As you will be aware, we have had to make alternative arrangements for our Year 5 & 6 activities week which is happening Monday 29 November - Friday 3 December. This article is quite long but please persevere. In this article, we provide details about the El Rancho Camp option, including the gear list, as well as the Out and about in Wellington option (for students who choose to stay at school). There is also a consent form that we ask all parents to fill out (even if your child chooses to stay at school).

COVID CONTINGENCY:

Alert Level 1 and Alert Level 2: As per the direction of the Ministry of Education, our end of year activities week can go ahead under Alert Level 2. We will follow the increased health and safety practices and vaccine mandates set out by the government. We are also taking extra precautions by ensuring that any staff that students come in contact with, both at camp and other public places, are vaccinated.

Alert Level 3 and Alert Level 4: Our activities week will not go ahead if we are in Alert Level 3 or Alert Level 4. We will refund the whole amount that has been paid in this case. If we move to these alert levels while on camp, please be assured that we will make arrangements to return to Wellington as soon as possible. We will communicate regularly with the school and the school will pass this communication onto you. We will also follow all increased health and safety practices, including keeping within our bubble.

EL RANCHO CAMP INFORMATION

The location for this camp will be El Rancho, Waikanae. We will be staying here. Please follow this link to view their website.

Our camp will be three days - Monday 29 November - Wednesday 1 December.

Overview of the Timetable: We are still in the process of confirming activities with El Rancho. Please note that these activities will be age appropriate and any higher risk activities will have camp instructors leading them. The rough outline for the activities week is as follows:

Monday: Travel to El Rancho; orientation and settling in; camp activities; evening activities

Tuesday: Camp activities; evening activities

Wednesday: Pack up; beach walk; travel to Porirua; ten Pin Bowling in Porirua; travel to Amesbury School

Thursday: Beach day at Scorching Bay

Friday: At school - movie and other fun activities

Travel: On Monday 29 November, we will travel by bus from Amesbury School to El Rancho, leaving sometime after 9:00am. We will let you know the exact time when we have confirmed our plans. To make sure we are ready to leave on time, please make sure your child arrives at school between 8:00am and 8:30am.

On Wednesday 1 December, we will travel by bus back to Amesbury School. We expect to be back at school between 4:00pm and 4:30pm. We will let you know the exact time when we have confirmed our plans for Wednesday.

On Thursday 2 December, we will travel by bus to Scorching Bay. We expect to be back at school by 3:00pm for a normal pick up.

Cost: We will confirm the cost of camp with you once we have confirmed the activities. This is likely to be less than the cost of the South Island camp. Thank you to all parents who paid for the South Island camp; this payment has been credited to your Kindo account, and can be used to pay for the El Rancho camp.

Please note your child will not need any money for this trip as all activities will be at camp.

Gear List: Please find the gear list attached.

Adults on camp: We will be taking five teachers on camp with us - Kalesha Segatta, Demelza Murrihy-Topp, Andy Little, Gar Kee Wu and Onaitta Setefano. We will also be taking parents on camp with us. We are in the process of confirming with them that they are still available to come to camp with the revised plan.

Contact Information: The main contact people for this camp are Kalesha and Demelza. Andy, Gar Kee and Onaitta will be the next point of contact. The best form of contact is text message, as this means we can pick the messages up when we have a chance to do so. In the event of an emergency, please contact the school office who will then get in touch with us - (04) 477 3423.

Kalesha’s mobile = 022 352 2057

Demelza's mobile = 027 315 5445

Andy’s mobile = 021 688 546

Gar Kee’s mobile = 022 345 6397

Onaitta’s mobile = 021 0818 1622

OUT AND ABOUT IN WELLINGTON (for students staying at school)

Students will spend some of the week out and about in Wellington and some of the week doing fun activities at school. There will be no overnight stays.

Overview of Timetable: We are still finalising the details for day trips. The timetable for the week will be as follows:

Monday: Wheels day at Pukehuia Park in Newlands

Tuesday: Day at Otari-Wilton’s Bush

Wednesday: Fun activities at school

Thursday: Beach day at Scorching Bay

Friday: At school - movie and other fun activities

Transport: On Monday 29 November and Tuesday 30 November, students will travel by private vehicle to Pukehuia Park and Otari-Wilton’s Bush respectively. At this stage, two teachers will accompany students on these trips. If we have more students than vehicle space, we will need to ask for parent support. We expect to be back at school by 3:00pm for a normal pick up.

On Thursday 2 December, we will travel by bus with the rest of the hub to Scorching Bay. We expect to be back at school by 3:00pm for a normal pick up.

Cost: The cost for Out and About in Wellington will be approximately $10. However, we will confirm this with you once we have finalised all details.

Contact Information: At this stage, Gemma Williamson and Yeping He will be the teachers on these day trips. The best form of contact is text message, as this means we can pick the messages up when we have a chance to do so. In the event of an emergency, please contact the school office who will then get in touch with us - (04) 477 3423.

Gemma’s mobile = 021 140 4628

Yeping’s mobile = 020 466 8813

CONSENT FORM

We need all parents to fill out this form to help with our activities week organisation. Basically, this form is asking you to indicate whether your child is going on camp or staying at school, and whether you give consent for your child to attend the beach day.

Please click on this link to fill in the consent form by Saturday 20th November. We know it is a quick turn around but we need to let the camp know our exact numbers.

If you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Kalesha, Demelza, Andy, Gar Kee, Onaitta, Gemma & Yeping