Amesbury School


Kia ora koutou,

I would like to thank you all for giving the school time to work through the process of organising what the new Covid Protection Framework (traffic light system) will mean for how our school operates after December 2nd this year. We understand that the second half of this year has been full of change and uncertainty for everyone, and this can be very worrying and wearying for people. You have all been patient with us in allowing us time to work through the details, and we do appreciate this.

We have not rushed into making decisions for our school straight away, instead waiting to see the guidelines from the Ministry of Education for schools in general. These guidelines came out on Friday. The guidance for schools is that schools will retain their existing Covid-19 settings until the end of the 2021 school year. This means that the current public health measures and requirements in place at Alert Level 2 will continue for the reminder of this year. From January 1st 2022, schools will align their practices with the Covid-19 Protection Framework settings (traffic light system). The overview plan for schools from Jan1st 2022 can be found here.

What this means for the rest of Term 4 2021

This guidance means that our current alert level 2 restrictions will continue for the rest of this term. Our planned events with ākonga (students) will all go ahead, but with staff and ākonga only. We will not be bringing parents and whānau onsite for gatherings or events this term.

This article outlines the events for Term 4, and what they will look like in Level 2. Please note that we have altered several events slightly to make the timing work better, and we have added a celebration assembly (live streamed) to enable our performance Kapa Haka group to be able to perform their full routine of waiata in the absence of the Kapa Haka Schools Festival. Details of the key events coming up for the last few weeks of term are in our notices section of the digest.

Key details:

- Our current Alert Level 2 restrictions and practices will stay in place for the remainder of this year, even if Wellington moves to Red level on the traffic light system. 

- Our Alert Level 2 onsite boundary remains in place. We ask that parents and caregivers don’t come past the onsite boundary (shown in the school picture with the large red onsite boundary line) unless necessary.

- If you need to come and talk with a teacher, visit the office, or walk your child into school, that is absolutely fine. We ask that you scan and sign in, stay at least 1 metre from people (2 metres from people you do not know well), and please wear a mask where possible.

- Our planned events for Term 4 will go ahead with ākonga and staff, but parents and whānau will not come onsite for gatherings and events. We will live stream key events where possible. 

- All staff and volunteers working directly with ākonga must be at least partially vaccinated. Amesbury School will also ensure that groups we work directly with outside of school (such as camps, offsite learning programmes and events such as swimming lessons etc.) will all be at least partially vaccinated.

What this means for the 2022 school year

From the start of next year, schools will be operating under the new Covid Protection Framework (traffic light system).

We will communicate with you all at the very start of next year to outline all of the details around what will happen in school at different levels of the traffic light system, but the key details are:

- Schools will remain open at all levels of the framework. School operation may look different if Wellington is at Red level. For example, it may be that groups of students learn onsite while other students learn from home, or that students learn onsite on particular days etc. Learning programmes will be carefully planned and adapted to allow for this ‘hybrid’ learning - some tamariki learning at home and some tamariki learning at school, but all tamariki learning the same content. 

- Parents and caregivers can come into school for learning-related matters, such as dropping children off, meetings, conferences, and learning-based events. Vaccination passes will not be required for this. Depending on the traffic light setting, it may be organised so that physical distancing can be maintained.

- Non-learning related events can happen, although some larger events may not go ahead if Wellington is at Red setting. Vaccine passes may be required for adults attending these events.

- All staff and volunteers working directly with ākonga must be fully vaccinated. Amesbury School will also ensure that groups we work directly with outside of school (such as camps, offsite learning programmes and events such as swimming etc.) will all be fully vaccinated.

We will communicate more about the details around the traffic light system for schools, and what it will look like for Amesbury School, at the very start of next year. This system will allow us to hold more gatherings and community events onsite, which is great news. It is worth noting that for some non-learning based events onsite at school, vaccine passes may be required from adults.

Finally, we wish all of our ākonga, kaiako (teachers) and parent support all the very best for our activities week ahead. There are various camps, trips and events planned for the week, and it promises to be an exciting and fun-filled week. Big thanks to our hard working staff for putting in the mahi to enable all of these events to happen. Thanks also to all of our fabulous parents and whānau who are helping out with these events - these things cannot go ahead without all of your fabulous work and support. 

Please remember that the school car park is closed to parents and whānau all day on Monday due to a large concrete pour happening with the new building throughout the entire day. Our Year 5 and 6 students will be heading off on camp and may need to travel to school in a vehicle to bring their luggage to school in the morning. As such, we ask that students in other areas of the school walk or wheel where possible, rather than coming in a vehicle, meaning the drop off area on Amesbury Drive will be less congested. Thanks so much for your help with this. 

Kia pai tō wiki - enjoy your week.

Ngā mihi, 

Urs Cunningham


  1. Amesbury Notices - 29 November 2021

    Camp Week .... Read more…
  2. Calling all Library Books and Readers

    It's great having so many enthusiastic readers checking books out - we now need your help getting them checked back in as end of Term ... Read more…
  3. Beach Education for Y3-4

    The ākonga (students) of Year 3 & 4 will travel to Worser Bay, Seatoun on Wednesday the 1st of December for their Beach Education ... Read more…
  4. Year 0-2 Camp Information Update

    As you are aware, we have had to make changes to our EOTC week. Please read on to find out the final details and costs. Read more…
  5. Year 5 & 6 End of Year Activities Week

    As you will be aware, we have had to make alternative arrangements for our Year 5 & 6 activities week which is happening Monday 29 ... Read more…
  6. Scholastic Book Fair 2021

    Coming this week but a little different with Level 2. Read more…
  7. Year 3/4 Palm Grove Camp: Notice #3

    Kia ora whānau, Our year 3 and 4 camp is almost here! Read more…
  8. The Wellington Breeze 'Pack the Bus' donation drive

    2021 has been a tough year for many of our whānau around Wellington. Pack the Bus is an initiative that supports Wellington City ... Read more…
  9. Term 4 Events in Alert Level 2

    As we head into the final term of the school year it is timely to explain what our term will look like within alert level 2, as this ... Read more…