Return to full time face-to-face learning

I feel there was a collective sigh of relief from parents and school staff when the Premier announced schools would return to full face-to-face learning from Monday 25 May.  Here at school, our collective sigh was a little longer as we waited until we had official confirmation and advice from our employer, the Department of Education. 

So, it is true that The Jannali High School will be open for full time face-to-face learning from next Monday, 25 May.  We will be returning to our normal structure of the school day with all students following their timetabled WEEK B lessons with their class teacher.  This includes Period Zero classes and off-line classes for senior students.  All students are expected to return to school wearing their correct and full school uniform.

Despite this return to school there are still a number of guidelines and restrictions that continue to be in place to ensure the health and safety of all school staff and students.

All school activities and operations will be in line with Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and NSW Health guidelines as applicable. School students do not need to follow physical distancing guidelines, but should follow good hygiene practices like:

• Regularly washing hands
• Avoiding sharing drinks or food
• Coughing or sneezing into your elbow, or a tissue which should be discarded immediately.

School attendance

All students should be at school unless:

• They have a medical certificate which states that they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition. We ask that parents contact with the school and provide a copy of relevant medical documentation.  Arrangements will be made through our Student Wellbeing Team to liaise with faculties and ensure the student’s learning is supported while they are at home. Please note, students who live with a family member in one of the categories identified as being at increased risk by the AHPPC, should attend school unless a medical practitioner advises otherwise in writing.
• They are currently unwell. If your child is unwell, do not send them to school. If they are unwell at school you or your nominated emergency contact will need to collect them immediately. Please make sure your contact details are up to date. If a student is absent without a medical reason for more than three days, this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and followed up by the school. If you need any support to get your child back to school, please contact the school.

Reporting and assessment

Your child has been assessed throughout Term 1 and during the learning from home period. They will receive additional formative assessments on their return to school.

Our school is adhering to the Semester 1 Report calendar and timeline, so that parents and students are provided with meaningful progress on their learning to date.  The Years 11 and 12 Semester 1 Report format is unchanged from previous years, however, the Years 7-10 Semester 1 Report has been modified.  These reports will not have marks or grades appearing on them but instead will have a rating scale of Achieved Outcome, Working Towards Outcome and Not Achieved Outcome for each of the listed course outcomes in each subject.  This rating will consist of formal assessments from Term 1, the quality of work submitted through Google Classrooms and teacher observations.  The Learning Profiles section will remain and have an additional profile reflecting student engagement with learning from home.  As always, there will be a formative teacher comment on the report.

School activities

Teachers will continue to follow the same school curriculum with the exception of some activities that can’t go ahead for now.

What students can do @ TJHS:

• Use the school library
• Engage in non-contact sporting activities.  The PDHPE Program may need to be modified to ensure students can meet course requirements while adhering to this advice.  Our Sports Organisers are exploring a modified Sports Day that maximises student engagement in physical activity which supports large numbers of students where we have limited space.
• VET work placement for Year 12 students is able to proceed from 1 June 2020. Year 10 and 11 work-placement is able to proceed from Term 3 2020.
• School based apprenticeships and traineeships can recommence once the relevant workplaces are back in operation

What students can’t do @ TJHS:

• Attend school assemblies (unless needed to pass on critical information).
• Attend school incursions and excursions, including camps.
• Attend work experience.
• Participate in inter-school activities (debating, inter-school sport).
• Be part of school activities requiring parents or other volunteers.
• Drink from a water bubbler. Students need to bring their own water bottle instead.
• Attend TAFE for study. They may continue to learn online. 

Our Dance and Drama Ensembles will not re-commence until further notice, however, our School Band will re-commence rehearsals.  Days and times for Band rehearsals will be communicated to families.

School cleaning and hygiene supplies

Our school is currently receiving additional cleaning in line with the AHPPC guidelines and advice from NSW Health. Targeted areas include high-touch areas and other hard surfaces, door handles, lockers, light switches and handrails in stairways and movement areas. There will also be additional cleaning of toilets and bubblers and topping up of supplies like soap throughout each day. Students are asked to observe strict personal hygiene behaviours at all times and may be asked to wipe their desks with sanitiser wipes provided to them.  There are many signs around the school reminding students of these hygiene protocols.

School grounds

Schools have been advised that there should be no visitors to school sites unless they are essential. Parents are asked to phone the school on 9521 2805 or email to Jannali-h.schools@det.nsw.edu.au  if they have any questions or concerns regarding their child’s learning.  Parents will be contacted by the relevant Deputy Principal if a meeting is required.

Our scheduled Parent Teacher Interviews and Subject Selection Information Evenings will not be going ahead in their usual formats. Parents can contact their child’s classroom teacher regarding the Semester 1 Report by phoning the school.  We are exploring alternatives to these parent evenings and will communicate these to families as soon as possible.

The school canteen will re-open from Monday 25 May and our uniform shop will continue to take orders by phone or email and parents can pick orders up from our administration office.

2020 HSC

It is important that Year 12 students and their parents stay up to date with latest information and advice from NESA - NESA News. The 2020 HSC Exam Timetable has been published.  We have confirmation that written exams will now commence on Tuesday, 20 October 2020.

Thank you once again to all of our parents for your patience, understanding and support over the past two months of working and learning from home.  We are all extremely excited to see our students back at school full-time.