Coronavirus (COVID-19) Parent Update

Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

I pray this reaches you in the best of health and Iman. A newsletter was sent out on the 3rd of March informing parents of the precautionary measures we have taken as a school to prevent the contraction and spread of the novel COVID-19. I would like to inform our parents of the further measures we have taken and will be taking since our previous newsletter:

• Students are to use the hand sanitiser pumps installed around the College upon entry and departure from their classrooms.
• Students who are displaying flu like symptoms are advised to stay home and seek medical advice from their family doctors or local GPs.
• Students who are feeling unwell or displaying flu like symptoms will be sent home and a medical certificate will be requested from a GP upon their return to school.
• Students and families who are currently on extended leave will be required to self-isolate upon return from overseas travel for 14 days, and will not be allowed to return to school if this mandate is not fulfilled.
• All assemblies, incursions, excursions and extra-curricular programs have been cancelled until further notice.
• The obligation of congregational prayer will be lifted as of tomorrow. Dhuhr (Öle) prayer will be performed on an individual basis.
• Additional cleaning and hygiene precautions, including regular disinfection of high traffic areas within the school.

Teachers have allocated time in their lessons to raise awareness and explicitly teach our students about these measures.

We advise parents to adhere to the following recommendations:

• Facilitate ongoing conversations with our children about good hygiene practices such as washing hands with soap, cough and sneeze etiquette such as covering our mouths and washing them afterwards, and refraining from shaking hands and making physical contact with our peers.
• Keeping our children home if they are displaying flu like symptoms or feeling unwell until further notice.
• Rethink their travel plans and remain in the country until further notice.
• Provide their children with a prayer mat as students are advised to use their own prayer mat during Dhuhr prayer for hygiene purposes.

School Closure

There have been recent discussions around the possibility of school closure due to the novel COVID-19, with a few independent schools shutting operations as a reactive precautionary measure. I would like to inform our parents that we are doing our best as a College to protect our students and staff from contracting the virus. However, in the case of a student being identified with COVID-19 or a national mandate to lockdown all institutions for quarantine purposes, we have developed a range of measures to implement safe and effective home instruction.

Irfan College has created secure accounts for every student in K 11. These accounts provide safe and monitored access to a range of online resources including Google Classrooms, Google Hangouts, and other cloud-based learning platforms such Mathletics, HotMaths, Reading Eggs, among other platforms.

Our students in Years 7 11 are familiar with the method of access however years K 6 will require assistance from their families and we recommend utilising either a Desktop PC or Laptop.. Whilst devices such as tablets and phones are capable of connecting to our resources their overall functionality is limited and most tasks become difficult and time-consuming to complete.

As a College, we have decided to utilise the services of G Suite. This online platform will be used to deliver content, assign work, report and provide feedback, and monitor student participation. Staff will receive training over the next couple of weeks in regard to the operationalisation of the alternative modes of learning. Parents will be receiving further information about G Suite and range of platforms that it offers in the coming days and weeks.

In the meantime, however, we recommend the following if and where possible;

• Prepare a quite space for learning however please ensure that it can be monitored regularly. 
• Ensure that your home internet is available for learning tasks without additional load (streaming media, online games etc) or disruption during learning hours
• Prepare either a laptop or desktop with Google Chrome (Mac Or PC)
• Check the email address your provided to the school as a parent or caregiver on a regular basis (this includes the SPAM/JUNK folder). We will provide comprehensive updates via email and short messages via SMS

For further information, feel free to contact the College office at office@irfancollege.nsw.edu.au.

Yours truly,
Mr Ali Arabaci
College Principal