Towards the end of Term 2, parents were given the opportunity to grant permission for their son/daughter to be dismissed early from the College on any given day should we be informed of a positive case of COVID19 among an immediate member of our College community. While this pre-approval is not compulsory, we understand that there are many parents whose preference would be to have their son or daughter make their own way home at the earliest opportunity. In the event that a positive case is identified, supervision will certainly be provided for all students who remain on site that day. Should you wish to grant this permission for an earlier departure, please visit the attached link in Compass in order to do so. These responses will remain valid until the end of the current school year unless you were to advise the College in writing prior in order to revoke this permission. 

I also take the opportunity to thank those families who are assisting the College in keeping our community safe by ensuring that students that show even the slightest of symptoms are being kept home. As was the case last term, we ask that if your child is being tested for COVID19, that you inform the College as soon as possible once the test has been taken. Once the result is known, we ask that you forward the College a copy of the result so that this information can also be recorded. In accordance with CEO guidelines, please be aware that if any student arrives at school with flu-like symptoms, they will be isolated and a parent will be contacted and requested to collect them immediately. In these instances, a CEO Medical Clearance form will also be given to the student which will need to be completed by a GP prior to their return to the College. Please note that any return to the College following an illness requires a medical/GP clearance and not necessarily a negative COVID19 test. It would be expected that if a GP believed a COVID19 test was necessary, then that would be requested prior to them giving clearance. 

While these new processes may at times lead to an inconvenience to our regular routines, I thank all students, staff and parents for their concerted efforts in adhering to them in order to ensure that we are doing all we can to maintain a safe environment here at Mount Carmel.