The NSW and Victorian governments unveiled their return to school plans on Sunday with masks and rapid antigen tests set to play a big role in both states.
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NSW Teachers Federation regional organiser Jack Galvin Waight said teachers and principals were bracing themselves for a disruptive start.
"Omicron has taught us that nowhere is safe," Mr Galvin Waight said.
"We clearly remain concerned for the health and safety of our students, staff and their families."
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NSW Secondary Principals' Council president Craig Petersen said schools would tailor how they distribute tests to parents based on their size and location.
"I would be surprised if everyone follows the same model; it will have to be localised to the context of the school, so parents will have to be paying attention to their school," he said.
Mr Petersen anticipated many schools would use planned teacher development days on January 28 and 31 to organise parent pick-ups
Mr Galvin Waight said the teachers' union would closely monitor the effectiveness of the risk mitigation strategies with a view to seeking urgent adjustments should they be necessary.
"Robust risk mitigation strategies are essential if we are going to make our schools as safe as they possibly can be. Teachers, students and communities in the Hunter are entitled to a safe working environment," he said.
NSW Riverina casual teacher Greg Adamson, based in Griffith, was uncertain about the return to school proposal.
As a casual, he could be called in to fill any teacher vacancies caused by COVID outbreaks at schools, and was not happy about the idea of knowingly going to work at a place where he could catch the virus.
"My concern simply relates to safety. The safety of my students, safety of my colleagues and my family," Mr Adamson said.
"I suffer complications which may increase the severity of COVID infections. I don't feel the current policies offered by the Department of Education are safe, and simply 'letting it rip' through schools demonstrates a disconnect between classroom teachers and the bureaucrats and politicians who manage schools."
David Enevers, a primary school teacher from Wagga Wagga, also in the NSW Riverina, is also keen to see children back at school, as a teacher and a parent.
"I'm keen to get back into some sort of normality," he said.
Mr Enevers, who has three young children, said that the prospect of performing multiple COVID tests a week would be daunting for parents.
"That's going to be hectic ... We had to do a few for ours and it's just really upsetting, because they all got upset when we had to stick the swabs up their noses," he said.
Wagga Wagga parent Stephanie Poll is happy for her kids to get back to school, but is similarly unsure about home testing.
"I'm glad that schools are going to be going back, I'm glad that things are in place for parents and visitors to stay out of the school. As far as testing children at home, I'm a bit concerned. My son has sensory processing disorder...so for me it's hard enough for me to do anything, let alone make sure that I've done two tests per week so he can attend the school," she said.
Ms Poll is also glad that the rules have been relaxed for parents of children starting kindergarten, allowing them to attend school on day one.
"That's actually really exciting...I was quite concerned how she would settle in if I didn't get to go in that first time."
Further south on the NSW-Victorian border and Cobram mother Leigh Tomlin said she was concerned about sending her son back to school.
"I think they should hold school off for at least the first term and give themselves time to get organised," she said.
"They're not organised, it's like lets let the bull out of the paddock and then shut the gate and then we'll think about what we're going to do.
"It's just let it rip and then we'll make it up as we go."
In contrast, Tallangatta Secondary College teacher and parent Kerryn McCormack said she was relieved to be going back to school.
"We've had two very disrupted years, so I'm relieved we're going back, but I wanted to make sure that we had safety plans in place to protect the staff and students," she said.
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Ms McCormack said it would have been difficult for her to home school her son for again.
"He has Asperger's syndrome, so he doesn't really function very well when it's remote learning," she said.
"I found it very difficult when he's trying to learn from home and i'm trying to teach from home at the same time and just trying to coordinate everything.
"So I'm really glad he wont be trying to start his VCE while remote learning."