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Henry Kendall High School

Henry Kendall High School

Developing confident, responsible citizens who strive for excellence.

Telephone02 4325 2110

Emailhenrykenda-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Students Return To School Monday 25th May

back to school

As you are aware, our school is returning to full face-to-face learning from Monday 25 May. Some of you have expressed concern in this regard, however I can assure you that all school activities and operations will be in line with Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and NSW Health guidelines as applicable.

This post aims to raise your awareness of our plans for ensuring a safe and manageable return to school and to learning, whilst placing an absolute emphasis on the health and safety of all.

Across the school site we have been advised that our students do not need to follow physical distancing guidelines, but should follow good hygiene practices like:

• Regularly washing hands

• Avoiding sharing drinks or food

• Coughing or sneezing into your elbow, or a tissue which should be discarded immediately

• Using a refillable drink bottle rather than a bubbler.

This means that there will be normal numbers in classrooms, movement around the school and between lessons will be as usual, and school facilities such as the library, canteen and toilets will all be open.

School attendance

All students should be at school unless:

• They have a medical certificate which states that they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition, or

• They are currently unwell.

Students who have a medical certificate to stay at home will be supported to learn from home in line with regular procedures if they are able to. These regular procedures are different to what was offered during the learning from home period. If you require work to be provided to your child whilst they are at home due to an underlying health condition, you should contact the relevant deputy principal for assistance.

Please note, students who live with a family member in one of the categories identified as being at increased risk by the AHPPC, should attend school unless a medical practitioner advises otherwise in writing.

If your child is unwell, do not send them to school. If they are unwell at school you or your nominated emergency contact will need to collect them immediately. Please make sure your contact details are up to date.

If a student is absent without a medical reason for more than three days, this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and followed up by the school.

School activities

Teachers will continue to follow the same school curriculum with the exception of some activities that can’t go ahead for now.

What students can do:

• Use the school library

• Move around the school as normal, including the playground

• VET work placement for Year 12 students is able to proceed from 1 June 2020. Year 10 and 11 work-placement is able to proceed from Term 3 2020.

• School based apprenticeships and traineeships can recommence once the relevant workplaces are back in operation.

What students can’t do:

• School assemblies (unless for critical information)

• School incursions and excursions including camps

• Work experience

• Inter-school activities (debating, inter-school sport)

• In-school activities requiring parent or other volunteers

• Drink from a water bubbler – bring a water bottle instead

• Students cannot attend TAFE for study but may continue to learn online.

Please be aware that the guidelines limit some of the activities students can be involved in in the playground. Non-contact activities like Handball, cricket or volleyball will be allowed. Contact sports like soccer, basketball or any code of football will not be allowed and students are asked not to bring these balls to school.

Practical PDHPE and Sport Guidelines

From Monday 25 May when all students return to face to face learning, practical PDHPE lessons will commence. The PDHPE faculty will be working to ensure that all students will be provided with the recommended amount of physical activity in accordance with the guidelines provided by NSW School Sport.

• Students will still be required to bring their PDHPE sports uniform so they are able to get changed for practical lessons. All students can wear their sports uniform on a Tuesday

• Students will be required to adhere to the safety and hygiene guidelines which includes washing hands before and after each practical lesson.

• Practical PDHPE activities in lessons will focus on the non-contact activities and active recreation. For example, running challenges, fitness circuits, amazing race challenges, HIIT workouts and walking based activities catering for all students.

• Students in Stage 4 and Stage 5 will continue to use the practical lesson and monitoring template that they have been using during Term 2, as staff work towards facilitating a range of fitness activities in the MPC, Oval and COLA.

Tuesday Afternoon Sport

There are continued restrictions preventing external sporting providers such as our local community sporting facilities from operating. We are very limited in facilities to manage sport for 600 students at once, and we are also unable to use the majority of equipment at this time. Therefore, it has been deemed that Tuesday afternoon sport will not run as normal until further notice in Term 2. All students in Stage 4 and 5 will be actively supervised during this time.

Hygiene

Additional cleaning of external areas is occurring throughout the day and is provided by our cleaning contractors. To maintain high levels of hygiene and ensure safety, teachers and students will be wiping down classroom learning spaces with disinfectant each lesson. In practical classes, this includes all equipment used in the lesson. This additional cleaning responsibility is in line with the department’s guidelines.

School grounds

There should be no visitors to our school site unless they are essential. Parent meetings will not be conducted until further notice. Any parent who does need to attend the school may go to the administration office only, and the only gate that will be open during the day is located outside the administration building on Batley Street. The cooperation and support of our community is appreciated in this matter.

My apologies for such a long message, however it is important that I get this information to our community. I will also email it to parents from tomorrow.

Thank you again for your continued support of Henry Kendall High School this challenging time. We are looking forward to getting our students back to school and getting back into what will be a ‘new normal’ for this next period. If we can provide any support or clarify any questions, please get in touch with the school office on 43252110, or henrykenda-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au.

Andrew Backhouse

Principal