Welcome to term 2, 2022. This year is absolutely flying past. 

This week has been very busy with our school tours and mini COVID vaccination clinic. A huge thank you to the community members who assisted us by promoting the events.
Dhurringile Primary School has been asked by the Australian Electoral Commission to be a polling place for the upcoming Federal Election on Saturday 21st May 2022. This will be an opportunity to have a very informal look around our school for the community members who haven't been here for some time.

Please take a look at our calendar for upcoming events. The community is also welcome to send through any events etc to be listed. You can either email me at dhurringile.ps@education.vic.gov.au or text/phone at 0418 383 064.

Over the holidays our creative centre was installed. This area gives our students a place to be crafty, creative, and inventive. Projects are able to be left on the benches for the students to work on as they have time.

While recommended, face masks are not required in any school settings from 11.59pm 22 April 2022.   Any students or staff members who wish to wear a mask may do so, including those who are medically at-risk.

 

This means students in Grades 3 to 6 and staff and visitors to primary schools are no longer required to wear face masks.

Household contacts attending school who are over 8 years of age are required to wear face masks indoors unless they have a valid exemption.

Everyone including students aged 8 years and above must wear a face mask when travelling on public transport, taxis or ride share vehicles.

Dhurringile Primary School continues to support our community by offering free cloth reusable and disposable face masks in adult and child sizes. Masks are available from the Dhurringile School and Community Street Library located at the front of the school.

COVIDSafe measures have changed but important practices will continue to be in place across all Victorian government schools to ensure every possible effort is made to ensure staff and students are safe and that schools remain open.

The COVIDsafe measures focus on the 3Vs: Ventilation, Vaccination, and Vital COVIDSafe steps.

A combination of strategies remains necessary to minimise transmission risk. No single strategy completely reduces risk and not every measure will be possible in all educational settings.

The Victorian Government has announced it is extending the RAT screening program for the first 4 weeks of Term 2. Thank you to all students and families who have played their role in regularly testing – we know that hasn’t been easy.

Your work has seen COVID-19 cases being picked up at the earliest opportunity, meaning less cases in our school and more time in the classroom for our students.

The testing recommendations will remain the same next Term for students and staff with:

• Mainstream schools – recommended to test at home twice a week
• Specialist schools – recommended to test 5 days a week at home due to the higher risk of severe illness for medically vulnerable children.

As we approach winter and flu season, the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 and booster shots for students 16+ remains the best way to ensure protection for students and staff. The Easter break is a good opportunity to get your child vaccinated ahead of this, with many options across GPs, pharmacies and the state run vaccination clinics.

If you have any concerns or worries about getting your child vaccinated, please get in contact with your GP or another health professional who can answer your concerns.

The student COVID test portal is designed to record a student’s positive COVID-19 test result and allows parents or carers to set up an account, add a child to that account then submit their COVID-19 test result into the system.

The portal can be accessed at Student COVID test portal. Further information for families about testing positive can be found at  Checklist for COVID cases.

Vaccination requirements for visitors and volunteers performing work

The third dose vaccination requirements applies to any visitors or volunteers performing work on school sites.

This includes:

• a person contracted to work at an education facility and who will or may be in close proximity to children, students or staff, whether or not engaged by the education operator including casual relief teachers, NDIS providers and auditors (but does not include delivery personnel)
• Department staff who attend an education facility (such as allied health personnel)
• staff of any other entity who attends an education facility
• volunteers that attend an education facility and that work in close proximity to children, students or staff (including parent helpers)
• students on placements at an education facility

Vaccination requirements for other visitors to schools (not performing work)

Parents, carers and other adult visitors are no longer required to show evidence of two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine if not performing work or volunteering at the school.

Greater Shepparton Secondary College has asked us to share this information with you.
If you haven’t had a chance to visit Greater Shepparton Secondary College, scan the QR code and enjoy this virtual tour. Parents and students, particularly Year 6 students intending to go to GSSC, can click on classrooms, the gymnasium, theatrette and a range of other specialist learning areas. The drone footage and school grounds really show off the college’s features and the size of the central courtyard, which is as big as Federation Square. Scan the QR code with your smartphone and for each image, just move your cursor up, down and around to enjoy this “walk-through” of GSSC.