Amesbury Digest - 24th August 2020

Kia ora koutou,

Key links and numbers:

Healthline: 0800 358 5453         

Ministry of Health site

It has been a lovely, sunny weekend, and I hope you have been able to get out and enjoy some of the beautiful weather; long may it last!

School life in Alert Level 2

We will find out on Monday whether our alert levels across the country will be changing later this week. We are currently in Alert Level 2 (outside of Auckland) and generally our school community have been taking care to distance where possible and have been mindful of the restrictions in this level. Things have remained fairly ‘normal’ at school, with ASB coaching modules, swimming, sports, co-curricular lessons all continuing. Teams remain very mindful of regular and consistent handwashing, and they continue to remind children of good hygiene habits around coughing and sneezing. We have also noticed that families are being considerate by generally keeping children away from school when they show signs of sickness - thank you all for helping us to keep everyone safe and healthy.

As we are still in Level 2, just a few reminders about some key routines and expectations in this level. Please ensure that all caregivers picking up children are aware of this:

- Please do not come onsite into school unless necessary. If it is necessary to come into school, please ensure you find a hub teacher to sign in, or sign in at the office. The boundary line that shows what is counted as ‘onsite’ is shown by the red line on the map attached to this digest.

- In poor weather we encourage students who are waiting in the drop off zone to shelter under the covered space outside the hall unless their parent/caregiver arrives. We ask that adults who are waiting for children do not wait in this area, as it is too close to where children are waiting and does not allow for adequate distancing. It is also difficult to move children quickly to the drop off zone when cars arrive if they are surrounded by adults.

- For parents and caregivers picking up older children in Harakeke and Pōhutukawa hubs, we ask that you make a meeting spot a little bit further away from the car park area, such as up on Amesbury Drive or along the pathway running from Romaine Road to Amebsury Drive. This will allow us to reduce the congestion down by the car park and will enable sufficient physical distancing to be kept. 

- Koru students will be coming outside to be picked up each day, even in poor weather. Please ensure that they have coats or umbrellas on rainy days, so that they do not get too wet.

- Please continue to keep children away from school if they are showing signs of sickness. It is good to note that any Covid-related care, including treatment, is free of charge for everyone.

- There is a parent website with information for parents and whānau about Covid-19. This is regularly updated as new information becomes available.

New build update

Our new hub is still on track to be completed next year. Our current timeline has the build starting onsite in December this year, and being finished towards the end of 2021. Lesley and I met with our design team last week, and the updated plans are looking very exciting - it will be a fabulous space. We hope to be able to share an update of the design with you soon.

Events coming up

- Swimming begins on Monday this week for Harakeke and Pōhutukawa hubs. For students attending swimming, these visits to Keith Spry Pool are combined with a trip to Waitohi Library next door, which is a fabulous space. Swimming will continue weekly for these two teams until the end of term.

- ICAS Digital Tech (Tues) and English (Thurs) exams are running this week for students who signed up for them.

Ngā mihi nui,

Urs Cunningham (Acting Principal)