13-March
Dear Edithvale Primary School Families,
I write to keep you informed of the potential impact that novel coronavirus (COVID-19) may have on our school in the coming weeks and months and to assure you that we are working tirelessly to ensure we are prepared for what might come next. We are a great community. We are a strong community- and together we will overcome any challenges that lie ahead of us.
As you may be aware, recently, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic reflecting widespread increasing transmission of the virus globally.
We wish to assure all members of our community that we continue to follow the advice of the Department of Education and Training (DET)- who continue to work closely with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)- to plan for and respond to any impact COVID-19 may have on our school.
You may be aware of some schools closing for a week in response to confirmed COVID-19 cases. These actions are taken on the recommendation of DHHS to allow time for contact tracing and with the health and safety of all students and staff in the school community front of mind.
If we are told to close our school for a period of time, DHHS will work with us and the DET, and our staff and students will be advised to stay home and self-isolate for 24 hours. This closure will support our school leaders and health officials to work through a contact and containment strategy, including decisions about extending the closure period.
If a school closure is imminent, there will be an immediate response from us that helps inform our community on next steps in a variety of ways- COMPASS, email, purple pockets etc- and ensure that all necessary and relevant information is circulated broadly, and in a timely manner.
If the closure of our school occurs, it will be essential that learning continuity is maintained for our students.
Our staff are working tirelessly through a range of options to support learning continuity for our students by providing suitable learning opportunities that can be completed away from the school setting. These include but are not limited to:
- MangaHigh and Sunshine Online which our school subscribes to,
- A soon to be released DET online website, Learning from Home, that will be available in the event of a government school closure.
- Pre-prepared worksheets or workbooks that can be provided to students in hardcopy.
For the latest advice and information, including FAQs, please follow the links included here
- https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/victorian-public-coronavirus-disease-covid-19
- https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/coronavirus.aspx
As further COVID-19 updates and details become available to us, we will be certain to circulate these and keep everyone connected with our school informed
Sincerely,
James Whitla
Principal
Important links:
- DET Learning from home tips, advice and resources
- Seesaw Help Center
Additional Information:
DHHS – the importance of our schools remaining open (118) 16-Mar-2020
Novel Coronavirus Fact Sheet (144) 28-Jan-2020
Coronoavirus Update – 13 Mar – (209 KB) 13-Mar-2020
Coronoavirus Update – 3 Feb – (124 KB) 03-Feb-2020
Coronoavirus Update – 31 January – (57 KB) 31-Jan-2020
Information about EPS Home Learning with SEESAW – (121KB) 25-Mar-2020
Learning from Home: Information for parents and carers (208 KB) – 10-Apr-2020
Letter explaining student work from home – (376 KB) 19-Mar-2020
Loan of Assets Agreement (444 KB) – 10-Apr-2020
Physical Distancing Guidance for Schools (218 KB)
Reduce your risk of coronavirus poster – (651 KB) 15-Mar-2020
Update on the coronavirus outbreak – 28 January – (74 KB) 28-Jan-2020
Important Phone Numbers:
- COVID-19 Hotline – 1800 675 398
- DHHS Hotline – 1300 651 160