Executive Director’s Update to Principals #37 - 12 September 2024

St James' Sebastopol - Principal announcement

A review of the leadership structure at St James’ Parish School, Sebastopol, after a period of co-principalship, most recently with Garth Kydd and Peter Fahey filling this role, and activated by Peter’s retirement, has determined that St James will be best served by a model of sole principalship.

I am pleased to advise that Garth Kydd will continue as principal of the school beyond this year.

The letter sent advising the St James' community of this decision is available below.

Preventing and managing whooping cough + school newsletter materials

Please see below information provided by the Department of Education to assist schools to effectively manage whooping cough, including inserts for school newsletters (Primary and Secondary).

Preventing and managing whooping cough

Whooping cough (also known as pertussis) cases are continuing to increase across Victoria, particularly among school-aged children.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory infection, mostly spread through coughing or sneezing. Symptoms include:

• blocked or runny nose
• tiredness
• mild fever
• severe bouts of coughing, often followed by a ‘whooping’ sound on breathing.

Whooping cough can lead to life threatening infections in babies.

Actions for schools  

Preventing the spread of whooping cough

1. Please communicate with your school community about whooping cough and how to prevent it spreading. Template newsletter text is available below to help you share information with parents and carers through your school communication channels.
2. Vaccination is the best way to reduce the risk of whooping cough. The Department of Health recommends staff and students stay up to date with their vaccinations, including booster doses. A free booster dose of the pertussis vaccine is covered under the national immunisation program for students aged 12 to 13.
3. Please also encourage students and staff to practice good hand hygiene, cover their cough and dispose of tissues in a bin.

Managing whooping cough at schools

1. Primary schools must not allow a child with whooping cough to attend the school for 21 days after the onset of a cough or until they have completed 5 days of a course of antibiotic treatment.  
2. Contacts aged younger than 7 years who are in the same classroom as a confirmed whooping cough case, and who have not received 3 doses of pertussis vaccine, should also be excluded for 14 days from after they were last exposed to a person diagnosed with whooping cough, or until they have completed 5 days of a course of antibiotic treatment. These requirements are in accordance with the Department of Health’s School Exclusion table.  
3. Secondary schools are not bound by the same exclusion requirements as primary schools but are encouraged to follow the same guidance to ensure students’ safety. 
4. Staff do not have to be excluded from school. However, staff who are feeling unwell are encouraged to stay home and recover and seek medical advice.

For more information, refer to:  

• Better Health Channel, for information about whooping cough symptoms, prevention and Victorian eligibility for free booster immunisations
• Increasing pertussis (whooping cough) cases in Victoria

• Local Public Health Units.

School newsletter text about whooping cough

Please share this text with your school community to let them know about whooping cough.

Whooping cough – newsletter insert for primary school parents

The incidence of Whooping cough cases is continuing to increase across Victoria, particularly among school-aged children.

Whooping cough is a very contagious infection, mostly spread through coughing or sneezing. 

Symptoms include:

• blocked or runny nose
• tiredness
• mild fever
• severe bouts of coughing, often followed by a ‘whooping’ sound on breathing.

Whooping cough can lead to life-threatening infections in babies.

If your child is unwell, they should not attend school. Please see a doctor if you or your child develops whooping cough symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment will help reduce the spread of the infection.

Students diagnosed with whooping cough must not attend school

If your child is diagnosed with whooping cough, they must not attend school for 21 days after the onset of the cough, or until they have received 5 days of antibiotic treatment.

You must notify the school if your child is diagnosed with whooping cough.

To further reduce the spread of infection to your child and the school community, the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2019 require that some students who were in the same classroom as a student diagnosed with whooping cough should not attend school.

Your child should not attend school for 14 days after they were last exposed to a person diagnosed with whooping cough, or until they have taken 5 days of a course of antibiotic treatment if they are:

• aged less than 7 years; and
• not fully vaccinated with 3 doses of whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine.

This exclusion is required by law – refer to the School exclusion table for primary schools and children’s services.

If your child is diagnosed with whooping cough, please contact the school to let us know.

Your support in keeping our students safe and well is greatly appreciated.

For more information about whooping cough, refer to Whooping cough on the Better Health Channel.

Vaccination is the best way to reduce the risk of whooping cough. The Department of Health recommends staying up to date with immunisations, including booster doses. A free booster dose of the pertussis vaccine is covered under the national immunisation program for students aged 12 to 13. If you are unsure about your child’s vaccination status for whooping cough, please discuss with an immunisation provider, such as your doctor.

Whooping cough – newsletter insert for secondary school parents

The incidence of Whooping cough cases is continuing to increase across Victoria, particularly among school-aged children.

Whooping cough is a very contagious infection, mostly spread through coughing or sneezing. 

Symptoms include:

• blocked or runny nose
• tiredness
• mild fever
• severe bouts of coughing, often followed by a ‘whooping’ sound on breathing.

Whooping cough can lead to life-threatening infections in babies.

If your child is unwell, they should not attend school. Please see a doctor if you or your child develops whooping cough symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment will help reduce the spread of the infection.

To reduce the spread of infection and to protect others within the school community, students diagnosed with whooping cough are recommended not to attend school for 21 days after their cough was first present, or until they have taken a full course of antibiotics prescribed by a doctor (usually a 5-day course).

If your child is diagnosed with whooping cough, please contact the school to let us know.

I hope we can work together to protect the whole school community by following the recommended advice.

For more information about whooping cough, refer to Whooping cough on the Better Health Channel.

Vaccination is the best way to reduce the risk of whooping cough. The Department of Health recommends staying up to date with immunisations, including booster doses. A free booster dose of the pertussis vaccine is covered under the national immunisation program for students aged 12 to 13. If you are unsure about your child’s vaccination status for whooping cough, please discuss with an immunisation provider, such as your doctor.

Week 8 DLG (VC) update materials

The link to the recording of the Week 8 DLG (VC) and the PowerPoint from Paul Jans’ briefing on Nexus have been uploaded to the Google Diocesan Principal’s folder.

For those principals who did not attend the VC, please ensure that you view the recording with the Nexus update for this important information for your schools.

REMINDER: 2024 ACU Australian School Leader Occupational Health & Wellbeing Survey

Principals and Deputy Principals are strongly encouraged to participate in this survey of leaders health and wellbeing.

We will be receiving a report on the Victorian Catholic sector findings, in addition to our own diocese, subject to having enough participants. While the survey is completely anonymous, clearly the more localised the aggregated information we can receive, the more useful it will be. 

 The flyer below provides more detailed information and link to participate. 

REMINDER: National Catholic Schools Parent Survey

Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) is seeking your support to promote participation in a national survey of parents in Catholic schools.

The survey invites parents to share their views on existing and emerging affirmations and/or challenges in relation to their child/children’s wellbeing and learning.

It is anonymous, confidential, and completely voluntary and designed to assist the CSPA and the Catholic sector  to develop action and advocacy priorities/objectives.

I encourage you to publish the school newsletter insert and link below in your school newsletter.  

Principal vacancies

Principal - Our Lady Help of Christian's School, Wendouree (closes 4th October)

Principal- Sacred Heart, Colac (closes 29 September)