Although the NSW Government has announced the staggered return of schools, it's still a fair way off and will not commence until October 25 for Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 12. Years 2, 6 and 11 will return from November 1 and Years 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 will return from November 8.

In the meantime, students will rely on their parents for educational, psychological and emotional support.

There is free online student support and community wellbeing resources for students and parents to help continue to endure home schooling.

ClickView are offering online resources to help prioritise parent and school-age children's wellbeing. Visit the link to access and for more info: https://bit.ly/3jMHqvy

A huge shout out to our nurses, doctors, paramedics, health and medical professionals, and hospital and healthcare facilities' ancillary staff who are working hard in very trying conditions.

They are all having to endure wearing plastic gowns, gloves and masks all day. Wearing all this PPE is very uncomfortable to say the least, and it's very exhausting for health workers by the end of their shifts.

We appreciate all that they do to care for the sick and injured in their care.

I realise that many of them are working overtime and extra shifts to meet the increasing demand. On behalf of the entire community, thank you!

Delta has now taken root across much of the state, and until we meet the threshold of 80% vaccination rate among the vaccination eligible population we will be subject to health order restrictions which limit our pre-COVID lifestyle and activities.

The NSW Government and NSW Health have scrambled resources, and coordination has certainly been a challenge. Orange is fortunate to have benefited COVID-19 vaccination through a variety of locations, which include the vaccination clinic at the Bloomfield campus, participating GP practices and pharmacies.

On Monday this week the walk-in vaccination clinic at the DPI building 105 Prince Street in Orange has already reached its maximum number of persons to be vaccinated today. The walk-in clinic is open from 9am until 4.30pm each day until Sunday 12 September.

We are advised that the peak of COVID infection is yet to come, so please remain vigilant, adhere to health restrictions and exercise patience. If you've chosen to be vaccinated, I'd encourage you to do it at the earliest opportunity. Remember to get tested at the slightest of COVID symptoms or if you're at all feeling unwell.

Each year we celebrate and acknowledge the many amazing women in our community through this State Government awards program. Nominations for the 2022 NSW Women of the Year Awards are now open for a number of categories, including: NSW Woman of Excellence, NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year, Aware Super NSW Community Hero of the Year, NSW Young Woman of the Year, NSW Regional Woman of the Year, and The One to Watch Award, supported by the Advocate for Children and Young People.

I encourage you to identify and nominate local women for these awards, which recognise their significant contributions to our community.

Nominations close on Friday 17 September 2021 and can be submitted here: https://bit.ly/38LiHBg

Fee-free training is available to assist jobseekers to upskill to obtain work and assisting businesses with upskilling through JobTrainer fully-funded training. It is an opportune time to maximise our time in lockdown and to take advantage of this free training. Click on the link to learn more about the program: https://bit.ly/3h2339e

My office remains contactable to assist you during business hours, Monday to Friday, by phoning 6362 5199 or email at: orange@parliament.nsw.gov.au