A would like to remind our Inaburra Community that school is not a place for sick children.
With the world focused on the Coronavirus, and where to get their supply of Kleenex toilet paper, I wanted to remind everyone that the best way for our community to avoid sickness is for sick children to stay at home.
I know in a busy world, it is often tempting to send children to school who are a little under the weather. There are always essential assessments, excursions and co-curricular activities. I also know as a parent it is hard to take a day off to look after sick children. While we have fantastic classroom facilities, students are often in close proximity to each other. Sending your child to school may make a number of other children sick, resulting in the same challenges for many other families. Each afternoon I help students get onto buses, and I know there isn’t enough spare space to isolate sick children.
Our sickbays in both the Junior and Senior Schools are shared rooms. When a child is there for a sprained ankle, they are sharing the space with other students who may have a variety of illnesses. This is why our Sickbay rooms can only hold children for a short period of time. While it can be challenging for parents, sick children need to go home as soon as possible. This often requires Grandparents or friends of the family to pick up the child when parents are working.
No one can predict what will happen with the Coronavirus over the next couple of months. As we approach winter, and the inevitable cold and flu season, the principle of keeping sick children at home will keep our community a healthier one. As a school leadership team we are actively planning in case Coronavirus impacts our community. The Independent School sector is actively collaborating to develop protocols in case we need to have a partial or complete school shutdown. While there are challenges ahead, I know that Inaburra School community will rise to meet them as we work together.
Mr David Collins
Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School