Issue Highlights

Please find below a summary of this weeks issue:

School COVID-19 Update - Positive Case Onsite
New Jackson School COVID-19 Hotline (0419 529 340) and email (covid@jacksons.vic.edu.au) - please text/email your results here to return to school
Parents and carers who enter school buildings must now also have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and must have had two doses of COVID-19 vaccine by 29 November 2021
Rapid Antigen Testing in schools is an opt-in program from Monday 15 November. This program will help unvaccinated or partially vaccinated students to return to school as quickly as possible after being identified as a primary close contact (PCC) after a seven-day quarantine, instead of a 14-day quarantine.
Jackson School will NOT charge school fees (Voluntary Contribution) for book packs/resources and excursions again in 2022
Remembrance Day - Thursday 11th November. Students and Staff took part in a minutes silence yesterday at 11am to remember those who have died or suffered in wars, conflicts and peace operations. Lest We Forget.
Year 12 Graduation to go ahead at Club Italia - 2 Fully Vaccinated Family Members per graduate. A live stream of the graduation ceremony will be available for all other students and family members at home.
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.

Dear Families,

Our school was advised on Monday that a confirmed COVID-19 case attended our school on Friday 5th November. The school was not required to close. Contract tracing has now been completed for all primary close contacts (PCCs) during the case's infectious period. Thank you once again for your support.

Please be aware there has been delays from the Department of Health/Local Public Health Unit in contacting PCCs directly. These calls or text messages can come from private or unknown numbers. Please answer these calls or follow text message advice if you receive a call or text message.

PCCs must quarantine at home and can end their quarantine period as follows:

For 14 days of quarantine (high risk: not fully vaccinated / household contacts) you must quarantine at home until you receive a negative result from a PCR test taken no sooner than day 13 of your quarantine period.
For 7 days of quarantine (moderate risk: fully vaccinated) you must quarantine at home until you receive a negative result from a PCR test taken on day six of your quarantine period. Your quarantine ends at 11:59pm on day seven.

DH will not contact you to end your quarantine; your negative test result is proof that you have completed your quarantine period.

A negative result from a rapid antigen test is not sufficient for release from quarantine.

We understand some families have found it difficult to forward their results and COVID vaccination certificates to the school via Xuno / SeeSaw. Therefore, we have established a new COVID Hotline and Email.

Please text or email your test results to our new Jackson COVID-19 Hotline on telephone: 0419 529 340 / email: covid@jacksons.vic.edu.au.

For positive cases please let the school know via this mobile number as soon as possible. There is a message bank on the phone for when the phone is unmanned by our rostered COVID Officer. Please note we will only be able to respond to messages and calls within office hours. Families are able to message the mobile number and/or email address 24 hours a day.

Vaccination requirements for parents and carers attending schools

All parents and carers attending schools, including for drop off and pick up must also adhere to physical distancing, density limits, face mask requirements and practise respiratory etiquette and good hand hygiene. Parents and carers who enter school buildings must check in using the QR code.

Parents and carers who enter school buildings must also have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and must have had two doses of COVID-19 vaccine by 29 November 2021 or have a valid medical exception with the following limited exceptions:

· when attending to administer medical treatment to their own child when the treatment cannot be administered by the school

· when attending to collect their child who is unwell and cannot leave the school building unaccompanied by their parent/carer.

· when attending for a momentary period that does not involve any sustained contact with staff or students, for example, to collect a completed art project or similar.

Parents and carers attending any event or activity inside a school building including, but not limited to tours, graduations, kindergarten transition, whole of school events are required to show evidence of vaccination.

Meetings and other discussions (such as Student Support Group meetings) with parents and carers who do not meet vaccination requirements should be held virtually.

Parents and carers attending school sites for drop off and pick up who do not enter school buildings do not need to comply with vaccination requirements.

Any parent / carer who needs to access OSHC via the main entrance of a government school building is required to check in using the Victorian Government QR Code Service but do not need to show their vaccination status.

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. 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.

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.

Rapid Antigen Testing

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved the use of rapid antigen testing for home use from Monday 1 November. These are now available for purchase in supermarkets and pharmacies.

The Department of Education and Training is currently working with the Department of Health to roll-out a state-wide program for any new COVID-19 exposures on school sites from Monday 15 November. This program will help unvaccinated or partially vaccinated students to return to school as quickly as possible after being identified as a primary close contact (PCC) after a seven-day quarantine, instead of a 14-day quarantine.

We will have more information for parents and carers ahead of the statewide roll-out, including factsheets, web copy, video content and other materials to assist with the program.

How the rapid antigen testing program will work?

The at-home rapid antigen testing program is an opt-in program for unvaccinated, or partially vaccinated, students. Our school will provide you with a rapid antigen test kits. You do not need to buy these test kits.

Following an exposure at our school, you will be notified that your child (who is unvaccinated, or partially vaccinated) has been identified as primary close contact (PCC) of a confirmed COVID-19 case.

If you want to take part in the at-home rapid antigen testing program, your child must quarantine at home for seven days. On day six of quarantine, your child must get a standard (PCR) test at your local COVID-19 testing site. If the test is negative, you must provide the results to your child’s school, and your child can then return to school on day eight.

Students will then be required to return a negative rapid antigen test result each morning from days eight to 14 on school days, which must be reported to the school by 8:30am before they arrive at school.

Parents should continue to follow current school policy and public health advice. If your child is unwell, even with the mildest of symptoms, they must stay at home and get tested for COVID-19 with a standard (PCR) test, regardless of a negative rapid antigen test result.

Our school will communicate with you as soon as we are aware that we have a confirmed COVID-19 case, including with instructions on how to conduct these tests, how to report the results, and support available if needed.

This pilot, and later statewide roll-out of rapid antigen testing is one of many strategies currently in place to support schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information about what strategies are in place, please visit the department's website or call the department’s COVID-19 hotline on 1800 338 663.

Remembrance Day

At 11am on Thursday 11 November, students and staff paused and observed a minute's silence to remember those who have died or suffered in wars, conflicts and peace operations

Remembrance Day marks the date in 1918 when the First World War came to an end, and is officially observed at the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month.

The Shrine of Remembrance held a virtual service that school staff and students were invited to watch from their classroom. Watch below.

To recognise Remembrance Day, the Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) promotes the Red Poppy Appeal, where people can purchase and wear a poppy flower to support the welfare of veterans and their dependents.

The red poppy has long been a symbol of this day, with the tradition originating from the flowers that bloomed over the battlefields of northern France and Belgium during the first World War.

Lest we forget.

No School Fees for 2022

Due to the hardship many of our families have faced again during 2021, School Council have decided to once again waive school fees (voluntary financial contributions) for student resources and excursions next year. Your child will receive the same book pack and excursion activities but these will be paid for by the school in 2022. We hope that this gesture supports your family in making up for any missed opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents/carers are required to still contribute to school camps as normal. CSEF funding support is available to families.

For further information on CSEF please visit: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/csef.aspx

For more information on DET's Parent Payment Policy, please visit: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/going-to-school/Pages/school-costs.aspx

Finally, I'm pleased to announce that our Year 12 Graduation will be able to go ahead at Club Italia on Wednesday 8th December. It is a requirement of the Victorian Chief Health Officer that all students attending over the age of 16 must be fully vaccinated to graduate in person. A live stream of the graduation ceremony will be available for all other students and family members at home. Two Fully Vaccinated Family Members will also be permitted to attend per graduate to celebrate their children's education journey before they enter into the world of work. This year, I have decided that Jackson School will pay for students, parent/carers and staff tickets to attend. Our Year 12 students are currently completing their final study and will finish their time at Jackson on Friday 10th November. We hope students enjoy their last couple of weeks at Jackson.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Take care and stay safe,

Anthony

Allied Health News

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