Why Bowral, NSW school refused to tell students their teacher had died from Covid

A school refused to tell its young students their teacher had died suddenly from Covid because her death was too ‘sensitive’ to be dealt with in the classroom. 

Mother-of-two Michelle Hayes, 46, died on February 16 – two days after she tested positive to the virus on Valentine’s Day.

Shocked colleagues have rushed to pay tribute to the much-loved Bowral Public School teacher, whose family had moved from Norfolk Island to the NSW Southern Highlands only a month earlier.

‘Michelle was everywhere around me today as I taught in her classroom. She is so loved. You are so loved,’ wrote a former workmate from Norfolk Island Central School, where Ms Hayes worked for 12 years. 

‘Michelle was one of the special ones – her warmth, kindness and integrity [was] evident in every interaction. She will…