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Principal’s Update: 3 February 2022

by | Feb 3, 2022

Dear families,

Thank you so much for the efforts that you have made to ensure that our first few days of school for 2022 have been as smooth as possible for our students, especially the new students starting school for the very first time. We also have quite a number of parents who are, for the first time, sending their little one to school. We have ensured that teachers are available in the school yard before school and after school, in order to assist if necessary with these new Receptions.

Remote learning has begun, with a few IT hiccups that we had to resolve on the first day. If you do have any issues or concerns in accessing the online learning, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher in the first instance and we can quickly resolve them. Remote learning is quite different for teachers, who are very much accustomed to working face-to-face with your children. It requires a more complex form of organisation and certainly considerably more time problem-solving.

I want to raise a concern that I have about an organisation that is purporting to be able to sell to parents a legal letter to provide to school concerning ‘no consent for COVID-19 vaccination’. Please know, that these letters have no legal standing and the content of these letters is mostly pointless. For example, there is a paragraph usually included about the child not receiving a vaccination without parent consent. In reality, no child of primary school age can receive a vaccination without parent consent. Included in some letters, is a concern about “implied consent”, however this is taken out of context and is not relevant in relation to childhood vaccinations. Unfortunately, people are paying between $20 and $30 for something that they could write themselves quite easily. Information that I have received is that the organisation selling these letters, does not have legal standing and so are quite possibly not acting lawfully.

Please know that no child will be vaccinated without your consent, and that there will be no invasive medical procedures performed on any child at school.

The Pandemic does focus increased attention on the importance of vaccination, mask wearing and personal hygiene. While these are items that may be discussed in classrooms, it is carried out in an appropriate manner for the relevant age group. Children do ask questions, which teachers will respond to, in a very balanced way. It is also not appropriate for a teacher to be told that they should not wear a mask. As you would be well aware, mask wearing is one of the conditions that has allowed the children to return to schools, and teachers are bound by this instruction.

In addition to our Reception and Year 1 students who are at school, we have a very small number of year 2 to year 6 students who are also at school. These are children who fall under one of the following categories; children of essential workers; vulnerable children; children who, for a variety of reasons, cannot be cared for adequately during the school day. I have had a number of conversations with parents who have made a supreme effort to find care for their children during this time, and certainly those efforts are appreciated by staff at school.

A strength of our school community has always been the ability to support each other when needed. During this time of remote learning, it is important that we acknowledge the work of everyone within our community. As part of our community, parents and caregivers are providing support to teachers and the school by keeping children home where possible and families are meeting the challenge of remote learning at home.

If for whatever reason, you need to send your child(ren) to school, we are here to support you. Please know that there is no judgement based on whether your child is at school or not. If you have any queries about this, please don’t hesitate to contact the school and speak to one of the leadership team.

Kind Regards,

Steve Freeman
Principal