SCHOOL'S OUT IN 104°F HEAT

[AussieMark]

School's out in 40°C/104°F heat

MORE than 100 students and teachers at one school were overcome by heat and forced to sign out of class with sick notes as classroom temperatures again hit 40C yesterday.

At Parkes High School in the state's west, students and staff suffered heat-related stress and illness in the searing temperatures.

Teachers held an emergency stopwork meeting to protest against conditions as students complained of headaches and feeling faint.

Fearing the heatwave will continue into next week, Education Minister Andrew Refshauge said students may have to be kept home if conditions become too adverse.

Schools also might gain dispensation to use whatever water they have to cool distressed children, he said. In extreme circumstances, consideration may be given to closing a school or at least part of it and moving students to cooler areas.

Dr Refshauge said he had told principals to consider measures including starting school earlier and postponing outdoor activities.

Many schools – particularly in the western heat belt – said the temperatures were taking a heavy toll.

Electrical problems at Picton Primary School southwest of Sydney sparked anger as airconditioning units had to be unplugged to avoid possibly causing a fire.

The Opposition Member for Southern Highlands Peta Seaton said classes were being held under trees in the playground because it was cooler.

Ms Seaton said the school had been told it could be 10 weeks before anything was done to upgrade the power system.

Parkes High School students started a petition calling for them to be allowed to go home when temperatures reached 40°C/104°F. And teachers sent a letter to parents encouraging them to take their children out of school if they felt their health was at risk.

During the heat, the only refrigerated water fountain was broken and unable to be used. Only a small part of the school is airconditioned despite years of campaigning by locals.

"Staff at Parkes High feel that such conditions . . . pose a danger to students and to themselves," the letter to parents said.

Parent Dave Wilson, who has two boys at the school, said an ambulance was called at the height of the crisis.

"The heat was unbearable. You can't expect kids to learn in such an environment," he said.

Year 10 student Hannah Farrant-Jayet penned a letter to Dr Refshauge challenging him to go to Parkes to experience the conditions.

She wrote: "How are we expected to learn when our eyes are rolling back in our heads from heat exhaustion and we make squelchy sounds every time we move a muscle?

"Would you, Minister, allow your children or relatives to brace these conditions every single day of their academic lives?"

[Aslkahuna]

I once took a Physics Final in an unairconditioned room at San Jose State when the outside temperature was climbing from 104F to 107F and yet managed to pass.

Steve

[TexasStooge]

DANG!!! That hot?!!!

[george_r_1961]

The Jr High School I went to wasnt air conditioned..except for the principals office of course. All public schools in this area are now climate controlled.

[JCT777]

104 degrees is too hot for me! I will be complaining it is too hot once it gets above 85 degrees.

[Weathernut]

February was a very hot month over most of Southeastern Australia..

Here in Wagga we had a few days over 40c but rainfall has been below average with no rainfalling this month(March)

Here is a chat of the daily max and min temp plus rainfall in Wagga.



Cheers

[Cheesy_Poofs]

104 degrees is too hot for me! I will be complaining it is too hot once it gets above 85 degrees.

Same here!