At the College assembly this morning, I spoke to all students about the drop-off and pick-up procedures of an afternoon. Specifically, I focused on the large numbers of students who arrive each morning and depart of an afternoon within two relatively short periods of time. As the signage near the front gates indicate, parents are asked to not enter the turning circle between the hours of 8am and 9am each morning and 3pm and 4pm of an afternoon. This is purely as a safety precaution whilst foot traffic arriving at the College is at its greatest. Parents dropping off are asked to pull into a parking space in the parent carpark before collecting or dropping off their children. I thank you for your support with regards to this safety priority.

A final reminder that the Term 3 Staff Development Day will take place this coming Friday 26 August. Staff will be focusing on opportunities to further develop our approach to pastoral care and wellbeing through a series of workshops and presentations. I thank the parents and carers within our community for the alternative supervision arrangements that are needed in order to allow staff to participate in such opportunities.

You may have noticed on our College Compass Calendar that this coming Wednesday has been scheduled to run in accordance with our Friday B timetable. This is to compensate for the number of Fridays that are lost throughout the year due to major College events, public holidays, and carnivals. Students have been asked to come to school on Wednesday prepared for classes according to a “Friday B” timetable.

Earlier this year, we were required to postpone the Year 10 Meningococcal Vaccinations to Tuesday 30 August. As this date is now approaching, I remind parents that if your child hasn’t returned their consent form, they may do so at anypoint prior to this date. There will also be an opportunity for students in Year 11 who require a catch up from last year to be vaccinated on this day.

Earlier this week, students in Year 11 were issued with their latest supply of RAT kits. Students are encouraged to use these if they are experiencing any flu-like symptoms or if they are in the same household as a positive COVID case.

Finally this week, I remind everyone of our COVID-safe reporting measures for Term 3. These stipulate that whilst household close contacts who have no symptoms may continue to attend school, they must adhere to the following requirements:

• The school is notified that they are intending to return as a close household contact
• They must wear a mask indoors except when eating or exercising
• Once positive cases have completed their 7-day isolation period, they should wear a mask for an additional 3 days (for days 8 to 10)

Please note that students who test positive for COVID-19, or who are unwell or showing COVID-19 symptoms, must continue to isolate at home.

All the best for the week ahead,