COVID DROP OFF AND PICK UP FOR ALL ST ITA’S STUDENTS AND FAMILIES

To keep all in our community safe, the following Covid-19 drop off and pick up procedures will continue for 2022.

Could all St Ita's families please follow the procedures set out below;

• There is no parking in the Drouin Rec Reserve or in the St Ita’s School Admin car-park area
• Please follow the car line loops for drop off and pick up of children. Teachers will be there to supervise children to enter and exit cars. Please do not exit your vehicles in car line.
• Family surnames A-G can be dropped off between 8.30am and 8.50am and picked up at the front of School Admin car-line from 3.20pm - 3.45pm.
• Family surnames H-Z can be dropped off between 8.30am and 8.50am and picked up at the Drouin Rec Reserve car loop from 3.20pm - 3.45pm.
• If you are a Foundation parent and you wish to walk your child to the main gate at Admin, you will need to park your car along Victoria St or reverse park in the church car park and walk up to the main admin gate. (Please do not park your car at Drouin Rec Reserve or in the Admin car park and you must exit your car with your children to walk to the school entry.) Please note the no parking signs in front of the school.
• Any parents wishing to enter the school to meet with your child’s class teacher or Principal must ring admin first on 5623-7222 and make an appointment, making sure that they sign in on-arrival.
• Any parents entering the school are required to wear a mask when on site.
  
  We thank you for your continued support during these challenging Covid-19 times. 

COVID SAFE MEASURES FOR ST ITA’S STUDENTS PARENTS AND STAFF

 WATCH FOR COVID SYMPTOMS

• If your child is unwell, even with mild COVID-19 symptoms, you must keep your child at home until their symptoms resolve and get your child tested with a PCR test (nose and throat swab) or complete a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).
• If symptoms continue, your child should stay home and take another RAT or PCR test in 24 hours. If that test is also negative, your child may return to school.

VACCINATIONS

• All students and their families are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated.
• Children aged 5 to 11 can now get vaccinated. Parents, guardians and carers are encouraged to book their child in for a vaccination at the first available opportunity.

TESTING

• RAT's will be provided to all staff and students at no charge. Schools will inform parents, guardians and carers on how these kits can be collected from the school.
• For the first four (4) weeks, students and staff should take a RAT twice-weekly on the morning before attending school. Test kits will continue to be supplied by schools during this time.
• Students who are a household contact of a positive case (that is, they have spent more than four hours with someone who has COVID-19 inside a house, accommodation, or care facility) must isolate for seven (7) days and not attend school during that period. Parents, guardians and carers must inform the school if their child is a household contact.

COVID-19 POSITIVE CASES

• If your child has no symptoms and there is a positive COVID-19 case in their class, year level or other grouping, your child can continue to attend school in line with Victorian Department of Health advice.
• Staff and students who receive a positive RAT result must register it on the COVID-19 Positive Rapid Antigen Test Self-Reporting Form available on the Coronavirus Victoria website https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/report as soon as possible.
• Staff and students who receive a positive RAT or PCR test result must tell their school as soon as possible, and follow Victorian Department of Health advice.
• Students who test positive to COVID-19 must isolate for seven (7) days and not attend school during that period.
• Schools will regularly communicate to parents, guardians and carers about the presence and impact of COVID-19 in their school community.

VENTILATION

• The Victorian Government has provided air purifiers for all schools for use from the commencement of Term 1, 2022.
• Fresh air is the most effective form of ventilation to minimise the risk of transmission.
• Schools are required to increase fresh air flow into indoor spaces (including shared spaces, staff areas and thoroughfares) whenever possible.
• Using outdoor spaces will continue to be encouraged, where practicable.

FACE MASKS

• For all school settings, school staff and students in Grades 3 and above are required to wear a face mask indoors, including Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) programs, unless a lawful exception applies.
• Staff and students must wear face masks even if vaccinated.
• Parents, guardians and carers are required to supply their child(ren) with an appropriate face mask that covers the nose and mouth. Appropriate face masks include single use face masks (commonly called surgical masks). Face shields, scarves or bandanas do not meet the requirements of an acceptable face mask.
• All visitors must wear a face mask in all indoor spaces when attending a school, unless a lawful exception applies.

 ACTIVITIES

• COVID-19 will continue to be considered in all activity risk assessments. Guidance will be provided to schools on applying appropriate safeguards across a range of activities, including school camps and excursions.
• Parents, guardians and carers will be made aware of the risk of exposure and will need to provide their permission for their child’s participation in extra-curricular, out of school hours or off-site activities.

 VISITORS

• Visitors on school site should be kept to a minimum to support essential school activities or student needs.
• Visitors will be required to comply with vaccination requirements, density limits, face mask requirements and practise respiratory etiquette and good hand hygiene.
• The use of Service Victoria QR codes for electronic record-keeping continues to be mandatory in all schools. All visitors working on school sites or entering school buildings are required to check in using the Service Victoria QR Code on arrival.

 KEEPING SCHOOLS OPEN

• Parents, guardians and carers are asked to respect the rules at their child’s school to help keep the community safe.
• Schools will do everything they can to maintain continuity of face-to-face learning including the increased use of casual staff.
• Schools will need to make localised staffing decisions to ensure appropriate supervision can be maintained.
• Schools will not be able to guarantee particular staff for any cohort and students may not have their regular teacher for a class.

 LEARNING FROM HOME

• We will continue to monitor the situation and where face-to-face learning is not possible, learning from home options will be supported for short periods.
• Students who are required to isolate or quarantine will be provided with learning materials to support their continued learning. Schools are not expected to provide a full remote learning program in these circumstances. 

SCHOOL CAPTAINS FOR 2022

It is with great please that we announce our School Captains for the 2022 school year as Amber Hammond and Aiden Noonan. These two students will be support by two Vice School Captains in Josephine Spain and Cooper Bills.

Amber, Aiden, Josephine and Cooper were selected from a very high pool of exceptional young leaders at St Ita’s. They are looking forward to representing our student body and leading in 2022.

SCHOOL FEES & CONCESSIONS

Please contact the school office if you need to discuss your 2022 school fee payment.

If any families would like to set up a weekly, fortnightly or monthly direct debit schedule for school fees, please complete the Direct Debit Form below and return to the school office.  For any assistance regarding calculations of payments, please contact us via email on: admin@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au

For any families that have recently received a Government means-tested health care concession card, please forward a copy of your card to the office to check your eligibility, as a fee concession may apply. The card must be in the name of the parent/fee payer for a fee concession to apply. 

If your current Health Care card is due to expire this year and your card is re-issued, please send a copy of your new card details to the office as soon as possible for the concession to be checked and applied for next year's fees, if not already done so.