COVID-19 Information

 

Return to School Plan 2022

Attendance at School (Symptoms)

As we care for each other in community, we are committed to following the NSW Government guidelines:

  • If your child is unwell, even with mild symptoms you must keep them home and get them tested. If they display any symptoms they should take a PCR test (nose and throat swab) or rapid antigen test (RAT).
  • If symptoms continue your child should stay home and take another RAT or PCR test in 24 hours. If that test is also negative, your child may return to school if another diagnosis is confirmed such as hay fever.

The Wearing of Masks

We are all now quite familiar with the wearing of masks. We will continue to follow the NSW Government guidelines for the wearing of masks:

  • All school staff will be required to wear masks indoors.
    Senior School students are required to wear masks.
  • Junior School students (Year 3-6) are strongly recommended to wear well-fitted masks indoors.
  • No vented masks or cloth masks should be worn. If required, surgical masks will be available at school.

Vaccinations

  • All staff at Wycliffe Christian School are fully vaccinated in accordance the public health order requirements.
  • The NSW Government is strongly encouraging all students and their families to get vaccinated.
  • Once eligible, all adults are encouraged to get booster shots as per the NSW Government Guidelines.

Testing for COVID-19

We trust that you have been hearing the announcements about families doing rapid antigen testing at home for the next 4 weeks. We have taken delivery of RATs from the NSW Government and these are available to be collected from school between 12pm and 2pm on Friday 28th and 9am to 11am Saturday 29th January. No booking necessary. We will have staff in the bus bay who will hand you your allocated tests. It would assist staff if you could please have your surname visible in your car when you come for collection.

Following are the NSW Government guidelines about testing frequency and how to respond to results:

Before the start of Term 1

  • All staff and students are asked to take a rapid antigen test and get a negative result before attending school at the start of Term 1.

At the start of Term 1

  • For the first 4 weeks, students and staff should take a rapid antigen test twice a week on a Monday and Wednesday morning before attending school. Test kits will continue to be supplied by the school. If a student tests positive they are not to return to school for 7 days.
  • After 7 days the student can return to school if they are symptom free.
  • If a student tests positive all other students within their household must also isolate for 7 days even if they test negative.

NOTE: If you have any questions about the use of RATs, please feel free to contact Dave Johnston via the School Office.

What About Other Positive Cases?

  • If your child has no symptoms and there is a positive case in their class, year or other grouping, they can continue to attend school in line with NSW Health advice.
  • If a student tests positive all other students within their household must also isolate for 7 days even if they test negative.
  • Staff and students who get a positive rapid antigen test result must register it on service.nsw.gov.au or the Service NSW app as soon as possible.
  • Students who receive a positive rapid antigen or PCR test result must tell the school as soon as possible. Please email reception@wycliffe.nsw.edu.au.
  • We will continue to update parents with any details of any impacted year groups or cohorts.

School Activities

  • COVID-19 will be considered in the planning of all activities. We will be following all guidance provided to schools on applying appropriate safeguards across a range of activities.
  • Parents will be made aware of the risk of exposure and will need to give their permission for participation in extra-curricular, out of school hours or off-site activities.
  • In the interest of keeping our community safe, we have postponed or cancelled all high risk events for the first 2 weeks of the year.

Student Cohorts / Bubbles

We will continue using cohort arrangements and will be keeping students, where possible, in stage-based bubbles.

School Drop Off and Pickup

With parents and carers still not allowed on the school grounds due to NSW Government guidelines, the following arrangements will be in place for the drop off and pick of children.

Further Drop Off Details

  • Kindergarten parents are able to walk their children to their classroom (without entering) for the first week of school. This needs to be after 8:20am.
  • Year 1 parents are able to walk their children to the classroom (without entering) on the first day of school. This needs to occur between 8:35 – 8:50am.
  • Year 2 parents are able to walk their children to their classroom (without entering) on the first day of school. This needs to occur between 8:20 – 8:35am.

Further Pick Up Details

  • Have your child/rens name/s in large clear writing on a piece of paper/cardboard placed in the front widescreen.
  • If you arrive prior to 3.05pm please park your car in the Warrimoo oval new parking spaces starting from the “fire trail” end of the spaces. In terms of traffic flow please reverse park so that the queuing process after 3.05pm can happen smoothly.
  • Once the Katoomba bus (last bus) has left the staff member at the top of the driveway will signal for cars to commence coming down – starting from the “fire trail” end of Rickard Road.
  • Cars will be queued down the driveway and names will be collected and called. Pick up will proceed as we have been doing.
  • To minimise queueing please consider arriving at 3.05pm or later.
  • OPTION: Families may prefer to have their children walk up the driveway to be collected. If you are making use of this arrangement, can you please collect them in person from the school side of the road to assist with road safety during the afternoon high traffic period.

Please remember, when you are in the car queue to not park across any of our neighbours driveways. Please leave them free for our lovely neighbours to be able to come and go easily even during school pick up.