and who remains at school after 3:45pm will be taken to the TheirCare Program.
No adults permitted to enter the bike shed
- Dots will be placed at the entrance leading up to the bike shed to avoid congestion
- Only three students permitted in the bike shed - one out, one in.

Drop Off:

We ask all parents to ‘drop and go’ at their allocated gate to minimize interaction with other adults.
Students will go straight from that gate to their classroom.
There will be a staff member at each gate.
Students who arrive before 8:45 am will be signed into TheirCare.
The drop off locations are:
- Preps enter the school via the front main gate.
- Year 1 students enter the via east side gate (near the Performing Arts Studio and the Netball Court).
- Year 2-6 students enter via the back gate between the Gym and Discovery Building.

Pick Up:

Parents/Carers are to wait outside the school grounds at the allocated pick up location for their youngest child first.
If a family has two children attending the school, once the first child has been picked up the parent/carer will then need to proceed to the next pick up location.
When arriving at the pick up location spread out and observe the 1.5m social distancing from other adults.
Classes will meet their parents at the gate and students will be released when a parent or carer is visible.
Students who have permission to travel unescorted will be dismissed from their allocated gate.
Students who are not picked up by 3:45 pm will be signed into TheirCare.
If it is wet weather the class will be undercover while waiting, the pick up locations will remain the same.
The pick up locations are:
- Prep E and Prep L will be picked up from in front of the Administration building, under the porch area in front of the Administration Building.
- Prep S and Prep W will be picked up from the Kick Off Area gate near West House (Art Studio).
- Year 1 students to be picked up from the east side gate (near the Performing Arts Studio and the Netball Court), parents/carers wait along the fence.
- Year 2-6 students to be picked up from via the back gate between the Gym and Discovery Building, parents to wait along the fence.

Hygiene

DET advises that:

Everyone can protect themselves and prevent the spread of coronavirus by continuing effective hand hygiene.

At our school:

All staff and students will undertake regular hand hygiene, particularly on arrival to school, before and after eating, after blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing or using the toilet. This will be directed or supervised by staff where required.
Where soap and water are not readily available, hand sanitiser will be made available.
Students must bring their own water bottles to school for use (and refilling). It is recommended that students do not drink directly from drinking fountains at this time.
Staff are reminded to clean their mobile phones regularly. The South Melbourne Park Mobile Phone Policy remains in place so students will not be handling their mobile phones during the school day.
Sharing of food is not permitted (including birthday cakes, lolly bags and other gifts)
Students are not to bring any toys or equipment from home.

Specific arrangements for teaching and learning environments and break times

DET advises that:

Maintaining a physical distance of 1.5 metres will not always be practical in education settings. Physical distancing is most important between adults.

Reducing mixing between different cohorts (either classes or year levels) is recommended as a precautionary measure to minimise risk of spread of transmission and aid containment in the rare event of a confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19) on site.

At our school:

We have separate outdoor play spaces- Team multi-age on the netball courts, Year 1 in the courtyard and preps up on the terrace.
We will keep windows open to promote fresh air flow indoors, where possible.
Students and staff will largely remain in the same classroom areas where possible rather than moving for particular classes from room to room, exception being specialist lessons.
Staff will maintain physical distancing as much as practical when working in a classroom together.

School offices and staff facilities

DET advises that:

As the greatest risk of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the school environment is between adults, close proximity between staff will be avoided where possible and especially in offices and staff rooms.

At our school we will:

Spread staff workstations and limit the number of staff in the admin office.
In line with other workplaces across Victoria, we will remind staff to maintain physical distancing from each other as much as possible in the reception, staff room and offices.
Expect staff to adhere to cautionary hygiene procedures in the staffroom and kitchen.

Cleaning and facilities management

DET advises that:

Environmental cleaning, coupled with regular hand hygiene, remains important to reduce the risk of coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission.

At our school we will:

Continue extension of routine environmental cleaning, including progressive cleaning throughout the day to ensure that risks of transmission are reduced for high-touch services. See Department information about Access to cleaning supplies and services.
Carefully consider the necessity of using shared items or equipment e.g.: shared computers, class sets of teaching and learning materials, musical instruments etc at this time. Students will be allocated the same iPad or laptop where practical.
We will be practising hand hygiene immediately before and after use of shared equipment.

Sport and recreation

DET advises that:

In line with community advice, reasonable precautions are still advised to reduce the risk of coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission in the context of sport and recreation.

Playground equipment can be used. However, students will be directed to practise hand hygiene before and after use.
Swimming and aquatic facilities will not be used.
We will encourage non-contact sports at this time. Hand hygiene will be practised before and after use of any sporting equipment.

Provision of routine care and first aid

DET advises that:

Physical distancing is not practical when providing direct care. In this situation standard precautions, including hand hygiene, are important for infection control.

At our school:

Standard precautions as per DET Infectious Diseases policy and South Melbourne Park First Aid Policy will be followed when providing first aid. For example, we will use gloves and an apron when dealing with blood or body fluids/substances.
Hand hygiene will be practised before and after performing routine care or first aid.
Additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), for example face masks, is not required to provide routine care or first aid for students who are well, unless such precautions are usually adopted in the routine care of an individual student.

Management of an unwell student or staff member

DET advises that:

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 coronavirus (COVID-19) there are some sensible steps schools can take while a student awaits collection by a parent or carer as a precaution.

This means that at our school:

Staff and students experiencing compatible symptoms with coronavirus (COVID-19), such as fever, cough or sore throat, will be isolated in an appropriate space with suitable supervision and collected by a parent/carer as soon as possible. Urgent medical attention will be sought where needed. Unwell students will not be permitted to travel home unsupervised.
Where staff or students are experiencing compatible symptoms with coronavirus, we will ensure hand hygiene, physical distancing and (where possible) use of a face mask. See DET guidance for the use of Personal Protective Equipment in education.
Health care plans, where relevant, should be updated to provide additional advice on monitoring and identification of the unwell child in the context of coronavirus (COVID-19).
If a staff member is unsure whether a student is unwell in the first instance, we will contact the parent/carer to discuss any concerns about the health status of the student, and we will take a precautionary approach, requesting the parent/carer to collect their child if concerns remain. A trained staff member may take the temperature of the student, where appropriate, to support decision-making. Gloves will be worn for the purpose of taking a temperature.
Staff or students experiencing compatible symptoms with coronavirus (COVID-19) should be encouraged to seek the advice of their healthcare professional who can advise on next steps. A medical certificate is not required to return to school after a period of illness, however staff and students should not return until symptoms resolve.
If a student spreads droplets (for example by sneezing, coughing or vomiting), surfaces will be immediately cleaned with disinfectant wipes (and using gloves).

Managing a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19

DET has comprehensive procedures in place with the Department of Health and Human Services to manage suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in schools.

We will contact the Department of Health and Human Services on 1300 651 160 to discuss what to do next if a student or staff member:
is a confirmed case
has been in close contact with a confirmed case
We will inform the Department by making an IRIS incident alert.

DHHS defines ‘close contact’ as someone who has either:

had at least 15 minutes of face-to-face contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19)
shared a closed space for more than two hours with someone who is a confirmed case.

Further information and resources

THE SIGNAL

Newsletter 5 21 May 2020

Issue 6 · 21 May 2020

In this issue