Students across Orange will continue to learn from home for the foreseeable future after the state government outlined its return to school map for Orange and the Central West on Friday.
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While the children of essential workers have been heading to school still, students across Orange look set to return by the end of October or early November.
On Friday, Premider Gladys Berejiklian and NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell announced a gradual reopening from October 25, unless regions open sooner, vaccinations for children aged from 12-15, masks to be worn by primary students and a deadline of November 8 for teachers to be vaccinated.
The Higher School Certificate exams have also been pushed back to November 9.
However, there is a mixed response to the exam extension and while principals welcomed lowering the ages for vaccines from 12-15 there was some concern about availability ahead of the November 8 vaccine deadline for teachers.
James Sheahan Catholic High School principal Peter Meers said he is hopeful face to face learning will resume by the start of term 4, before the October 25 date. However, he said not all year 12 students will be happy about having a four to five week extension for their HSC exams.
"Some may be really happy that they have that extra time," Mr Meers said.
However, he said said some students have thrived with online learning and were mentally prepared to do the exams earlier and would prefer not to have it dragged out.
The challenge for these students will be to maintain their focus until November 9.
- Kinross Wolaroi School principal Dr Andrew Parry
"They have lost most of the fun things, particularly this year's year 12s, they've had a solid 18 months of it, their whole senior years have been [affected]," Mr Meers said.
"Hopefully our year 12s and all our students will be back for [the start of] term 4."
He said even during the stay at home orders, students with major works for subjects such as industrial technology, dance, drama, music and visual arts have been able to attend school for limited times and this year those works will be assessed by the school's teachers rather than external examiners.
However, he said textiles students' works were due earlier in the lockdown.
Mr Meers welcomed the lowering of the age for vaccines as well as the requirement for teachers to be vaccinated. He said he has received two doses of AstraZeneca and many other teachers have also been vaccinated. However, he said some teachers in their 20s and 30s have been waiting to get access to Pfizer.
Kinross Wolaroi School principal Dr Andrew Parry said the school has been working hard to support Year 12 students during lockdown, including running HSC trials online last week.
"These students have been through two years of COVID disruption and have faced a great deal of uncertainty," Dr Parry said.
"They absolutely deserve the opportunity to gain an ATAR and pursue their dreams.
"The challenge for these students will be to maintain their focus until November 9."
Dr Parry said the school also has more than 300 boarders and has an additional responsibility to take into account the residential nature of the school when planning for a safe return for students.
"We will be communicating with our community next week about how Term 4 at Kinross Wolaroi will look," he said.
With the delayed HSC pushing back dates for marking and the release of results to mid-January universities have come on board to make sure students will still be able to attend and find placements.
Charles Sturt University interim vice-chancellor Professor John Germov said the university also has an early entry program for students.
"Changes to the scheduling of HSC exams will no doubt be unsettling, but I encourage students to tap into the resilience that has helped them through the last 18 months to complete their exams to the best of their abilities," he said.
"There are many pathways into University and Charles Sturt is ready to support students during this challenging time."
One of those pathways is Charles Sturt Advantage, which is a pathway into university before students take their final exams. Round one has closed but round two is open now.
Friday's announcement will also affect primary schools with kindergarten among the fist students to return on October 25.
Catherine McAuley Catholic Primary School deputy principal Robyn Petty raised a concern with the vaccination deadline and said younger teachers at her school also want Pfizer but are having difficulty getting it.
Mrs Petty said learning from home has also been challenging for many families and the school has continued to provide physical workbooks so students who do not have easy access to devices or the internet won't miss out.
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