March 18^th, 2020
 
Dear Community members,
 
Braybrook College is closely monitoring the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease) situation and is receiving regular updates from the Department of Education and Training (DET) and Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

The school leadership team met yesterday afternoon to ensure that we are well positioned to deal with any new updates as they arise. We are primarily committed to ensuring all staff and students remain focused on teaching and learning in a safe and orderly environment.  We understand our role in both protecting the health of our students and staff and in supporting broader efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.  
 
Key information for Braybrook College: 
Precautionary measures made by the Commonwealth’s Chief Medical Officer and Victoria’s Chief Health Officer remain in place to manage and mitigate the risks of COVID-19.  The Department is aware that, in some schools, news coverage has led to high rates of absenteeism and strong responses from parents. However, the recommendation remains stable: all students should be attending school, unless this is counter to the advice issued by the Commonwealth’s Chief Medical Officer and Victoria’s Chief Health Officer.
 
Statement on school closures in Victoria from the Chief Health Officer
Statement on school closures in Victoria from the Chief Health Officer


To date we have not had any confirmed COVID-19 cases at Braybrook College. However, if a staff member or student is in one of the categories listed below, we will immediately contact the DET and DHHS as per the guidelines. 
Categories for contacting DET and DHHS are: 

• The person is a confirmed case of COVID-19 
• The person is a close contact of a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the past 14 days 
• ‘Close contact’ is defined by DHHS as someone who has spent 15 minutes of face-to-face contact with a confirmed case or shared a close space with someone for more than two hours with a confirmed case 

School closures will only be made on the recommendation of Victoria’s Chief Health Officer. Once this occurs, DHHS will inform the DET, and the two organisations will work with the school to implement the closure.  This will include support to communicate advice and instructions to students, staff and the community.  In such an event, I will provide our staff and families with timely notification and advice.  Currently, as no staff member or student is known to be in one of the two categories described above, no further action is required
  
Is your child unwell? Students with symptoms such as a fever (temperature above 38⁰C, cough, sore throat or congestion), should not come to school, and stay home until symptoms have subsided for at least 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing or cough-suppressing medication)
 
In the event of a school closure, our Teaching and Learning teams, together with our Technologies team are currently working together to ensure the provision of learning continuity for all students. This provision may include remote/online learning, the provision of learning materials in hard copy, learning resources that are made available on Compass, the use of the Google suite of resources and even communicating with students via video conferencing

Good hygiene practices are the most effective means of minimising the spread of COVID-19, and we will continue to encourage these practices and review our efforts daily.‘Maintaining Good hygiene’ posters have been posted around the school to encourage practices such as coughing and sneezing into elbows, and disposing of tissues, then washing hands 
 
Commencing today, we will employ three extra cleaners to work from the beginning of lunch until the end of the day to assist with wiping down tables, door handles and other surfaces with disinfectant and to ensure all bathrooms have soap, paper towels etc.  I have also contacted our cleaning supply company to order alcohol-based hand sanitiser pump packs for the school which we expect to arrive tomorrow
 
As mentioned in my previous communication, due to the cancelling of Parent Teacher Interviews, Tuesday 24^th March is a normal school day 
 
The Sleepover for 7A, 7B, 7C and 7D has been postponed to a future date, yet to be decided
 
All camps, excursions and external sporting events including interschool sports have been cancelled
 
Community Action placements in community organisations have also been cancelled
 
If your child becomes worried or anxious about COVID-19, please reassure them that we are well-placed to support them and notify the relevant Year Level Team
 
I have attached a ‘Self-assessment’ information sheet for your information and convenience
 
Comprehensive information is available on the following websites:
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/coronavirus.aspx
 
https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/novelcoronavirus
 
And finally.. information about talking to your child about COVID-19 can be found via this link:
https://theconversation.com/8-tips-on-what-to-tell-your-kids-about-coronavirus-133346
 
Thank you for your support during this time of changing circumstances and please do not hesitate to contact the school, if need be. 
 
Regards,
 
Kelly Panousieris
Principal