Important Notices

April 2021

Managing hazardous materials in Erindale College

The ACT Government is committed to ensuring all public school buildings are safe and have the infrastructure to support high-quality education.

Most ACT public schools were built at a time when asbestos and lead paint were widely used in the building industry. As a recently published list of schools shows, 76 of our 89 schools have lead paint and/or asbestos. Nearly all asbestos in ACT public schools is non-friable, also known as bonded or sheet asbestos.

Erindale College was opened in 1980 and both lead paint and asbestos are present at our school.

We know where these materials exist, or are likely to exist, we monitor the locations regularly and we have a management strategy in place to keep our school community safe. Detailed reports are kept at the front office in a Hazardous Materials Register which you are welcome to view.

If you have any general questions about how we manage hazardous materials drop by the front office, or come along to an information night at Lake Tuggeranong College on Wednesday 12 May from 6-8pm.

The session will include members of the Education Directorate’s Hazardous Materials Taskforce, and lead paint expert Professor Mark Taylor. He is one of the specialists guiding hazardous materials work in ACT public schools ensuring our management is informed by international best practice.

The ACT Government has committed $15 million to remove hazardous materials from public schools during the next four years. This is in addition to a school upgrade budget of $99 million which will also help manage lead paint and asbestos.

You can learn more about how hazardous materials are safely managed in our public schools on the Education Directorate’s website. It has a fact sheet about lead paint, details about the Directorate’s commitment and approach to managing hazardous materials, and it links to a new ACT Health fact sheet about lead exposure and your health.

22 May 2020

Student Wellbeing Telehealth Support Service.

We understand the importance of providing ongoing psychological support to our school community whilst we all continue with our joint efforts to follow restrictions that contain the spread of COVID-19.

Now that most students have returned to school, it is preferred that you access this support by contacting your school’s wellbeing team.  Alternatively, you may request a booking with the Student Wellbeing Telehealth Support Service (SWTSS)

As part of ACT Education commitment to provide ongoing welling support to our students and their families during this time, the Directorate has set up the Student Wellbeing Telehealth Support Service.

This team consists of ACT Education psychologists delivering a telehealth counselling service to students and their families from K-12. The team uses evidence informed practice to help students deal with a wide range of issues they might be encountering in relation to their learning or well-being.

This psychological support is provided via video-call (when available) or phone call. Appointments are available between 9:00am and 4:30pm with the last appointment for the day starting at 3:30pm.

Appointments can be made through this online booking form at this link https://tinyurl.com/actedutelehealthservice

or by calling 6205 1559 between 9:00am and 4:30pm.

This is not a crisis service and the team will refer students to emergency services ‘000’ or the Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team (CATT) to manage all emergencies. The usual referral sources such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), headspace or their GP will continue to apply as required.

Return to School - Public Transport

Over the coming weeks children will start to return to the classroom. All bus and light rail services, including special needs transport, are operating as normal.

To keep our community safe from #COVID19, only use public transport if necessary or consider walking or riding to school for those shorter trips.

The safety of our drivers and our customers is our highest priority and in response to #COVID19 increased cleaning is taking place across all areas of public transport including at stops, stations and within the vehicles.

If you are required to use public transport to get to and from school, please be aware and remember the following:

*No cash accepted on buses - please use MyWay
*Top up (and register) your MyWay card
*Use the rear door to enter and exit on buses
*Be aware that light rail vehicles have auto doors opening at all stops
*Where possible maintain physical distancing
*No front seat access on buses
*Always practice good hygiene

For more: https://bit.ly/2Ws5mZs

Returning to Erindale College after Remote Learning

Please click on the Graduated Return to School Plan link which describes our plan to implement the return of students back to Erindale College.

Supporting the Mental Health of Your Teen

Researchers at the Australian National University are conducting an anonymous online survey to explore how parents can support their child’s mental health. If you are the parent of a young person aged 12 to 18 years, they would like to hear from you! To participate in this important research, please complete the 15-20min survey now by clicking on the link below. Thank you!
http://bit.ly/anusurvey

IMPORTANT - QCity bus changes

Commencing Monday, 5 August, whereas the previous temporary service (S22) picked students up from Erindale College on McBryde Street opposite the college at approximately 3:32 pm, the new service (S221) will now pick students up from Erindale College on the College side of the McBryde street at approximately 3:40 pm to make connections with services from the Queanbeyan Interchange.

Parents and Carers

You may see some media coverage regarding recent incidents where children were approached by a man they did not know. This occurred in the suburbs of Isaacs and Monash. You can access the ACT Policing media release on their website:  https://policenews.act.gov.au/news/media-releases/call-witnesses-following-two-child-approaches-0 .

This is a good reminder to help our children understand the importance of stranger safety and the need to report any unusual incidents or approaches to staff immediately.

As the school holidays will begin soon, we encourage you to have conversations with your children about moving safely in and around the community and what to do if they ever feel unsafe. Doing so will help children understand the importance of stranger safety in and out of school hours, and also the importance of reporting any unusual incidents or approaches to parents/carers or school staff immediately.

Police encourage parents, guardians and teachers to make sure children understand how to keep themselves safe, particularly when walking to and from school, and to teach children about stranger safety. Information on ways to help children to stay safe is available on the http://www.constablekenny.org.au/. In addition, the Safety4Kids is a non-government website that has useful information and links.

If you become aware of an incident, or notice anyone acting suspiciously around a school or child, contact police immediately on 131 444 or in the case of an emergency call 000. The quicker police can respond and attend to an incident of this nature, the quicker they can target the area and surrounds.

Thank you

Erindale College - Sports Field Fence Project

Detailed Plans -  Click Here