Update from the Principal, 10 August 2021

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Good morning parents & caregivers,

I would like to thank you for your cooperation and flexibility over the past week or so as we have navigated a changing environment in regard to COVID-19 restrictions in our neighbouring communities. I understand as a bordering city to the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane, at times these restrictions can be confusing. I am proud of the way we have collectively handled the latest raft of restrictions and can assure parents that students and staff are being reminded of the need to practice good hygiene, wear masks (if necessary) and socially distance whilst on site. It is in all our best interests to keep everyone safe and healthy.

I’d also like to thank parents and caregivers for not visiting our office unnecessarily and encourage you to continue to do so. Our Administration Staff are always happy to help over the phone.

Sadly, the ongoing restrictions have forced the cancellation of some of our usual community pursuits, such as:

District Sports Carnival
Fraser Coast Interschool Equestrian Competition
NAPLAN practice scheduled for this week (Week 5).

We are fortunate that the Gympie Eisteddfod did manage to go ahead last week and we had some exciting results for our School. The James Nash students from the Academy of Instrumental Music excelled; with the Concert Band and Stage Band both taking out first place section honours. The JNSHS Large String Ensemble took out 1st place (91 points) and the Aria Small String Ensemble also placed first 1st (84 points). The Vocal Group also took out first place in the Choral Sacred Section with a score of 96 points, and some well-deserved praise for a very accomplished performance.

This is an amazing showcase of the young talent at our school and a credit to our instrumental music staff who are so dedicated to their craft. The feedback provided to me was that students showed great resilience and creativity to fill in for peers who were in lockdown at the time and could not attend. Well done students!

In closing, it is timely to remind parents of the need for some students to wear masks for the coming weeks. We know that wearing masks makes an enormous difference to controlling the spread of the Delta strain and has contributed to enabling the lockdown lift in South East Queensland.

The current advice is:

For the 11 South East Queensland LGAs, you must wear a mask if you –

are in an impacted area, or
have been in an impacted area at any time since 1am AEST 29 June, unless 14 days have passed since you were there; or
reside in the same household as a person who has been in an impacted area at any time from 1am AEST 31 July 2021 until 14 days have passed since those people were in the locked down area (whichever is shorter).

Further information about wearing masks including when they must be worn can be found on the Queensland Health website. I encourage students who fit this category to visit student services if they do not have a mask, or alternatively, contact their HOD if they are exempt from wearing a mask due to medical reasons. Staff affected by this guideline will also continue to wear a mask on-site.

I’d encourage parents to continue to stay in touch with the School via our Facebook page, website and their personal emails – any urgent communication will be sent directly to parents via the DayMap platform to your email address.

As we move into the second half of the year, so does our planning for end of year events such as Awards Night, Graduation and Leadership Camp, all of which we are hoping can proceed in a COVID-safe manner. More details about these events will be released in due course.

Keep safe,
Jackson Dodd
Principal
James Nash SHS

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