COVID UPDATES

Monday, 16 August 2021 (latest)

The following notes have been extracted from the Community Update, if you did not receive the communication please email the College Office to confirm your email address.

 Dear Parents/Carers 

Thank you for your patience as we navigate these changing times. The College is pleased to advise that all onsite Cocurricular activities including Choral and Band rehearsals, CAPA Dance and all Sparks, Flames & Explosions programs will recommence from tomorrow, Tuesday 17 August 2021. 

During our Sparks, Flames and Explosions programs parents are kindly asked to stay in their cars until 4pm. Pick up entry will be located at the Prep deck and we are asking for one parent to pick up per family. Parents are reminded to sign in using the QR code on arrival and please note that all students must be signed out with the convenor. Staff will be present and signage visible to ensure pick up procedures run smoothly. If your child is going to be absent from a Sparks, Flames and Explosions activity please email jlcsport@hillcrest.qld.edu.au. 

We thank you for your patience as we implement these new guidelines and adjustments. 

Blessings

Jeff Davis

Executive Head of College

Sunday, 15 August 2021

The following notes have been extracted from the Community Update, if you did not receive the communication please email the College Office to confirm your email address.

Dear Parent/Carers,

The Executive Team have been working throughout the last 24 hours, since the announcement that NSW has entered into lockdown, to determine the best way of managing the Hillcrest teaching and learning platform in the coming week. 

I am pleased to inform the community that for those students who live in Queensland there will be very few changes and most students will not be affected in the quality of their learning experiences. Alternative high-quality arrangements have also been made to ensure those students in NSW are also able to continue their learning with quality Learning at Home options. The decisions that have been made so far all align with the Queensland Government and Health authority guidelines and include; 

• Hillcrest Christian College will continue to operate as normal throughout the coming week 
• All classes on the campus will continue as normal in every year level 
• Year 12 classes and exams have been prioritised and will continue as scheduled for the entire week as many final assessments are due this coming week prior to the start of Mock Exams 
• Sporting activities, excluding Sparks and Flames, will be allowed where these activities are played on site, and against Hillcrest students only 
• Sparks and Flames will not resume sporting options this week 
• Band and Choral rehearsals will be held as normal this week 
• All Excursions for the week ahead have been cancelled, except if you are directly notified otherwise 
• All incursions have been cancelled, except the Year 5 “Real Talk” presentation which will be held in a Covid safe environment 
• As previously indicated, the Gold Coast Eisteddfod competitions scheduled for this week have been cancelled 
• Students in Years 7-12 are expected to wear masks at all times except when they are seated and eating 
• All staff will continue to wear masks throughout each school day 
• There are a small number of staff and students who reside in NSW who will be unable to attend the Hillcrest campus this week. The affected staff have all been briefed on how they can continue to work from home while unable to attend the College campus. This includes a very small number of teachers. Arrangements have been made to resolve their teaching component at school for the week ahead. The Executive Team have developed some proactive approaches to this situation and do not believe that students will be adversely affected with the ideas that will be implemented over the next 48 hours. Students who are also unable to attend the Hillcrest campus will be provided with Learning at Home experiences that will be explained to these families and students directly. 

All NSW lockdown affected families will receive a Zoom meeting link shortly inviting them to join with the College Executive at 4pm this afternoon to discuss the plans that will be implemented and to resolve any issues forthcoming from these changes. 

I would like to once again thank the Hillcrest Christian College community for your continued support and understanding. Situations such as these are almost impossible to predict, and we are trying to develop ways of ensuring that every student is given the best possible learning experience on a daily basis. We believe that we have resolved the issues that we have identified, however, should you feel there are others we need to consider, please contact the College directly. 

Blessings

Jeff Davis

Executive Head of College

Saturday, 14 August 2021

The following notes have been extracted from the Community Update, if you did not receive the communication please email the College Office to confirm your email address.

Dear Parent/Carer,

This afternoon the NSW Government announced that the whole state has been placed in an immediate 7-day lockdown. As part of this lockdown, all NSW schools have been closed and leaving home to attend education is no longer a valid reason to leave home. We are expecting the Queensland Government to make a further announcement later on this issue.

As such, all staff and students who reside in NSW will not be able to physically attend school at Hillcrest during this lockdown. This affects around 14 staff members and almost 50 students. For all QLD residents school will continue to operate as normal in line with QLD Government guidelines.

The College Executive Team have been meeting today and will continue to do so tomorrow to define and then implement solutions to this situation. We remain confident that by midday tomorrow we will have a comprehensive teaching and learning at home solution for all NSW staff and students. In the early afternoon you will receive an email outlining the responses we will be implementing for this new lockdown scenario. Currently, that solution will most likely include Learning at Home classes and resources for students throughout each day. Learning outlines are currently being prepared for students to access through their internet connections.

We understand this situation is not ideal, but rest assured we are doing all we can to ensure each and every member of our community is cared for each day. We continue to pray for everyone’s health and safety.

Blessings

Jeff Davis

Executive Head of College

Sunday, 8 August 2021

The following notes have been extracted from the Community Update, if you did not receive the communication please email the College Office to confirm your email address.

(The below information is a summary from the Community Update, please refer to the link for the full version)

This morning (Sunday 8 August, 2021) the Queensland Government announced that the lockdown will end at 4:00pm today so that schools are free to return to learning at school, although there are some restrictions that will need to implemented for schooling for the next two weeks.

Hillcrest Christian College will therefore return to normal scheduled classes as of tomorrow morning. We do acknowledge that some families for personal or medical reasons may choose to not send their children back to school tomorrow. Can I ask that these families please contact their relevant Heads of Community to discuss their needs for the upcoming week.

After early consideration of the Government directives that have been made, the following decisions have been put in place for the commencement of the week;

• All staff will be wearing masks at all times except when sitting and eating – this means all staff will
  be wearing masks in classes.
• All students in Years 7-12 must wear masks at all times except when they are seated and eating
• The College is looking at how we can implement a school wide approach for staff and students who have medical exemptions from wearing a mask.
• Year 12 students will be back at school in preparation for their final assessment tasks which will be held this coming Friday and the following Monday. Many Year 12 students are completing final assignments this week.
• Community sport has been cancelled as per Government mandate, so school based sport will not be held this week.
• Sparks and Flames will also not occur this week. (week 5)
• There will be no co-curricular activities this week (however individual private lessons for music and
  choral will run as normal).
• Parents will be allowed to access drop off zones on site and top pick up to drop off children but not allowed to leave their car with the exception of ELC or for students in distress (Parents will need to have masks on if they leave their vehicles).
• There will be no large gatherings of students, such as Gatherings or Assemblies, this week.
• As per my last communication, the events that were cancelled remain cancelled.
• The College will continue to meet Covid safe practices with additional cleaning of areas, social distancing and hand sanitisers being utilised for all students and staff on site.

View Community Update