Amesbury Digest - 18th October 2021

Tēnā koutou,

Welcome back to the final term of this school year. Term 4 is always a very busy and eventful term, with lots of different things going on. It also tends to be a shorter term, and this year is no exception - our term is actually only eight weeks and two days long for ākonga (students). 

A big difference for this term in particular is that for at least part of the term, if not the whole of it, we will be in alert level 2. This makes a huge difference to the events we can run and how we can run them. The Ministry of Education is recommending that schools take a precautionary approach and avoid holding events and gatherings outside of learning programmes until level 1. We take our responsibility to protect our tamariki and wider community seriously, and as such, we are continuing our level 2 protocols around not holding gatherings and events that bring whānau, friends, and wider people onsite. This will have an impact on many of our core term 4 events, and we are very disappointed about this. Having whānau and friends join in with school events is a key part of the way we have always operated, and we are hoping to be able to return to this as soon as possible. In the meantime, this article lays out what our events and activities this term will look like if we stay in level 2. It does not feel like a positive or particularly Amesbury-like way to start the term - listing the events that will not run or the events what whānau and friends cannot participate in, but it does at least give some clarity around what the term will look like if we stay at alert level 2. Obviously we are hoping that things will change, and if our alert level shifts back to level 1 we will be able to welcome larger groups back onsite again.

Another big change that happened over the holiday break which will begin to have an impact how things run at school is the mandate from the Government for all school employees and people who have contact with students at school to be vaccinated against Covid-19. The mandate states that staff must have had their first dose of vaccine by November 15th 2021, and be fully vaccinated by January 1st 2022. This is a key step in protecting our tamariki and any vulnerable members of our community who are unable to be vaccinated themselves. It will hopefully reassure you to know that our core teaching and support staff are already all vaccinated. Many are fully vaccinated, with the rest scheduled to receive their second dose in the coming weeks. We are now communicating with members of our wider school team to work through this process with them.

The mandate also covers volunteers at school, including parent volunteers who will come into contact with students. This will impact parents and whānau who help on trips or camps. Here is some useful information to help anyone who is looking to get vaccinated or looking for more information regarding vaccination. If you have any questions about any of this, please do not hesitate to contact me. It is a concerning time for us as a country and hopefully we will continue working together to protect each other in any way we can.

With that in mind, I just remind our community that we are continuing with our level 2 guidelines as we return to school on Monday. This means only coming onsite at school if it is absolutely necessary, and where possible not coming past the school boundary. We ask parents and whānau to distance themselves from people they do not know well, and wear a mask where at all possible. Having said that, if your child is new to school or is feeling anxious and would benefit from you walking into school with them, please know that this is okay. We just ask you to scan or sign in as you go into the hub, keep a 2 metre distance from others, and wear a mask where at all possible. Thank you for working with us to continue keeping our tamariki and community safe and healthy.

Kia pai tō wiki - have a good week and we are looking forward to welcoming your tamariki back onsite on Monday.

Ngā mihi 

Urs Cunningham