Spotlight On: Resurgence

25 February 2022

Ms Elizabeth Stone, Principal

This article first appeared in Queenwood Weekly News on Friday 25 February, 2022.

It has been a wonderful start to the term. We have gradually been resuming activities that have been suspended for nearly two years and, to quote Mrs Sandwell, ‘It feels like the School is coming back to life!’. What is changing? Choirs have resumed, we had a full Senior School assembly, the girls have swum and cheered at the Junior and Senior Swimming Carnivals, the rowers will be at IGSSA Sport Rowing Regatta  on Sunday… in short, almost everything is up and running again and the joy is palpable.

There have been fewer disruptions than expected from COVID-19 in these first few weeks. In the last seven days, for instance, only 2 new cases and 5 household contacts were reported amongst nearly 900 students from K – 12. It is clear there has been very little transmission at school so far, although this remains a possibility and has been an issue in some other schools. This has set the scene nicely for the good news announced on Wednesday, with the further easing of restrictions in schools as follows:

Masks

  • Senior School students and staff no longer need to wear masks.
  • Junior School staff will need to wear masks for one more week but do not need to wear masks starting from Monday 7 March, 2022.
  • Masks will still be required in assemblies and may be required for specific times or activities, so students are required to carry a mask with them at all times.
  • Staff and students will be supported to wear a mask if they choose to do so.
  • Masks must be worn when travelling on buses and public transport.

Surveillance testing

  • Students and staff are no longer required to test twice a week.
  • Students and staff will need to test if they have symptoms and RATs will be allocated for this purpose.
  • The first distributions were two weeks ago, with more allocated yesterday to each student. Due to supply issues, numbers distributed have varied slightly for different groups of students but each student will receive 16 tests over the course of the term.

Illness and absence

  • If your daughter is unwell she must remain at home and complete a RAT. Parents must notify the school of the absence immediately by completing the ABSENCE FORM. Please communicate the positive RAT result with the School and register the result on the Service NSW website.
  • If your daughter has tested positive to COVID-19, she is required to isolate at home. She can leave isolation after 7 days if she has had no symptoms for 24 hours. In addition, we recommend (but do not require) that girls should test negative on a RAT before returning to school.
  • Household contacts (i.e. siblings) will also need to isolate for the 7 days.
  • The school will notify the community about trends in case numbers.

Check ins

  • Staff and students are no longer required to check in.
  • Vaccinated visitors and contractors should continue to check in.

Cohorting of year groups

  • No longer required for curricular and co-curricular activities.
  • Removal of staggered start and finish times and entry and exit points.

Visitors on school grounds

  • Vaccinated parents, carers and families can access the campus by invitation.
  • Visitors are required to wear masks when they are on campus.

Ventilation

  • To ensure optimum ventilation, windows and doors of classrooms/offices/reception spaces will be left open where practicable.

Hygiene measures
We continue to promote and encourage:

  • Regular washing of hands.
  • Exclusion of any staff and students who are unwell.
  • Avoiding the sharing of food and personal items.
  • Regular cleaning of surfaces.

We emphasise that girls must continue to bring a mask to school every day in case there are specific situations requiring them (eg if a peer is immuno-compromised, or for larger indoor events where social distancing is not possible). As always in these times, there is every likelihood that these guidelines may have to change or be adapted to specific circumstances over time.

It will be such a pleasure to see the girls’ happy faces and welcome parents back on campus for sport and all the usual events. Let’s enjoy the freedoms while we can!