Anne-Marie Makin lashes out at Gympie school super spreaders

The mother of a Gympie Prep student has had enough of snotty students and irresponsible parents after her six-year-old daughter spent most of her first year of school at home sick.

A Gympie mother has had enough of her daughter missing school due to sickness in the classroom after she spent most of her Prep year at home.

Anne-Marie Makin said her daughter Ariel was ill for the whole of Term 2 and has had 35 days absent in Terms 1 and 3, after picking up various illnesses from the other students.

“It infuriates me. I do the right thing and keep her home when she is sick,” Ms Makin said.

“She gets better then I send her back and upon walking into the classroom other kids at school are clearly sick with nasty chesty coughs, runny green snotty noses, just unwell and it really frustrates me.”

Anne-Marie Makin has spoken out about school super spreaders after her daughter had to take most of her first year of school off.

Ms Makin said it was not fair on the other children when parents sent their little ones to school while visibly ill, and that the school staff were not sending those students home.

“It concerns me more with Covid going around and previously the Sunshine Coast being a hotspot, when my school has teachers who live there,” she said.

“My daughter’s actual class has a teacher from the Sunshine Coast, and I thought that with Covid rules and restrictions that the school would be legally forced to follow preventive guidelines yet it doesn't appear to be happening.”

Ms Makin said she was worried the time Ariel has had out of class will affect her academically and socially.

Anne-Marie Makin and her daughter Ariel have been through a nightmare year of constant sickness and trips to the doctor.

“Although she is smart I feel she is significantly behind where she should be,” she said.

“She has been unable to see friends or go places on weekends as we have been sick.

“She is an only child and no one else to play with but me, it's not fair on her.”

Ms Makin said her daughter’s constant sickness also meant she was not sleeping or eating properly and they had been through multiple hospital trips and Covid tests.

“Repeatedly getting sick is not just a crappy feeling, it’s costly in medications, and to some it’s life threatening,” she said.

“The irresponsible parents need to be held accountable for their actions.”

Anne-Marie Makin is a single mother and said homeschooling would be challenging.

As a result of Ariel's constant sickness, Ms Makin said she considered homeschooling but as a single mother, struggled to see it working out.

“I’m studying and trying to run my own business and working as a single parent is hard enough,” she said.

“Homeschooling would make things even more stressful and she would not get as much social interaction.”

Ms Makin said the government needed to step up and introduce regulations for employers to allow parents to more easily stay at home with kids who were sick and not lose income.

“I feel a lot of parents send their children as they feel they do not have a choice or they will lose income and not be able to provide for their family,” she said.

“On the flip side I also see a lot of parents who do not work and have no reason as to why they cannot keep their child at home, but see it as a free daycare so they can do as they wish while the kids are at school.”

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Ms Makin has heard from other parents in the region who have expressed the same concerns and have lost income due to their children being sick.

“Some of these families are already immune compromised and suffer medical conditions where a simple sickness is life threatening,” she said.

“The lack of care for others and irresponsibility has many consequences.”

Ms Makin has previously mentioned her concerns to admin at school and was “shrugged off like it didn't matter”, but said she will be taking it up with the principal.

“We are just going to keep pushing through, get her better and hopefully send her back to school soon,” she said.