Principal

The SPC Roadmap back to College in Term 4

The best learning environment for students is in the classroom and we are looking forward to welcoming back our staff and students in Term 4. We know that while there will be excitement, there will also be some anxiety and uncertainty about being back together at the College.

Recent evidence shows that very little COVID-19 transmission happens between students in College settings, and only a very small number of students who contract COVID-19 get seriously ill. However, to support College safety we are requiring all staff on site to be fully vaccinated, and we are strongly encouraging our students and College community to do the same. 

We have worked with NSW Health guidelines to develop our COVID-safe plan to return to the College site and have developed effective practices to support this including staff vaccinations, mask wearing, reduced mingling of staff and student groups, ventilation in classrooms and continued good hygiene and cleaning. We are confident that this, in combination with support from our College community, will minimise risk and help to keep schools open and students learning face-to-face next to their peers.

How the staged return to College will work

Students will return to face-to-face learning at the College in the following order:

• from 18 October – Year 12
• from 25 October – all remaining year groups.

School attendance

All students should be at the College on the date indicated for their year group, unless:

• they have a medical certificate which says they can’t return to the College due to a condition or illness
• they are currently unwell
• they have been asked by NSW Health to self-isolate.

Wellbeing

If you are worried that the impacts of COVID-19 or going back to face-to-face learning may be affecting your son’s wellbeing, please email Mr Munday (Junior School) or your son’s Year Coordinator.

Recess and Lunch

To make sure students reduce the risk of transmission across cohorts, students will stay within cohort groups at recess and lunch. The canteen is an area of risk for cohort mingling and transmission. 

Therefore, the canteen will not be available for students for the rest of Term 4.

The bubblers will also be disabled so students need to bring their own drink bottles to school.

Lockertoriums/Textbooks 

There will be no access to the lockertoriums; they will remain closed until the end of the year. Students do not have to bring textbooks to school. Teachers will provide everything. The only items students are to bring are their charged device, a notebook, calculator, writing implements and if in Years 7 to 10, PE gear for their practical PDHPE lesson.  

Creating a safe learning environment

Masks and face coverings

Masks will be mandatory for all staff and all students while they are indoors and outdoors on the College site unless they are eating or exercising. Unlike other primary schools' protocols, our Year 5 and 6 boys are on the same site with Years 7 to 12 and need to wear a mask for protection, given that they are yet ineligible for a vaccine. Students who prefer a face shield can certainly consider using them, but they must cover the nose and mouth.

The students already have their own cloth College mask. Year 5 and Year 6 will be issued one upon their return so should wear one in on the first day back to school. If your son has lost his mask, he should bring his own.

Masks are mandatory for all travel on public transport for students 13 years and older.

If there is a medical reason for your son not being able to wear a face mask, please send a medical certificate that supports this to Mr Munday or the relevant Year Coordinator.

Physical distancing

All adults must keep 1.5 metres distance from each other, including teachers and support staff, and parents and carers waiting to collect their sons.

Physical distancing between children in the same class will be implemented with desks arranged in a configuration that minimises physical interactions. Mixing between class groups will be minimised and students will be supported to follow strict hygiene practices like:

• regularly washing hands
• not sharing drinks or food
• coughing or sneezing into their elbow, or else using a tissue which should be put in the bin straight away.

There will be more staff on bus lines with cohorts lining up in separate areas and then sitting down at an appropriate distance from one another.

Vaccination

All adults at the College site, including employees, contractors, volunteers, and essential visitors, will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 the day the students return. 

Students aged 12 or above are now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination. Parents and carers can book in a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine now.

Vaccination appointments are available at more than 3,000 locations across NSW, including GPs and pharmacies. 

Ventilation

Open or well-ventilated spaces reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Classroom doors and windows will remain open, and fans and air-conditioners will be set to use outside air, where possible.

School cleaning and hygiene supplies

We will continue to implement additional cleaning in line with advice from NSW Health.

We have purchased extra supplies of soap, hand sanitiser, toilet paper, paper towels, disinfectant wipes and personal protective equipment and we can order more as needed.

School activities

Many College-based activities will remain on hold, including Co-curricular sport, large celebrations such as presentation days and graduations, arts, and sports events. 

Visitors

Only essential visitors are allowed on College sites at this time. When dropping off or picking up your son/s, parents and carers need to stay outside College grounds, you will need to wear a mask and physically distance. Some exceptions may exist for:

• vulnerable students
• students with disability
• parents who have an interview with a staff member.

In these instances, follow the vaccination and mask-wearing requirements and sign in using the Service NSW QR code when entering the College.

Reporting and assessment

You will receive your son’s Semester 2 report by the end of the year.

Responding to COVID-19 cases

Where there is a case of COVID-19 in the College, we have established systems and protocols with NSW Health to manage and respond accordingly to keep our staff and students safe. These protocols include communication with parents or carers if their son has been in contact with someone who has tested positive to COVID-19 while at College or if the College becomes closed.

If the College reverts to learning from home

If schools revert to learning from home due to a Public Health Order, or direction from NSW Health, the College will continue to provide learning activities for your son to do at home and will communicate with you about their learning.

If we need to revert to remote learning, we will let families know through the usual channels.

If the College becomes closed due to a COVID-19 case

Parents/carers and students will be notified when a decision is made to make the College closed for onsite attendance due to a confirmed case of COVID-19, or other events that require the College to close. Information about the operational status of the College will be distributed through the College's information channels. During this period, the College will continue to provide learning activities for your son to do at home and will communicate with you about their learning. Parents/carers and students will be informed by the Principal when the College is ready to resume onsite learning.

Progress on the Scientia Building 

The hoardings have gone up around the building site and demolition will soon commence of the tennis courts and Breen Oval seats. The Kiss and Ride Zone will still exist in Shortland Avenue but much further down.

A plea to parents/carers: please drop the students off in the Kiss and Ride zone. The Merley Road and Francis Street area is out of bounds for student drop-off and pick-up. It is especially so when the students return as the Gymnasium and its surrounds will be for the exclusive use of the HSC Examinations. When the Year 12 students are arriving and assembling for the HSC from 9 November, we cannot have younger students crossing their paths. The risk of virus transmission is simply too great, and we do not wish to compromise the Year 12 students’ chances of completing their HSC exams on the school site. Thank you in anticipation of this.

Early Offers for University of Technology (UTS)

In a challenging year for the Class of 2021, I am delighted to report that 43 of them have been given their first-round offer at UTS.

Going to university is not the be all and end all after 13 years at school. There are boys who have no desire for this kind of tertiary study, and we encourage them to pursue their dreams too.

These offers were made on the strength of Year 11 reports and the work completed to date in Year 12. We are so very proud of them as they enter the HSC period, safe in the knowledge that they have secured a place they highly coveted. Congratulations to the boys and their parents/carers! The boys are:

In a special way, I wish to thank Mrs Cupac who is forever active in this space, letting the boys know of all the opportunities that they can try for. Also, to Mr Cutrupi and our teachers. The professionalism of our College reports ensures that universities hold the information contained therein in high regard.

In conclusion this week, I look forward to seeing the boys again and hear the corridors ring with laughter. This weekend, it's time to find our uniform, try it on, clean our shoes, get a haircut and shave (if there is facial hair!) We will soon be back into the swing of things!

Dr Vittoria Lavorato

Principal

SPC boys can do anything! 

**except divide by zero