This Week and COVID-19

Students remain at school and learning 5 days per week.

St Joseph's continues to maintain a COVID-safe environment, with a range of health and safety measures remaining in place, including increased daily cleaning, additional hygiene measures, physical distancing requirements, and strict infection control procedures.

It is important that we continue to work together and remain vigilant in our response to this virus. Your ongoing support has been very much appreciated in Term 3. The safety of our community remains a priority with the following still in place.

The complete list of directives in place at all Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong schools is available at www.dow.catholic.edu.au/covid-19.

Stay up to date with public health alerts https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/latest-news-and-updates

The following information was sent out to parents and carers in a letter earlier today.

18 August 2020

NSW Health has released updated COVID-19 guidelines for schools. There are a number of significant changes, including tightening of restrictions for certain activities. We have been working with the Catholic Education Office since receiving the updated guidelines, to ensure our practices and protocols meet or exceed the new standards.

This update is intended to provide you with a summary of the major changes.

The complete list of directives in place at all Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong schools is available at www.dow.catholic.edu.au/covid-19.

Major changes to our COVID-19 protocols:

Following sickness with flu-like symptoms, students and staff are required to be free of symptoms AND present a negative COVID-19 test, which must be sighted by the school, before they can return to school.
Students will now stay within their relevant cohort (i.e. class, year group or stage) for all learning activities.
Schools cannot travel outside of their geographic region, including for all inter-school activities.
Student activities at offsite locations are no longer allowed, except in very limited circumstances (i.e. inter-school activities within our region and day field trips to outdoor locations within walking distance of the school). This does not include St Joseph’s use of the park for sport and at lunchtimes.
Singing, chanting and use of wind instruments in group settings is not permitted.
Assemblies are limited to stage groups (primary) and cannot run for longer than 15 minutes. From tomorrow morning, the morning assembly will no longer be held as a whole school but in three separate stage groups, in three different playground areas.
Only incursions/external providers essential to curriculum delivery are permitted.
Community groups using school facilities must now have a COVID-19 Safety Plan.
Playgroups – including Transition to School Through Play – are not permitted. Information regarding the St Joseph’s Kinder 2021 Orientation will be sent to parents by the end of Term 3.
P&F meetings must be held online and P&F social events are not permitted.
Parent/teacher meetings must be held online, except in very limited circumstances. Please contact the school office to arrange a meeting with your child’s teacher or other member of staff, and a Zoom or telephone meeting will be organised.
School formals, dances, graduation and other social events are not permitted. We hope to provide a farewell for Year 6 students but it would not include parents. Further information will be provided before the end of the term.
All professional development undertaken by staff will be online, except where compliance depends on a face-to-face component, and there will be no mixing of staff from different schools.

Our first commitment is always to the safety and wellbeing of our students, staff and our broader school community. As parents and carers, you continue to play a vital role, in particular by:

Keeping your children home when they are unwell, even with very mild symptoms
Practising social distancing during pick up and drop off
Informing the school immediately if your child is self-isolating or undergoing testing, and informing us of the result as soon as possible

Thank you once again for your ongoing patience as we continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in our community and make adjustments to the protocols and practices in place at St Joseph’s.

OTHER INFORMATION

If your child is sick they should stay and home.

The St Joseph’s COVID-19 Response Plan will be enacted should there be a positive case of COVID-19 in a student or staff member. This may include students leaving school early and directions will be provided to staff, students, and parents in such an event.
Please advise the school immediately if you or your child have been in a public health alert location and are required to self-isolate. Continue to do so throughout the term as per public health alerts.

CONTACTLESS SIGN-IN

All staff, contractor and visitor onsite attendance are registered via contactless sign-in using the sign in app in the school office.

HYGIENE, SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND PREVENTATIVE MEASURES

Good hygiene is practiced and enforced throughout the school, including washing hands regularly and thoroughly; and sneezing into your elbow or tissue (disposing of the tissue straight away and then washing your hands).
Hand sanitising requirements remain in place:
- Entry to school
- Entry and exit from classrooms
- Before eating
- At the direction of teachers where necessary
Enhanced daily COVID-19 cleaning arrangements remain in place until the end of Term 3, 2020, or until such time as changes in the health advice permit.
Increased physical space between students is encouraged where possible.
Adults onsite must maintain 1.5m from other adults, and students where possible.

STUDENT MORNING DROP OFF AND AFTERNOON DISMISSAL

Students may enter the school between 8:30 am and 8:55 am via the Park Road hall gate, Rowan St gate of the Hutton Ave gate. Students must use the hand sanitiser provided at the entry gates. Adults must not enter the school grounds.
Staggered Parent/carer school dismissal pick-up arrangements will continue taking into consideration adult physical distancing requirements. Green and Gold Houses at 2:40 pm, and Red and Blue Houses at 2:55 pm.

GATHERINGS OF STUDENTS

Weekly whole school assemblies are on hold.
Parents and carers are not to attend school gatherings at this stage.
School photos are permitted.

STUDENT LEARNING AND EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

All students should be learning at school unless they are unwell or have a medical certificate to support their absence.

Sports and Physical Activities

Washing of equipment after recess, lunch and sport remains in place.
Climbing equipment on the grass area will remain closed until further notice.
Contact sports remain suspended.

PARENTS AND CARERS

Parent/carer school staggered pick up arrangements will continue taking into consideration adult physical distancing requirements.
Parents/carers should not be on school grounds or at school events without the principal’s permission and are not to attend school gatherings at this stage.
Parent volunteers working in the school canteen are permitted and must follow the procedures currently in place, including entry via the school office.
School-based activities that involve large gatherings of adults are not permitted at this time. These include parent/community gatherings such as parent functions, working bees, fundraisers, large parent information evenings, and large on-site events such as Grandparents and Great People Day. These large gatherings and the following activities will continue to be reviewed and assessed based on AHPPC and NSW Health advice and may be permitted at a later date.
For the latest information on suspended Catholic Schools NSW Sports events, please visit the CSNSW website.

Thank you for your cooperation and support. We are very grateful.

Measures to Support Families Experiencing Significant Financial Impact

Please download the letter below and feel free to contact the school with any financial matters you wish to discuss if in financial hardship. https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/for-parents/school-fees/

Note: St Joseph's Catholic Parish Primary School does not offer Direct Debit payment option

COVID-19 Catholic Education Information Centre

Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong has a COVID-19 Information Centre on its website. It is the best place to find the latest information about CEDoW's systemic response to COVID-19.

We will continue to provide you with updates if the situation changes and as soon as new information becomes available.

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