Dear parents and guardians,

The first week of staggered face-to-face learning at Newington has gone a long way to bringing the Stanmore senior campus back to life. While social distancing has not been perfect (it is, after all, a school for teenagers), the boys have adapted quickly to new processes, timetables and activities. The health and safety provisions in our classrooms and common areas have generally been well-adopted and respected.

While we have taken a cautious approach in our first week, the smooth return we have experienced, positive feedback from parents, and extensive conversations with staff and boys mean we will advance the staggered return to school. Boys in Years 8-11 at our Stanmore campus will have additional days on campus from Monday 18 May as follows:

• Year 11 will have three days a week on campus: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
• Year 10 will have two days a week on campus: Thursday and Friday.
• Year 9 will have two days a week on campus: Wednesday and Thursday.
• Year 8 will have two days a week on campus: Wednesday and Friday.

Year 12 will continue to have four days a week on campus: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

Year 7 will continue to have two days a week on campus: Monday and Tuesday.

The siblings of boys scheduled to be on campus are also permitted to come to school on the days their brother attends. Please ask them to sign in with Ms Forgan in the Student Services Office.  Siblings will continue with their remote learning lessons.

Health and safety protocols will remain in place:

• If your son feels unwell, please do not send him to school.
• Please encourage your son to download the COVIDSAFE tracing app. 
• We will take the temperature of all staff and students as they come onto campus.
• Other than dropping off and picking up, parents and visitors are not permitted on campus unless given permission by Mr Roberts, Mr Quinane or Mr Driver, or in an emergency.
• Social distancing will continue as much as is reasonably practical. While the government is saying school students do not need to maintain 1.5m between them, we will still ask our boys to distance where they can.
• Boys should wash their hands with soap frequently and thoroughly and use the sanitiser from stations around the school.
• Boys are permitted to wear masks if they wish.
• Where possible and keeping in mind we are in an assessment period, the emphasis will be on hands-on, practical lessons held outdoors or in larger teaching spaces where possible, and on physical activities. However, some classes will be taught in their usual rooms.
• Recess and lunchtime will be staggered.
• The cafeteria will remain cashless.
• Classrooms and common areas will continue to be cleaned frequently.
• Buses will continue to operate and are being thoroughly cleaned after each run.
• Heads of House have given permission for Year 12s to access their lockers. Boys should not remain in the locker rooms and we ask that only 4 boys are in the space at a time. All other year groups will continue to carry their books in a bag with them.

We will continue to monitor health advice from NSW Health. We understand some students fall into high-risk categories for COVID-19 and where possible staff will zoom their lessons – boys should check Canvas for individual class arrangements.

Physical activity arrangements:

The boys have really appreciated the physical activity program and we plan to continue it into next week at a minimum. We are closely monitoring advice from the Government and sporting bodies regarding team sports, swimming etc and will reintroduce these programs as soon as we can.

One reminder: while we understand some boys might not have been able to get to the barber or pick up their winter uniform in our first week back on campus, it is now time for them to return to the College’s usual standards around dress and appearance. Details are available here. We expect all boys to be in the correct uniform, clean-shaven with appropriate haircuts from Monday 18 May. If boys have PE or Sport on a given day, they are permitted to attend school in their PE uniform, which does not include hoodies.

We look forward to a time – hopefully in the not-too-distant future – when Newington is fully operational. We are working towards that date being the 25 May but will make this decision next Wednesday and let families know as soon as we can. Until then, I would like to thank our boys for the optimistic, respectful approach they have taken to returning to school. It’s great to have them back.