18 Mar 2020
Dear parents/carers
Thank you for your ongoing support and the words of appreciation that we have received. Happily I can confirm that no staff or student has been diagnosed with COVID-19. If your child is ill or has a cough, sore throat or runny nose. please keep them home until they are well.
Many parents have expressed different views to those currently being expressed by the Departments of Education and Health regarding attendance at school. At this time I ask for your understanding that the school will follow the advice and direction of the Department of Education. My staff and I are working hard to ensure the best possible outcome for all of our students. If you are keeping your child at home either because there may have been contact with someone who is being tested or to self-isolate, let the front office know.
Our school continues to adapt to the current challenges we face regarding measures to contain COVID-19 and shall continue to implement changes as we progress. The priority is to focus on consistent improvement to containment measures as well as to support the health and wellbeing of our school community. This includes providing a consistent, supportive and as calm an environment as possible. Other recent implemented measures:
- Our P&C run canteen have withdrawn the “help yourself” sauce bottles and cutlery trays. Now, students are able to purchase little disposable sauce containers along with their meals, and are provided with cutlery if they require. Further, there have been even more stringent food handling protocols implemented, which does however lead to slightly slower progress of the queues.
- The teaching executive have met to discuss and collaborate on online learning options for those students who are unable to attend school due to being unwell, self-isolating with families in response to criteria, or have a chronic or immunosuppression condition and advised by their medical practitioner to stay home.
- Our school has established a “Learning from Home” platform on our website at : https://armidale-s.schools.nsw.gov.au/learning-at-our-school/learning-from-home.html , which includes:
- A “daily schedule” which has been formulated to guide students with a structure in their learning and routines.
- A selection of interim broad online learning opportunities, which focus on numeracy and literacy
- Currently in development: Stage -focused materials and subject areas will be uploaded in due course, if required.
Teachers will not be able to conduct their scheduled lessons and also act as Distance Education providers. So at this time, teachers will not be sending work home for individual students. Students who are well and at home should continue to read a variety of material, do some creative writing, artwork and revise course content.
Some parents have contacted us about aspects of social distancing, for example on the way to and from school or in the playground. There is no doubt that social distancing is very difficult to enact in school settings and with young people. Young people stand close, share equipment and phones and interact with a level of physicality. We are continuing to encourage good hygiene practices at the school and commend our students who are becoming ever more vigilant in washing their hands, coughing or sneezing into their elbows and we have seen plenty of ‘elbow taps’ rather than high-fives or fist pumps in the corridors. The young people we work with daily are really remarkable and adaptive.
Again, thank you for your understanding as we address this unprecedented situation.
Kind regards,
Carolyn Lasker
Principal