Winter, Flu, COVID and You!

As the winter season is upon us, it is important that we all follow health and safety guidelines so that everyone in our community is as safe and well as possible throughout the cooler months of the year. This winter, all NSW schools continue to follow COVID-smart measures to help reduce the risk of transmission for students and staff members.

Students, staff and visitors should only attend school if they are symptom free

If a student is unwell and has any symptoms for any illness they should stay home and test for COVID-19. Whether the test comes back positive or negative for COVID-19, the student should not return to school until either:

• the student no longer has any acute symptoms (such as a runny nose, sore throat, fever, cough) OR
• a medical certificate is provided to the school confirming that symptoms are explained by another diagnosis (such as hay fever).

Once the acute symptoms have passed, staff and students may return to school. There are no statewide isolation or other mandatory requirements for people who have tested positive to COVID-19 or for household/close contacts. If a person returns to school within 7 days of a positive COVID result, the person should wear a mask when indoors and on public transport.

Parents/carers should continue to notify the school if a student has tested positive to COVID-19 as part of the usual absence notification process, by emailing absences@sceggs.nsw.edu.au This notification is an important tool to help us understand the incidence of COVID-19 and other illnesses within the school community at different points throughout the year.  

Camps and overnight excursions

Staff and students are not permitted to participate in overnight excursions and camps until at least 7 days from the date they tested positive. Students and staff may participate from day 8 after their positive test if they are symptom-free.

RAHTS

Staff and students may obtain a 5-pack of RAHTs from Student Services or the Primary Office any time they would like one. I would also encourage families to check any RAHTs at home in the cupboard and ensure that these have not expired.

If your daughter is unwell

Health advice is that staff and students who are sick should always stay home to rest and recover and avoid putting others at risk of getting sick.

Please help us keep everyone in our community as safe and well as possible this winter!

Holly Gyton
Deputy Head of School