Last updated Thursday 26 March 2020
A message to the Marden Senior College Community from our principal here.
Marden Senior College remains open in line with directions from the Australian government. This situation will change should a confirmed case of COVID-19 be identified in a staff member or student. In this scenario the site will be contacted by SA Health and following their advice, and under the direction of the Department of Education, the site will be closed for a minimum of 24 hours. Students and parents will be informed immediately by email, SMS and announcement at the site.
The South Australian government has announced that Week 11 (the four days before Easter from 6 to 9 April 2020) will be 4 pupil free days to support our transition to flexible teaching and learning ready for term 2. Details here. Subject teachers will be providing information to students about continuity of learning in their specific subject/course.
Key aspects of current advice (see details below):
- Marden specific advice
- Hygiene standards
- Social distancing
- Self-isolation and staying at home
- Stay home if you’re sick
Marden specific advice – Students attending a VET or SACE program at from a different home school
Marden has a large number of students attend our classes from many different government, Catholic and Independent schools as their home school. Understandably, a number of parents and schools are seeking clarification whether classes at Marden are continuing. The answer is ‘Yes, the school remains open and hence classes will continue until the situation changes’. It is all about risk management and this position is in line with the current advice from SA Health. Similarly, if a student’s home school is closed as part of COVID-19 risk management then we ask that these students do not attend classes at Marden Senior College.
We request that parents/students/schools inform our college if a student is not attending classes at Marden Senior College.
Hygiene standards
Personal hygiene and the hygiene standards in our schools and preschools are critical to reducing the risk of infection.
All students and staff must be encouraged to:
- wash their hands regularly, particularly after using the toilet and before eating
- avoid spreading infections to others by staying home if they are unwell
- cover a cough or sneeze with a tissue.
Social distancing
As a precautionary measure, all preschools and schools will adopt practical social distancing measures, including cancelling or postponing the below until further notice:
- school assemblies (non-essential)
- concerts (with audiences)
- fetes and fairs
- school formals, socials and discos
- presentation nights and open days.
This is based on the most recent advice from SA Health that limiting occasions on which a number of people come together and are in close proximity to one another in a static environment lowers the chance of spreading the virus.
Self-isolation and staying at home
In-line with Commonwealth advice, you are required to self-isolate for a period of 14 days if:
- you have been diagnosed with COVID-19
- you have had close contact with a person with COVID-19 in the last 14 days
- you have arrived from overseas travel from any country (as of midnight Sunday 15 March 2020).
Stay home if you’re sick
It’s important that students who are unwell stay at home and recover to avoid the spread of winter illnesses (not just COVID-19). Now is not the time to soldier on.
If a student becomes unwell with flu-like symptoms while at school, their parents/carers will be contacted immediately, and infection control practices will be enacted.