Maclean High School COVID-19 – Parent Update Return to full time school on Monday 25th May

Maclean High School COVID-19 – Parent Update

Return to full time school on Monday 25^th May

Dear Parent/Carer

The NSW Government has announced that schools will return to full on-campus learning from Monday 25^th May. This is based on the advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), that schools are a safe place and this marks a move to Phase 3 of the NSW Department of Education’s return to school plan.

This means that at Maclean High School, from next week, we will move back to our normal daily timetable of classes that is available to students via their Sentral portal or printed timetable. For the remainder of this week we will operate on the scheduled days for each year group that has previously been communicated.

Attendance

All students should attend school from the 25^th May unless:

-          They are currently unwell

-          They have a medical certificate which states that they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition

-          If your child is unwell, do not send them to school. If they become unwell at school, you or the emergency contacts we have on file will be contacted to collect them as soon as possible.                   Please ensure your contact details are up to date.

Students who have a medical certificate to stay at home will be supported from home in line with regular procedures if they are able to. This will be different to what was offered during the learning from home period. Please contact the school for assistance if your child needs to be at home due to an underlying health condition.

If you need support to get your child back to school, please contact us and we will assist through our Wellbeing Team.

Learning mode

The only mode of learning that schools are able to offer from the 25^th May will be that which is delivered in classrooms and learning spaces at school. The Department of Education has made it clear that families should not expect schools to continue with remote and/or online learning, as teachers are unable to plan for and monitor both platforms. There may be a transition period for some subjects where some online activities need to be finished next week.

There will be some additional assessment of students throughout the remainder of Term 2, in order for teachers to better understand each student’s skills following the learning from home period. This will not be onerous, and will inform future planning and teaching to best cater for all students.

Activities and procedures at school during Phase 3

While all students will return to school every day, under AHPPC and NSW Health guidelines there will be some activities that will still not be able to occur at school. These include assemblies, excursions, work experience, interschool sport and activities, and activities that require non-essential volunteers. We will update families on changes to these restrictions as they are communicated to us.

This obviously means it is doubtful that we will be able to run our major excursions in the near future such as Jindabyne and Central Australia.

VET work placement will be able to be completed from June 1, and further guidance will be given to students and families who have been affected this year.

Hygiene and physical distancing

While AHPPC and NSW guidelines do not currently require students to engage in physical distancing at school, some precautions will still remain in place for the safety of all students and staff. This will include restrictions on sharing of equipment in practical lessons in workshops, kitchens, sport, practical PDHPE lessons, and music. Some playground activities will also still be restricted, in order to avoid unnecessary contact, and staff will continue to encourage students to spread out across our playground areas while still remaining in supervised areas. Students will also need to bring their own water bottle to school to avoid drinking from bubblers. Students will be encouraged to continue to follow good hygiene practices like regularly washing hands, avoiding sharing drinks and food, and coughing or sneezing into your elbow or a tissue.

Adults are still required to maintain physical distancing at school, and this will mean that teachers and support staff may need to follow different processes in some classes and settings.

The school continues to make available hand sanitiser and other disinfectant supplies in classrooms, and additional cleaning is occurring throughout the day across the school in targeted areas such as door handles, lockers, light switches and handrails. There will also be additional cleaning of toilets and water taps.

Canteen

The school canteen is open, with some procedures having changed relating to lining up and purchasing, in order to support the employees and volunteers in the canteen. Further updates will continue to be provided as we and our P & C Association prepare to adapt and refine the menu and procedures to suit current requirements and guidelines.

I must again take the opportunity to thank our students, families, staff and entire school community for the support, kindness and cooperation that has enabled us to overcome the challenges we have faced in recent weeks and months. There are most certainly more challenges to come, but I have full confidence that our students will continue to thrive and flourish due to such strong support, care and collaboration. Thankyou.

Mr Scott Dinham

Relieving Principal