10 Jul 2021
Good Morning
We hope you are all safe and well. There is much to cover, however, we will try to make it as brief as possible.
Here are the latest guidelines for schools. See link below.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/covid-19-restrictions-tightened-across-greater-sydney
Bankstown is identified as an area of higher COVID -19 cases. We all need to be taking the best Health advice very seriously to protect each other and our families.
In Summary, here is the latest advice we have received from the Department of Education:
For schools in Greater Sydney
"For the first week of Term 3, students in Greater Sydney - that is, those LGAs currently affected by NSW Health stay-at-home orders and including Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour - will be learning from home. This will stay in place at least until Friday 16 July 2021.
Schools will remain open for the students and families who need it, although parents are encouraged to keep their children at home."
Please comply with this request as we want to have as few people on site at school as is possible - students and staff. The COVID-19 Delta strain is extremely contagious and is spread easily between children as well as adults.
All learning will be conducted online:
As a school we are in a very strong position. Our online platform has been branded 'JoEy Learning'. Every student already accesses all of their learning online at school. Doing it from home will be similar. My previous email outlined how this will operate. All information is available for parents and students:
https://sirjosephb-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/sjbhs-online.html
Our structure for Remote Learning Online Summary:
See the Website for full details of the structure.
Joey Learning - Sir Joseph Banks High School (nsw.gov.au)
Essentially 'Ebelltimes' look like this:
e-Bell timetable - Sir Joseph Banks High School (nsw.gov.au)
All student and parent requirements will be detailed on the website and are available now.
Teachers:
All teachers will be teaching from home. There will be no permanent teachers teaching onsite. I will be employing our COVID ILSP Teachers to conduct the Minimal Supervision. There will be 2 Senior Executive on site only and no Head teachers. Please understand that the school is only open for students in need. I am hopeful that we will only have a very small number of students come to school.
Remote Learning Online From Home or Onsite:
Students who are at home will have access to the same work as those who arrive at school. Students at school will be supervised in the one learning space for the entire day. The expectation is that they will be online accessing their learning. Teachers will not be delivering lessons at school. We will be delivering 'one unit of work', regardless of whether students are at school or home.
Students at school will need to bring a drink bottle to refill (bubblers are not operational, however water filling stations are) and a packed lunch. There is no canteen.
Planning for minimal supervision:
To assist us with our planning regarding the number of staff we will require on site to provide minimal supervision please complete this simple 3 question survey to let us know if you need to send your child to school next week. We are strongly encouraging every student to remain at home for their own safety and that of their family members. You can access the survey here: https://forms.gle/ePRiRKDo5pvwYHCy6
Year 12 students:
Support for our HSC students is a priority and is currently being discussed with staff.
Year 12 students are to access their learning online. There are no regular classes operating onsite at school. There will be no permanent teachers at school.
All study groups and extra classes are not operating.
HSC practical subjects:
These include Design and Technology, Drama, Music and Visual Arts.
Teachers of practical subjects will contact the students who are allowed to come in to school directly. At this stage, this is likely to operate as follows:
- Face to Face classes can only operate between 1-3pm on any given day
- Teachers will notify if a face-to-face practical class is operating at school
- There will be classes available only on the afternoon of a timetabled regular class and only by invitation, as our staff are not working from school
- Trial HSC Examinations are scheduled for Week 3. We will finalise a decision regarding their operation at the Executive Meeting on Tuesday. At this stage it is likely they will proceed in Week 3. This will depend upon the length of lockdown and the Level of Operations the school is deemed to be allowed to operate at.
Levels of Operation:
This was only released this morning. It is a 4 Level School Operations Chart. We are Currently Operating at Level 4 - the highest level of COVID Safe operational delivery.
We have worked closely with NSW Health to develop a framework for COVID-19 response settings for schools. This framework includes:
- Level 1: Students learning at school, with all activities occurring in a COVID-safe way
- Level 2: Students learning at school, with non-essential visitors restricted from school sites, and certain activities modified to be COVID-safe; masks recommended indoors for all staff and all students in Year 7 and above (noting exemptions apply)
- Level 3: Students learning at school, with non-essential visitors restricted from school sites, reduced mingling between student and year cohorts and restrictions on activities; masks mandatory for all staff and all students in Year 7 and above (noting exemptions apply)
- Level 4: Students learning from home, but schools open for students and their families who need it. For those on school sites, masks mandatory for all staff and all students in Year 7 and above (noting exemptions apply).
We will notify you as things change back to Level 3, 2 and hopefully 1 as soon as possible.
Wearing Masks:
In alignment with NSW Health and Department of Education guidelines, all staff and students from Year 7 upwards who attend school will be required to wear a mask all of the time. Please ensure your child has a mask to wear and is aware of this requirement. A mask will be provided if needed. To maintain the safety of our entire community, if students are not able to comply with this expectation, students will be required to be picked up by their families.
Feeling Unwell - remain at home:
Any student or staff member with any COVID-19 symptoms, or who are feeling unwell, should not attend school and should take a COVID test immediately. Anyone, staff or student, who has been absent from school sick, will be required to provide evidence of a negative COVID test before being permitted to return to school. Students and staff who have attended any venue of concern identified by NSW Health should follow NSW Health advice and inform the school, by phone 9773 6054 or email sirjosephb-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au.
Reminders for Week 1:
- Monday 12 July 2021 is still a School Development Day. No students are to come to school.
- If you need for your child to attend school please let us know can access the here: https://forms.gle/ePRiRKDo5pvwYHCy6
- At this stage, parent / student / teacher interviews will take place as place this week and next as planned by telephone. Bookings remain open until Tuesday and can be made through the parent portal.
- If you haven't already done so, please let us know your child's needs relating to online learning from home. If you have NOT completed the Technology survey, please do so here:https://forms.gle/XbGgeMkqQCAVYZai7
- The Canteen and School Locker Onsite Uniform Shop will be closed next week.
- ALL extra-curricular activities are cancelled, this includes all sport and excursions.
Non-essential visitors are not permitted on school sites:
Parents and carers should stay in the car when dropping off and picking up children if it is safe to do so.
Parents are requested to:
- Remain outside of school grounds at all times and maintain social distancing
- Adhere to mask-wearing requirements and sign-in using the Service NSW QR code if it is essential that you enter the school
- We would prefer all parents to conduct any queries using the following methods offsite: Telephone: 9773 6054, Email: sirjosephb-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au, Parent Portal: Portal - Login (sirjosephb-h.schools.nsw.edu.au)
I will continue to provide updates as we receive them and all families can expect another update next week.
Thank you for your ongoing understanding and assistance supporting us to keep our students, staff and the broader community safe.
Kind Regards,
Murray Kitteringham
Principal