Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Whilst restrictions are slowly becoming a thing of the past, schools are still required to respond in some areas. Schools have been asked to communicate the following;

RAHT TESTING
As part of the NSW Government’s focus on prioritising face-to-face learning in schools, the NSW Government through the NSW Department of Education provided Rapid Antigen Home Test (RAHT) Kits to all schools in NSW to be used for surveillance testing by staff and students as well as incident response for the first 4 weeks of Term 1, 2022.

On 19 February, the NSW Premier and Minister for Education announced a move from surveillance testing in schools conducted for the first 4 weeks of Term 1, 2022 to the provision of 8 additional tests RAHT kits to students and staff members to be used at their discretion for the remainder of Term 1. This change aligns schools with the community setting of ‘symptomatic testing’. Beyond that, symptomatic students and staff should continue to access PCR tests and store-purchased RAHTs.

Students will be given a bundle of 5 RAHT kits this week with a further 3 at a later date to be used at your discretion.

MASKS
On Wednesday, 23 February 2022, the Premier announced changes to the requirements for masks in schools:

• from Monday, 28 February, masks will no longer be mandatory for staff or students in Secondary schools/classes
• from Monday, 7 March, masks will no longer be mandatory for staff in Primary schools/classes. This staggered change recognises the lower vaccination rates in Primary school aged students

MASKS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Masks continue to be mandatory on public transport. This applies to students aged 12 years and older, and staff when travelling to and from school and during school excursions by public transport or by chartered or private transport services.

Thank you for responding to these requirements and like you, I long for the day where restrictions are a distant memory. Please continue to pray for the health and safety of our community.

Yours sincerely 

_________________________

Sharon Sopher
Principal
Belmont Christian College