Term 4 COVID-smart information

Dear supervisors, parents and carers

I hope you and your student  have settled into our final term of 2022. I want to provide you with an update on our COVID-smart settings, particularly with the latest change to isolation requirements and what this will mean for our school. Please review the following information.

On 30 September, National Cabinet announced that from Friday 14 October 2022, people who test positive to COVID-19 do not need to isolate. In line with this announcement, the NSW Department of Education have worked with NSW Health to support all schools to adapt to this change while continuing to prioritise student and staff wellbeing by minimising the risk of COVID-19 transmissions.

Students and staff should continue to stay home when sick

It is expected that when isolation requirements end on Friday 14 October, that students, staff and visitors should only attend school when they are symptom free. We strongly encourage all students, staff and visitors to follow the guidance issued by NSW Health. We will continue to send home students or staff displaying symptoms.

Anyone who believes they have been exposed to COVID-19 is strongly recommended to monitor for symptoms and test if they have any concerns, as well as wear a mask. We will continue to support our families to use rapid antigen tests (RATs) if symptomatic or if you believe you have been exposed to COVID-19. RAT testing may help identify the infection early and is important if you are in contact with people at greater risk of serious illness if exposed to COVID-19.

We are continuing our COVID-smart measures

Our school will continue to operate with our baseline COVID-smart measures in place throughout Term 4 to minimise transmission and keep our school open. This includes a combination of layered safety measures such as maintaining hygiene and cleaning practices, using rapid antigen testing (RAT) when experiencing symptoms, maximising natural ventilation, strongly encouraged vaccinations and strongly encouraging mask-wearing particularly when indoors and/or physical distancing is not possible.

Reporting requirements from 14 October

Please continue to notify the school if your child tests positive to COVID-19  and has attended school onsite or one of the learning hubs as we will continue to notify the school community of any known positive cases to prioritise student and staff safety and wellbeing.

Students undertaking the HSC

As per NESA advice, students who test positive to COVID-19 before Friday 14 October or during the examination period and are isolating for up to 7 days must provide the notification/registration of COVID-19 positive result (from either a PCR or RAT) to NESA as part of the illness/misadventure process with the following details:

• Student's first and last name
• Date and time the notification was received or registration of when RAT was submitted.

Note that the process for students who become unwell before or on the day of their exam remains unchanged as per NESA’s illness and misadventure process.

Hygiene supplies will be available to HSC students to support them during their exams.

• Hand sanitiser
• Disinfectant wipes
• Masks
• RAT kits. 

For further information about the COVID-smart measures in place this term refer to the department’s Advice for families page.

Please note that all of our school’s changes to isolation requirements are based on the recommendations from NSW Health. Anyone who tests positive to COVID-19 or suspects that they have been in contact with a positive case should continue to follow the latest health advice.

Kind Regards

Lisa Keating

Co Principal (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday)

R/ Principal (Thursday & Friday)