Newsletter to Parents prior to Term 3‍

Newsletter to Parents prior to Term 3

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Kia ora whanau / parents

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I trust you have all had a relaxing and enjoyable break with your families. The teachers and I are looking forward to welcoming you all back to Whangarei Primary School on Monday morning. There are a couple of very important issues that I need to draw your attention to prior to the term starting, so that we can all keep the whole school community safe. 

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Construction Work at W.P.S.

Whangarei Primary School has undergone some extreme changes over the holidays. There are currently two building projects happening at school: a renovation project for Rooms 13-17 (middle Block) and the construction of a new, purpose built Reception building at the front of the school. The renovation project will be completed by the end of week 6 in Term 3, whilst the Reception building will not be completed until around March 2023. The school resembles a building site with scaffolding, fencing and a whole host of different builders and contractors working on these sites. The building areas have been segregated by tall fencing and every measure has been taken to ensure the safety of everyone at school. Teachers will speak to all our students on Monday morning about how we can all keep safe during this time.

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You will have noticed that the front gate on Bank Street is not accessible. Therefore if your child walks to school or is dropped at school on Bank Street, it is imperative that everyone still uses the Traffic Lights Crossing to cross Bank Street. Once you have crossed Bank Street safely, you will walk along the pavement and enter the school via the Archway Pedestrian gate. There will be signs on the front fence to show you where to go. Apirana Avenue and Cross Street gates will be operating as normal. 

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Rise of Covid cases

As you will have seen on the national news, cases of COVID-19 are increasing in most parts of the country, and we are also seeing high numbers of other winter illnesses. For the first four weeks of Term 3, the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health strongly recommend that all schools require mask wearing in all indoor settings for students in Years 4 and above. At Whangarei Primary School we have Year 3 and 4 composite classes so we recommend that Year 3 children also wear a mask. I will be asking all staff members to wear a mask when indoors. This is your choice as parents; however, we have had fewer cases of Covid amongst staff in our Year 5/6 area, and this must, in some part, be due to the earlier mandate for all Year 5/6 students to wear masks. 

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There is a supply of masks, which are available to the students who forget or lose their own masks. If parents are coming on site to see a teacher, please ensure that you wear a mask if meeting inside the classroom.

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Finally, just a reminder that you need to keep your child(ren) home if they are unwell or showing symptoms of Covid-19.

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Thank you all for keeping our school community safe.

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Nga mihi ra

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Matua Danny‍