One-third of Ms Portela’s class at Navitas English contracted COVID-19 as the virus ripped through the western suburbs,and one student lost his mother. “In south-western Sydney,we were the epicentre of the outbreak of COVID. Normally students would go to Centrelink or their doctor,someone they could trust,” she said.
“But when you’re in lockdown at home,who can you talk to? Teachers were a conduit in trying to help the students.”
Across the education sector,teachers and schools have gone beyond their immediate duties to help families or students in need during lockdown,particularly in parts of Sydney worst-affected by COVID-19. As face-to-face teaching resumes this month,many students will return to class having had their educators steer them through the worst of the pandemic.
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At Bennett Road Public School in Colyton,near Mount Druitt,school staff provided more than 115 food hampers to families during August. They included frozen or home-cooked meals,hygiene and cleaning products,Woolworths gift cards for families to buy essentials,and free meat from a local butcher.
The school also worked with community agencies to send toys and craft activities for birthday presents or to keep children occupied at home.
It was a similar story at Punchbowl Public School,in the hard-hit Canterbury-Bankstown local government area,where staff co-ordinated withlocal charities including Lighthouse Community Support for groceries and food parcels to be sent to families in need.