Dear Parent/Caregiver

Many families will have seen the update from the WA Premier on Tuesday, directing schools to implement high caseload measures for schools as of yesterday. 

Fiona Tholet (Associate Principal) is leading our COVID-19 response plan. Please do not hesitate to email her if you have any questions or would like further clarification on Fiona.tholet@education.wa.edu.au

I would like to take this opportunity to commend all of our students on such a positive return to school. It has been a joy visiting classes and meeting with students.

The information in this message is pertaining to COVID-19 and is organised into two sections, our current context and in the event of a partial or full school lockdown.

CURRENT CONTEXT

The high case load protocols for school settings have now taken effect.

Why have we moved to a high caseload environment? 

The Chief Health Officer has determined that further measures should be introduced to respond to an increased risk of COVID-19.

Keeping schools open and providing face-to-face learning to students is important to their learning, social and emotional development, as well as their physical and mental wellbeing. The purpose of these revised measures is to keep schools open and functioning in a high COVID-19 caseload environment in the Western Australian community.

It is intended that the new high caseload testing and isolation requirements, and the school-specific close contact definition, will reduce the need for students or staff to require long periods of isolation and quarantine.

When am I considered to be a close contact?

You are considered a close contact if you are:

A household member or intimate partner of a person with COVID-19 who has had contact with them during their infectious period; or

• Someone who has had close contact with a person in their infectious period, including:
  • face-to-face contact for 15 minutes or more with an infectious person, where a mask was not worn by the exposed person or the person with COVID-19;
  • sharing a small indoor space or a classroom environment for more than two hours with an infectious person, where masks have been removed for this period; or
  • someone who is directed by WA Health that they are a close contact.

What should I do if I or a member of our household receives a positive test result for COVID-19 and my child is at school?

• If you test positive, please follow the instructions given to you from WA Health Department.
• If you or someone in your household tests positive to COVID-19 and your child is at school, please contact School Reception and make arrangements for someone to collect them from school as soon as possible.
• Once the person collecting them has arrived at school, your child will be brought to the appropriate pick-up point outside administration.
• Please note: As directed by the government, in these instances students are not to travel on public transport. This has larger ramifications for our parent body than most schools due to the large distances our students travel. Please consider some contingency planning around this.
• Please be assured that measures will be taken to deal with such situations sensitively.

What will happen if my child displays symptoms while at school?

The school has procedures in place if your child presents with any cold or flu-like symptoms whilst at school. In the first instance, students will be directed by staff to present to Student Services. They will be assessed by our nurse in a designated area and parents will be called to collect them in a timely manner. Please note: As directed by the government, in these instances students are not to travel on public transport. This has larger ramifications for our parent body than most schools due to the large distances our students travel. Please consider some contingency planning around this.

This is in the interest of keeping our Perth Modern community safe and minimising disruption to student learning throughout the year ahead.

In line with current WA Health Dept advice, if your child has the following symptoms, they should present to a COVID-19 testing clinic:

• Fever (37.5)
• Acute respiratory symptoms - Sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, runny nose
• Excessive tiredness, headache or sore muscles and joints; or
• Loss of taste and smell.

Will excursions go ahead?

Stakeholders are in discussions regarding all excursions in Term 1. These will continue as long as physical distancing recommendations, mask mandates and venue rules for proof of vaccination are followed, and the venue/organiser has COVID-19 safe plans in place.

Families will be advised by organising staff if there are any changes to current scheduled incursions and excursions. 

Will clubs and other activities go ahead?

Under the current guidelines, most clubs and activities will go ahead as planned. Some changes will be occurring such as, restricting sizes to maximum 32 students and going outside if appropriate.

Music

Discussions are underway with our Head of Music, Philippa Roy. There are some restrictions on choirs and music gatherings in person and we are exploring options to continue these groups. The Music Department will keep you updated on the various scenarios.

Will Mufti Day go ahead?

Discussions are being had. There will be some changes made and these will be messaged to you in due course.

Camps

All camps being held in Term 1 will be postponed.

At this stage, what events in Term 1 are postponed or cancelled due to the new guidelines? 

Postponed:

• Year 7 Social
• Year 8 Social
• Visual Arts Enrichment Camp
• Senior Drama Camp

Cancelled:

• Interhouse Swimming

• Year 7 Parent Information Session – Manger Middle Years Matthew Healy and Head of Year 7 Anish Badgeri will disseminate the information.

PARTIAL OR FULL SCHOOL LOCKDOWN

In the event of a partial or full school lockdown we will divert to our COVID-19 Remote Learning Plan. The Perth Modern School Parent and Student Online Support Guide details our plan which is attached to this information update. We recommend you look through this document to support us in a smooth transition for your child from school to remote learning at home.

Thank you again to all families for your support and your patience in waiting for our communications, which allows our team to work through the implications and changes thoroughly.

Warm regards,

Mitchell Mackay

Principal

The Perth Modern School Parent and Student Online Support Guide has been devised to provide relevant information to parents and students in case students move to online learning due to COVID-19 protocols. Please download the link below and keep a copy for your records. Any enquiries please email Associate Principal fiona.tholet@education.wa.edu.au