Notice from Our Principal - 13 Oct 2021

October 13, 2021

Kia ora koutou whanau / parents

I have decided to pen next week's arrangements tonight so that those of you up early tomorrow can read and digest all the information.

Today, it was confirmed that we will remain at Level 3 for a further five days - until 11.59pm Monday 18 October. A decision will be made on the same day as to whether we will move to Level 2 or not.

We are therefore open on Monday 18th October for only the small number of children who need to attend. The Senior Leadership Team has decided to run the same arrangements as the last time we were in Level 3 at school. If your circumstances have changed since last time, and you do not need your children to attend school in Level 3 or alternatively you need to add your children to this list, please email me by midday on Friday 15 October (principal@whangareiprimary.school.nz), so that I can make these arrangements safely. If your child(ren) were on the original lists during the last time we were in Level 3 and you would like them to attend school on Monday 18 October, then you do not need to do anything. Please remember to give me the names of your children and their class room numbers when you email me. When I have a definite number of children attending school (Midday on Friday) I will then communicate over the weekend with their parents giving them more specific details in a newsletter.

All our usual safety precautions for Alert Level 3 will be in place. This means we will regularly clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces, encourage everyone to frequently wash their hands and cover their coughs and sneezes, and keep everyone physically distanced from others as much as possible (one metre inside and two metres outside). We will also keep school bubbles to no more than 10 students. These bubbles will not mix with other bubbles.

Our contact tracing systems will be in place, which includes our attendance register and visitor register, and we will be limiting staff onsite with the majority of our team working from home.
You can also assist everyone’s safety by keeping your child at home if they are feeling unwell and please do contact your GP or Healthline, to seek advice about getting tested.
Our staff on-site will have been tested for COVID-19 before they get back to work and we are moving toward having 100% of our staff vaccinated – so we are all playing our part in keeping our community safe.

We will continue to support all children who remain learning from home at Levels 3 (and 4), through our home learning programme. The children who attend school during Level 3 will be receiving the same programme that children receive at home. Please use the hard copy work packs that were sent home with every student last term if you do not have sufficient devices or you just prefer paperwork.

While we know how difficult it is trying to work from home as well as support your child’s learning, please keep your child at home if there is an appropriate carer available. For those of you who are essential workers with no other option for childcare, we will be able to accommodate your child at school next week.

Hopefully, this arrangement may only last for one day, and we will be able to welcome all students and staff back to Whangarei Primary School on Tuesday 19 October.

In the meantime, please enjoy the remainder of the holiday.

Nga mihi ra

Matua Danny