Principal's Message

Issue Highlights

Please find below a summary of this weeks issue:

• Congratulations to all of our Demons fans and commiserations to our Doggies fans.
• Year 12 students have returned back to onsite learning. Prep-Year 2 return back onsite from next week (Prep: Monday-Wednesday, Year 1/2: Thursday/Friday)
• From Monday 18th October only staff who are double vaccinated for COVID-19, have received their first COVID vaccination, are medically exempt or have a booking to receive their first vaccination by 25th October will be allowed to work onsite.
• Another pop-up vaccination clinic will be at St Albans Secondary College over the weekend. The clinic will be open between 16.00 and 19.00 on Friday evening (today) and then on Saturday and Sunday between 9.30 and 17.30. No reservations are required with walk-in agreements available for both Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines for anyone over 12 years of age.
• It is now a requirement that students in Years 3-12 wear masks whilst at school, unless a lawful exception applies. Students with a physical or mental disability are not required to wear a face mask where their disability means it would not be suitable. Parents/Carers MUST wear a mask when on school premises.
• Child FIRST / Orange Door is a service that  can  link  families  into services that can assist them with parenting  support with their children. To speak with an Intake Worker call: Phone 1300 138 180 (9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday)
• Unfortunately at this time, our Fete, Art Show, Sports Day and Concert in the Courtyard are postponed until further notice.
• Vision Board of concept ideas for our $10 million Asset Management Plan.
• Showcase of students' learning from across the school in Primary, Secondary and Senior Secondary.
• Allied Health and Wellbeing information to support you and your child.
• Community news including from Jackson OSHC provider TheirCare.
• Updated COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) from parent/carers.

Welcome Back to Term 4!

Dear Families,

I hope that you have all managed to take the time to spend some quality time together as a family over the last couple of weeks, despite the lockdown restrictions. We have tried not to bombard families with messages over the holidays where possible. Unfortunately some essential communication between school and families is unavoidable. Thank you for your understanding. Congratulations to all of our Demons fans and commiserations to our Doggies fans. 

It has been lovely to welcome our Year 12 students back onsite before they finish their school journey and enter the world of work or further education. Next week we welcome back onsite our Prep students (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) and our Year 1/2 students (Thursday and Friday). From Tuesday 26th October our Year 7 and Year 11 students will attend full time onsite. Over Weeks 4 and 5, Years 3, 4, 8, 9 will return onsite on Tuesday and Wednesday and Years 5, 6 and 10 will attend onsite Thursday and Friday. Please note that for Year 7/8, Year 9/10 and Year 11/12 classes, students will not return on the same day as the rest of their class. There will also be NO SCHOOL MONDAY 1st NOVEMBER at the start of Week 5 before all students return to onsite learning at school on Friday 5th November. We are very excited to see all of our students back at school soon. It has been a long period of lockdown and uncertainty for our whole community.

Vaccinations

From Monday 18th October only staff who are double vaccinated for COVID-19, have received their first COVID vaccination, are medically exempt or have a booking to receive their first vaccination by 25th October will be allowed to work onsite. Because of this work requirement from the Chief Health Officer, some school staffing may be disrupted whilst staff are on leave. As a school we will do everything we can to ensure your child's education is not disrupted and ensure staff on leave are covered by other experienced staff. 

As outlined in my letter to you earlier this week, the Victorian Government has announced a push to vaccinate people with disabilities, with 10 pop-up vaccination hubs to be set up in local government areas of concern. For more information on priority post codes please visit: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-pop-vax-sites-100-postcodes-across-victoria. 

Thank you to all of you who accessed the vaccination pop-up at Keilor Downs Secondary College last weekend. Due to the rise in positive cases of COVID-19 in our wider community. Another pop-up vaccination clinic will be at St Albans Secondary College over this weekend. The clinic will be open between 16.00 and 19.00 on Friday evening (today) and then on Saturday and Sunday between 9.30 and 17.30. No reservations are required with walk-in agreements available for both Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines for anyone over 12 years of age. The clinic is open to the whole community, not just those involved in the school. St Albans Secondary College is located at 289 Main Rd East, St Albans. 

For some students with a disability, a drive-through centre can be a good option to get vaccinated. If a student does not need any additional access support, a booking can be made by calling the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398.

From 8th October, all state-run vaccination centres will accept people with a disability without a booking. If you have any health concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccines, please speak to your GP.  You can also refer to the Department of Health website for information on vaccine safety and possible side effects. 

Vaccination is not mandatory for students, but it is highly encouraged. Getting vaccinated is the best way you can protect your child and your family from infection and serious illness from COVID-19 and our school community from further outbreaks and the spread of COVID-19. 

More information 

Read the attached fact sheet or visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au/vaccination-information-people-disability for the latest information about accessing a vaccination, as well as: 

• a checklist: before your COVID-19 vaccination to prepare for your vaccine appointment
• a list of vaccination centres with enhanced accessibility
• a social script about getting vaccinated.

What if a positive case of COVID-19 has been identified onsite at school?

There is an increasing number of positive cases within our wider community of COVID-19 which has resulted in other school closures. This may affect siblings of our students at Jackson. If you or any of your children attend a Tier 1 exposure site or are close contacts of a positive person, it is important that you follow public health advice, don't attend Jackson School, get tested and isolate. Please also let the school office know asap if this applies to you.

If a staff member or child tests positive for COVID-19, DET will get advice from the Department Health to confirm the case and any necessary actions they need to take.  The school site may close for 24 hours while Department of Health investigates the reported case. If it's confirmed that someone attended the school while infectious, the school site will remain closed while Department of Health does a detailed assessment of risks and exposure at the school and undertakes contact tracing to make sure that the spread of COVID-19 is contained. The Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) will also make sure a deep clean of the school takes place if Department of Health confirms that someone was on site while infectious. 

For more information on this process, please visit: https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/school-site-closures-due-coronavirus-covid-19 

Face Masks in Schools

It is now a requirement that students in Years 3-12 wear masks whilst at school, unless a lawful exception applies. Students with a physical or mental disability are not required to wear a face mask where their disability means it would not be suitable. However to keep our community safe, we will continue to recommend to all of our students (Prep-Year 12) that they wear a mask whilst at school and at OSHC, but this will not be enforced due to the nature of their disability.

For students with a disability, parents and carers should speak to the child’s doctor or regular health professional about the best methods to encourage mask wearing. Students and parents can also contact the Disability Liaison Officer program for more information.

Parents/Carers MUST wear a mask when on school premises. If a parent or visitor to school campus does not have a lawful reason for not wearing a mask (refer to DHHS site for lawful reasons to not wear a face covering), Principals have authority under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (ETRA) and Ministerial Order 38 to permit and deny entry to school grounds. Principals (as employers) are also obliged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) to provide and maintain a safe working environment for school employees. Thank you in advance for your cooperation to keep our school community safe.

Brimbank-Melton Child FIRST (Orange Door) Family Support

Child FIRST is a service that  can  link  families  into services that can assist them with parenting  support with their children. In addition, we can refer or provide  families and services with  information about local support services in the area.  

We understand that current restrictions will be placing  never before  experienced pressures on families and this can be even greater for vulnerable families  in our community.  Child FIRST have links and resources from  a number of services who are continuing to provide ongoing support to families throughout these restrictions.  

Child FIRST links vulnerable children, young people and their families into the relevant services they need.

Factors which affect a child's safety, stability or development are:

• Significant parenting problems that may be affecting the child's development
• Serious family conflict, including family breakdown
• Families under pressure due to a family member's physical or mental illness, substance abuse, disability or bereavement
• Young, isolated and/or unsupported families
• Significant social or economic disadvantage that may adversely impact on a child's care or development.

Child FIRST, as the access point for family services, is progressively transitioning to The Orange Door.

The Orange Door is the new access point for women, children and young people who are experiencing family violence, or families who need assistance with the care and wellbeing of children to access the services they need to be safe and supported.

Download Brochure:

$10 million Asset Management Plan

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been working with our architects on the internal design for the project. Below is a vision board of what we have presented to them as inspiration. Luckily we are on very similar pages. Once the architects come up with a concept we will share these with School Council and the community for consultation.

We are waiting on guidance from DET about whether camps, excursion and community events will be able to continue at some point this term. My wish is at least that we will be able to have our Year 12 Graduation and Year 6 Graduation / End of Year Achievement Assembly. Unfortunately at this time, our Fete, Art Show, Sports Day and Concert in the Courtyard are postponed. I am very much looking forward to our school community returning to a sense of normality.

Thank you as always for your support and flexibility with the State-Wide Staged Return to School.

Stay safe,

Anthony