To our Sacred Heart Community
Welcome to 2022
Tomorrow marks the commencement of teaching and learning at the College. In keeping with all things COVID it is not the start we were anticipating thanks to the Omicron variant!
Years 7, 8 and 12 will be on campus and Years 9, 10 and 11 will be online with Hearts@Home. Our teachers will be juggling the demands of this whilst some of our Boarders, mostly Year 12, have returned amidst the stringent guidelines placed on Boarding Houses.
Regardless, with hope and audacity we face the current challenges and those ahead in the knowledge and with confidence that we have worked our way successfully through such things before!
Positive Cases & Classroom Contacts
Under the current framework, the school is required to essentially assume the role of contact tracers. We are committed to doing this in a timely manner and so to assist with this:
- If your child receives a positive COVID result (whether by a RAT test or a PCR test) during school hours, we ask that you please phone the College on 8350 2500. Please do not phone the absentee line or SMS. It will be important for our staff to ask some questions such as when your child first had symptoms and when you received the positive result. This will help us determine which families need to be contacted.
- If you receive the result over a weekend, please email Principal@shc.sa.edu.au.
- If you receive the result at a weeknight, please phone at 8:00am the following morning.
Following receipt of this information, we will determine which classes the infected student has been in and communicate with those families via email. Specific student names will not be released, just that your child has shared a classroom with someone who has later tested positive.
Essentially, it will be a “watch and monitor” situation; there is no need for quarantine or isolation under SA Health guidelines. Our communication we send in this instance will have very detailed advice and instructions.
Key Changes for Weeks 1 – 4
Our students’ safety and staff’s wellbeing are paramount. In order to conduct the school as safely as we can a number of changes have been advised by SA Health and the following will be implemented:
| Events | Large gatherings such as Assemblies, including the Laureate Assembly and the traditional ‘Opening Mass’ have been postponed. |
| Choirs & Instrumental Tuition | On hold until Week 5. |
| Sport | Intraschool sports training can occur but not interschool sport until at least Week 5. |
| Camps | Year 7 Camp has been rescheduled to Week 8, Term 2. |
| Excursions | On hold until Week 5. |
| Visitors on Campus | Parents/Caregivers to remain off-site (Drop and Go) or call ahead for unusual pickups or drop offs. |
| Masks | Masks must be worn by students and staff whilst indoors unless they have a medical exemption. |
A Message from Dr Neil McGoran, Director of Catholic Education South Australia
Welcome to 2022 from Dr Neil McGoran
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In this our 125th Year, our Quasquicentennial, we look back in admiration and gratitude, and we look forward in hope and expectation!
Steve Byrne
Principal
