Schools Back
Monday 11th May saw St Pius X College Chatswood students return to school after five weeks of online learning during the Covid 19 shutdown. The staggered return to school saw Year 12 , Year 7 and Year 5 students back in class on Monday with their teachers. Each day will see a different year group attend face to face however, Year 12 will be attending every day to ensure focus can be maintained with their HSC studies. Although the Prime Minister and NSW Government have made it very clear that the 1.5m and 4m2 social distancing rules do not apply in schools the College where possible is keeping students at a reasonable separation through moving desks apart, marking out on the floor spacing requirements and not undertaking large group gatherings such as assemblies. However, the College has been maintaining a particularly rigorous program of cleaning on the campus and hygiene for all who are here. The smell of sanitiser is everywhere.
When the doors opened on Monday the College Principal Mr John Couani was there to greet students whilst dispensing hand sanitiser and individually reminding the boys of their responsibility to maintain safe distancing and good hygiene practices. The College had nearly full attendance for those years returning to face to face teaching. This confirms parents’ support of the College’s comprehensive return to school policies and procedures.
Principal Couani said “ it was great to have the boys back to school and although there were a few nervous young ones, overall they were exited to be back with many commenting on how much they had missed school. College life is certainly different under Covid 19 but the essential elements of learning continue. The experience of returning to school has certainly shown how vibrant life is once the community is together again.”