Covid restraints led to a quiet start to the school year this week with Year 11 and 12 attending classes online at home and only a small number of students, the children of essential workers, attending in person, but teachers are looking forward to going back to school next week.
At Good Shepherd Lutheran College there were just 35 of 1400 students at school this week with the rest to return under the State Government’s Covid mandate next week.
A college spokeswoman said students would be attending classes as normal but there would be a few changes to the routine.
There won’t be any large gatherings, school assemblies will be conducted online and a few school camps and swimming carnivals planned for the first weeks would be shifted to later in the year.
High school students will be required to wear masks and the decision on Year 3-6 students wearing masks would be left up to parents, she said.
“I think the biggest challenge will be managing students and staff away in isolation or with Covid,“ she said.
“If a student contracts Covid they will need to isolate for seven days, not the whole class.
“I think (the government plan) is quite clear. It’s not having too much impact on schools.”
After an extended holiday students were excited to return to school, she said.
“They’re all quite keen to come back after a long holiday and see all their friends again,“ she said.
The spokeswoman said a few teachers had contracted Covid during the holidays but there were no great concerns expressed by staff over the return to school and, as people shared their experiences of the illness, she expected any concerns to be alleviated.
The situation is much the same at St Teresa’s Catholic College at Noosaville with plans in place and the school confident of the year ahead.
“We’ve been through it a couple of times. Everyone knows the drill,“ a spokeswoman said.
“Let’s get back into it, let’s see what happens.“
The spokeswoman said Covid had changed the situation and the outcome was unknown but they were all looking forward to pressing ahead with students back on campus.
“You can prepare as much as you can, then you have to take one step at a time,“ she said.
