We start the new school term in Orange level, which will mean some changes for routines and requirements at school. This article outlines what these systems will be.

Aotearoa New Zealand moved to Orange level on the Covid Protection Framework on April 13th, which means some changes and the loosening of some restrictions. However, we are heading into winter and Covid-19 is still quite prevalent across the motu. Therefore, as a school we are taking what we consider to be a sensibly cautious approach in order to ensure our ākonga, staff and community stay safe and healthy. 

- Masks: Year 4-6 students are no longer required to wear masks indoors. However, we still strongly recommend the use of masks indoors for year 4-6 ākonga, as we believe they have played an important role in abating the spread of Covid-19 at school. All staff will continue to wear masks indoors. We also require all whānau and adult visitors to wear masks indoors at school. Please note that if we have a significant increase in cases at school at any given point in time, we may make mask wearing a requirement for year 4-6 students for a set period of time. 

- Parents and whānau onsite: Parents and whānau are very welcome to come into school if needed, to talk with teachers, drop off items or walk in with your tamariki. We require adults to wear a mask if they come inside. We will continue to take a cautious approach with larger gatherings, and for this term we will not gather inside in large groups. This means we will not run events where parents and students are all in the school hall together, as distancing will not be possible. We will gather outside for larger events, such as cross country, and we will run events where parents can come inside in smaller groups, but we will not gather all together. This means our learning celebration early in term 2 will still go ahead, but it will look different and we will not present our learning awards in front of all parents and students in the same way. We will send out a separate article outlining what our learning celebration in Week 2 will look like this time around. Our termly whole school Mihi Whakatau (school welcome) will take place this term, but with ākonga only - sadly we will not have parents and whānau participating in this, as this impacts our ability to distance effectively in the hall. 

- Ventilation of learning spaces: Our learning spaces are bigger and more flexible than more traditional classrooms, and we think this has been another key factor in helping to lessen the spread of Covid at school. Last term we kept all windows and doors open continually, helping the flow of clean air. In winter this is more difficult to do, but it is important to continue to allow good ventilation in spaces. We will keep our underfloor heating on as usual through the colder months, but we will also open all high level windows throughout the day. This will mean fresh air will circulate, but will not blow directly onto ākonga and staff. We will also keep lower windows partially open where practicable. We will keep doors closed, but we will open them for 5-10 mins after each learning session or at key transition points through the day, to purge stale air and let fresh air circulate. This will mean the learning spaces will be a little colder than usual. We will encourage ākonga to keep their fleeces on to help with this; whānau can help by ensuring that tamariki are bringing their school fleece to school each day. It may be good to have your tamariki wear wear a black long sleeved top or singlet under their polo shirt as it gets cold. 

- Mixing across hubs: In term 1 we kept all hubs entirely separate and ākonga did not mix across hubs. In term 2, we will now mix across hubs, and we will move back to doing some whole school activities and events. Electives and co-curricular lessons will now be mixed across hubs again, and staff will go back to working across different hubs. 

- Singing and Kapa Haka: At Red level we were not able to sing or do physical activities indoors - teams went outside to do this. At Orange level we can now do singing, movement and Kapa Haka indoors in well ventilated spaces that allow for some distancing. This means we will either do singing / movement in smaller shared groups in our learning hubs, or in larger groups in the school hall. Teachers are looking forward to being able to sing indoors again!

- Cleaning routines: Throughout the pandemic we have kept up strong daily cleaning routines, and these will continue. All high touch surfaces are cleaned daily, and Brian has continued to use disinfectant on all surfaces, and single use throw away paper cloths, to avoid cross-contamination. Hand hygiene will continue to be a strong part of daily routines in all hubs. We now have wall mounted sanitizer pumps at all main entrances in learning spaces, making it much easier for ākonga to remember to sanitise as they move between spaces. 

- Communication: Our community has been very good at communicating with school about cases of Covid within households - thank you for that. This has been really useful in helping us to keep track of the spread of Covid, and to notify families of potential exposure. If anyone in your household tests positive for Covid-19, please let us know. We keep all information private, but this helps us to monitor the spread of the virus at school, and to notify families of potential exposure. The more information we have about your child's situation, the more we can help and ensure you have all the correct information you need.

If your tamariki is identified by us as a close contact of a Covid case at school, we will let you know. We will not pass on any names or identifying information, but we will let you know if you need to monitor your child carefully for signs of Covid. We no longer notify parents of each single case of Covid in a hub, but we will communicate the case numbers of Covid at school each week, most likely in the weekly digest. If your child is a close contact of a known case at school, we will email you to let you know. Your child will not need to stay away from school, but you will need to monitor them carefully for signs of Covid-19. 

-Sickness: As usual, please do not send your child to school, or come to school yourself, if you have any symptoms of Covid-19. If your child shows clear symptoms at school we will contact whānau and ask you to pick your child up. In the event of a confirmed case of Covid-19 in your household, all household members have to isolate for 7 days. If you are unsure of the isolation requirements or when you can return to school/work, please contact our school office and we will be really happy to help you with information. 

At school we have a good supply of Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs). We will not test any children at school, but if you or your whānau are showing symptoms and you do not have easy access to test kits, please let us know and we can get testing kits to you. You can contact the school office for this: office@amesbury.school.nz, or call 04 477 3423 / 021 865 528

If you have any questions about any of this information, please don't hesitate to contact me (urs.cunningham@amesbury.school.nz) or Rachel in the office (office@amesbury.school.nz). 

Ngā mihi, Urs Cunningham