We are getting very close to being able to welcome you back to school or the 2022 school year! Students in all year levels will be welcomed back onsite from 7 February. Thank you for your ongoing support as we work together to respond to the evolving COVID-19 situation.

As announced by the Premier on Sunday 30th January 2022, the Queensland Government has released the COVID-Safe Back to School Plan.

From Monday 7th February, key features of the plan include:

• the suspension of school camps, excursions, whole of College assemblies, and large gatherings (please note that school sport will continue as usual);
• limiting visitors on site, with exceptions for parents and carers of students experiencing vulnerability;
• staggered Year level entry points for Day 1;
• mask wearing for all high school students and all staff
• rapid antigen tests (RATs) available in school for students and staff who develop symptoms while on site
• priority access to RATs for students and staff at Queensland Health testing clinics
• a range of ventilation measures.

You can access the Department of Education's Back to School Plan, and further information and FAQs on the Department of Education's COVID-19 website. To find out more about the Back to School Plan, visit https://qed.qld.gov.au/covid19

Essential to the success of these measures is that if your child is unwell or displaying any COVID-19 symptoms, they must not attend school. I cannot emphasise this message strongly enough – it is critical to keeping our college community safe.

Below you will find information that is most relevant to our Foxwell State Secondary College community. In addition to the COVID safe measures currently in our college, the following will also be in place from 7 February to 4 March 2022:

• if your child is sick or feeling unwell, please keep them at home. Students can receive priority access to RATs at Queensland Health testing clinics. Visit a testing clinic near you
• parents and carers are also asked not to come on college grounds. You will be asked to remain in your vehicle for school drop off and pick up where possible. Alternatively, please stay behind the black fences on the car park side of the 2 minute Stop-Drop-Go lane.
• school camps, excursions, whole of college assemblies and large gatherings have been suspended and limits have been placed on external contractors, face-to-face staff meetings, parent–teacher interviews, and professional development.

INFORMATION ABOUT RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS

The Queensland Government has a plan for priority rapid antigen testing for school staff and students.

To keep our college community COVID-19 safe, students and staff must not attend school if they are unwell or have COVID-19 symptoms.

If your child or our staff are sick/symptomatic

• they should attend their local Queensland Health testing clinic where they will be prioritised to receive a rapid antigen test (RAT);
• parents cannot collect a RAT kit from the school for this purpose;
• if the test result is negative and the staff member or student is well, they can return to school;
• if the test is positive, the staff member or student will need to follow Queensland Health quarantine and isolation requirements.
• Students who are sick or too unwell to engage in learning will not be expected to complete learning from home. Students who are well will be supported to continue with their learning from home for their period of quarantine or isolation.

If your child or a staff member becomes symptomatic at school

• your child will be immediately isolated in a safe place, and you will be contacted to collect your child.
• when you collect your child, you will receive a RAT to administer at home.
• staff members will immediately leave the school and be provided with a RAT to administer at home.
• if the test result is negative and the student or staff member is well, they can return to school.
• if the test is positive, they will need to follow Queensland Health quarantine and isolation requirements.
• students who are sick or too unwell to engage in learning will not be expected to complete learning from home. Students who are well will be supported to continue with their learning from home for their period of quarantine or isolation

INFORMATION ABOUT MASK WEARING AT SCHOOL

Another of the measures being implemented across all settings to keep schools COVID-19 safe include:

• mandatory mask wearing for all high school students and staff.

When to wear a face mask?

Please regularly check the Queensland Government website to stay up-to-date with the current COVID-19 restrictions for wearing face masks as this advice can change frequently. The most up-to-date advice as at today is as follows.

• Currently, all high school students, including those who are under 12 years of age, need to wear a mask both indoors and outdoors, including on dedicated school transport*, unless they are seated or are able to maintain a 1.5m distance from others.

The Queensland Health video protecting yourself and the community: mask-wearing for adolescents will help students to understand why wearing a face mask is important. It provides tips for the kind of mask to wear and how to wear it properly.

School staff (primary and high school) are required to wear masks while standing or moving about indoors, but may remove their mask when seated or if able to maintain physical distancing of 1.5m from others while teaching or interacting with students or children. When outdoors, face masks can be removed if physical distancing of 1.5m from others can be maintained.

SUSPENDED ACTIVITIES

For the period between 7 February and the 4 March 2022,  the following activities will be suspended.

• School camps
• Excursions
• Whole Collge Assemblies
• Large Gatherings
• Parent Teacher meetings
• Face to face professional development or staff meetings
• External visitors or guest speakers etc.

Sporting events will continue on and off school sites. Except where restrictions are in place, schools will be able to conduct school sport programs, including inter-school and representative competitions, for both indoor and outdoor sports following health and safety requirements to ensure these events are COVID safe.

Schools are able to conduct instrumental music programs, ensembles and choir rehearsals, provided COVID safe measures are in place.

CONFIRMED CASE/S OF COVID-19 ON OUR COLLEGE SITE

We will follow the advice and requirements from Queensland Health, and will work to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of staff, students and visitors are prioritised.

We will inform our community via our Schoolzine Bulletin when advised that a COVID positive case has been on site. You will be advised:

• that there has been a COVID-19 case at the college [we will keep the details of the case confidential]
• to monitor for symptoms and to stay home if unwell.

We ask parents to notify us of the positive result of any student who has been on our school site during their potential period of infection.

WHAT IF A STUDENT OR STAFF MEMBER IS A CLOSE CONTACT?

We will continue to follow the latest testing, isolation and quarantine requirements for confirmed cases and close contacts as outlined by Queensland Health. As at 27 January 2022:

• You are a close contact if you have been with a person that has COVID-19 for more than four hours in a house or other accommodation, a care facility or similar. (Usually, this means you are a close contact if you live with a person that has COVID-19. But, if you have stayed away from them, you are not a close contact. For example, if they are in a separate part of the house that has a separate entrance and no shared common areas, and if your contact with them wasn’t more than four hours.)
• You are not a close contact if you have had COVID-19 in the past 4 weeks.

Follow these steps if you are a close contact:

1. Immediately quarantine

Quarantine means you need to stay away from other people as much as possible because you are at highest risk of getting COVID-19 and if you do, you may spread it to others.

If you are a close contact, you need to immediately quarantine yourself at your home, or other suitable accommodation, for 7 full days from the date you last had contact with the person that has COVID-19. If you live with them, your quarantine will last the same amount of time as their isolation period.

If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, even mild, when you find out that you are a close contact, you must get tested. You can get tested using a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) or a PCR test.

Children/students must follow the same requirements as adults if they are close contacts.  Children cannot go to school if they are a close contact. This applies even if you are a critically essential worker and are allowed to leave quarantine to work.

Once you complete your quarantine period, you are not considered a close contact. For 7 days after completing your quarantine period, you must:

• monitor for COVID-19 symptoms.
• get a COVID test if you develop COVID-19 symptoms, and quarantine while you wait for the result

STAFFING ARRANGEMENTS

Our college has a very detailed plan in place to ensure continuity of learning for all students and minimise disruption to student learning. We will communicate regularly with our college community regarding our college's individual circumstances. Please be assured though that we have additional teaching and support staff available to ensure consistency for our students. 

There may be times when our college needs to adjust our timetable, combine classes, or bring in relief staff to manage any workforce challenges. Only in a very rare situation may we need to close our college on departmental or health advice.

VENTILATION

Our Queensland weather and the amazing design of our college means that ventilation of learning spaces can often occur naturally by opening windows and doors, or relocating learning to outdoor settings. Opening windows, where it is safe to do so and weather permitting, can help to bring in more fresh air to increase natural ventilation. Where fresh air is available, ceiling fans can be used to further improve air circulation.

We are very fortunate to be a fully air conditioned school. We ensure our air conditioners are maintained, clean and functioning properly therefore meeting all health and safety guidelines allowing them to be used, where appropriate, at this time.

CLEANING

State schools have high standards of well-established hygiene protocols and cleaning of our facilities. Additional cleaning hours which have been in place throughout the pandemic have been extended until at least June 2022. These increased cleaning hours are over and above our usual school cleaning allocation.

In line with the Queensland Government's Managing COVID-19 in workplaces, deep cleaning is no longer required where a positive case of COVID-19 has been identified.

The 2-step precautionary clean – involving a normal hygienic clean followed by sanitising - is sufficient for schools and other workplaces to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

TALKING WITH YOUR CHILD ABOUT COVID-19

Communication is important

There is a common misconception that talking with children and young people about a topic such as COVID-19 may increase their anxiety. However, research suggests that it usually has the opposite effect. For children, not having information is scary. Many children will fill in the blanks with their own imagination – often imagining something far worse than the truth. For older children, they may take to the internet for their answers, which can be misleading and overwhelming.

Children and young people need to feel informed and safe. Discussing COVID-19 openly with your children and answering their questions calmly will provide the opportunity to reassure them that they are safe and dispel any false information they may have heard in the media or through rumours.

Continuing to have conversations with your child about COVID-19 will help to minimise the anxiety they may feel when they hear new and sometimes contradictory information or advice.

Tell children the facts

Scary headlines attract attention and help sell newspapers but they don’t always tell the whole truth. Ensuring you’re armed with facts will help keep conversations calm, considered and constructive.

In discussions with children, it is important to emphasise that:

• Australia has slowed the spread of COVID-19 by putting in place measures such as physical distancing
• Most people who contract COVID-19 will only have mild symptoms and they will recover easily
• Only a small minority of people may become very ill
• We are lucky to live in a country where children are able to access prompt and high-quality medical attention
• The risk of serious illness for people their age who are in good health is low.

Sharing this information should help reassure children that there is no immediate risk to themselves, their friends or their family.

Explain what efforts are being made to contain the virus

In Australia, the government is continuing to carefully monitor and actively manage the situation – this is why advice for how to stay safe is updated often. Children should be confident that anyone who has the virus and needs medical attention will receive high-quality treatment quickly in our world class hospitals.

Restricting exposure to news and social media 

It is normal for children and young people to get overwhelmed by the constant discussions about COVID-19, which can lead to increased worry and anxiety. If parents and carers notice their children becoming anxious or scared due to the amount of information they are hearing about COVID-19 on the news or through social media, it may be necessary to encourage and assist them to take a break from the 24-hour news cycle and to focus on other things.

Focus attention away from COVID-19

Encourage children to engage in things at home that help them feel physically and emotionally safe (for example, listening to music, playing a favourite game with the family or doing some exercise in the home).

A great way to focus children’s attention to other things and decrease their anxiety is to include wellbeing activities into their day. You can find suggested activities in the wellbeing activities booklet on the department’s website.

It is also particularly important for children and young people to feel close to their immediate family and to continue to communicate with those people outside the family who are helpful to their wellbeing.

Offer practical advice

Tell your children what you can all do to help slow the spread of COVID-19, including:

• following the Queensland Government’s guidelines
• staying at home if unwell
• coughing or sneezing into your elbow or a clean tissue
• keeping hands clean by washing them regularly with soap and water or hand sanitiser
• avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Advice about student mental health and wellbeing

We know that children and young people’s wellbeing and mental health is strongly linked to their success at school and later in life. As parents, there are many things you do every day to support your child’s wellbeing and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This has been a challenging time for many people in our community. As uncertainty and worry related to COVID-19 continue, you may notice changes in your child’s behaviour, sleep, mood, interactions with others or eating habits. These are all normal expressions of worry and by noticing and responding with care and support, you will help your child to feel better.

As parents, it is important to be able to:

• recognise signs of increased anxiety, stress or worry
• know that it is a normal reaction
• help children feel safe and supported

Be aware of your own behaviour 

It is important to understand the effect your own behaviour can have on your child. If you react in ways that suggest you are worried, your child may worry too! Try to remain calm and positive when talking to your child about COVID-19 and issues affecting your family.

Reassure your child it is safe to go to school

During periods of learning at home, your family, along with staff at your child’s school, helped your child to understand that staying at home was necessary to keep them healthy and safe. As the pandemic continues, your child may feel worried about whether it is safe for them to be at school. Their worry may be greater at the beginning of a new term after feeling safe at home during the holidays. 

Some students may still feel anxious about whether it is safe for them to be at school when COVID-19 is still present in the community. In particular, children who are concerned about getting the virus or who have family members with pre-existing health conditions may be especially anxious.

It is important to check in with your children about how they feel and, if they are worried, to help them know that it is safe. Tell students the facts, including that:

• schools are making decisions based on government and health advice
• it is considered safe for students to be in the classroom with their peers
• everyone at school is practising good hygiene, the school is being cleaned regularly and there are sufficient supplies of soap and sanitiser
• the government is closely monitoring the situation – if the virus starts to spread again, decisions about what we need to do to keep everyone safe will be made quickly
• if anyone at school does feel sick, they will stay home until they feel better.

Challenges for students

During times of stress and uncertainty, it is normal for young people to feel more worried in general. You may notice increased levels of worry from your child about:

• being separated from parents, carers and immediate family who are vulnerable
• school work
• social relationships with friends and peers – everyone deals with stress differently and this can put strain on peer relationships.

Our College has a strong framework to support out students’ mental health and wellbeing during this challenging time. Our staff will:

• ensure mental health and wellbeing is a priority
• provide opportunities to check in with students as a group or individually
• focus on establishing and maintaining school and classroom routines
• encourage students to look after their own mental health and wellbeing.

Getting advice and support

You can talk to our Guidance Officer and Student Wellbeing Engagement and Learning (SWEL) team about our college’s approach to monitoring, identifying and supporting students with mental health and wellbeing concerns.

We will ensure students who need additional or more intensive support are referred to the Guidance Officer or other support staff or are able to access a range of support from organisations that provide specific services to support families and young people.

LET’S LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER – AND REMEMBER THAT KINDNESS IS THE FOXWELL WAY

This is a difficult time for communities affected by COVID-19. Please remember to look out for each other and to show courtesy and respect toward others.