Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

 Re: Face coverings

 The Hon. Daniel Andrews MP, Premier of Victoria, has announced that from 11.59 pm on Sunday 2^nd August 2020, face coverings will be mandatory for all Victorians when they leave their home.

 The use of face coverings, including cloth face coverings or surgical masks, will assist in providing an additional physical barrier between people and to help reduce community transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) across all of Victoria.

 All staff at St Mary’s will be required to wear face coverings when at school to protect the health and safety of all students, staff and the wider school community. However, there will be some limited exceptions when face covering will not be required to be used by Teaching staff and Learning Support staff, as follows:

 Teaching staff will not be required to wear a face covering when teaching and providing direct support to students in the classroom, but will wear a face covering at all other times, including whilst undertaking yard duty.

 Learning Support staff providing direct instructions and support to students in the classroom may remove their face covering if it is not practical to wear one.

 In accordance with requirements from the Victorian Government, primary school students are not required to wear a face covering irrespective of the students age. However, individual families can make their own decisions regarding their children wearing a face covering whilst attending primary school.

 Parents, guardians and carers are encouraged to inform their child(ren) that school staff will be using face coverings and reinforce with their child(ren) the need to keep 1.5 metres apart from other people, to wash and dry hands thoroughly and regularly, and cough and sneeze into a tissue or their elbow.

Parents, guardians and carers will also be required to wear a face covering when dropping off or picking up their child(ren) or if required to collect an unwell child(ren) from the school.

If you require clarification in relation to the use of face coverings at school or additional support, please contact Heather or myself on 51825659.

Yours sincerely

Joel Brayshaw