‘E ako ana, ā, e tipu tahi ana tātou’ - Learning and growing together.

Kia ora Koutou

Welcome back for Term 3. As I said in yesterday's message, I hope that despite the weather and coping with the challenges of covid and other winter illnesses, our families enjoyed the holiday break and managed to have special family times together.

Having covid during the last week of term meant that I missed the end-of-term fun activities, but along with many others, enjoyed the cultural assembly, which showcased our many talented students via live stream. Our grateful thanks to the church team for letting us use their space, as well as overseeing the livestreaming for us.

We have a busy term planned with Discovery Time starting this week, our Public Speaking Evening, Art Exhibition and several sporting events as upcoming highlights.

Junior Finishing Time

The Juniors will return to leaving school at the normal time of 3.00pm from today. The children will be taken to the court area, where parents will be able to wait over by the staffroom. Please watch out for older children who may be involved in physical activity sessions on the other courts!

Mask Wearing for Term 3

Following advice from the Ministries of Health and Education, we require all students Year 4 and above to wear face masks for the first four weeks of Term 3. We would also encourage Year 3 students who are in a Year 3/4 class to wear masks as well. We are acting in the best interests of the safety of our community, especially our staff and students. Thank you for your understanding and support.

We are following the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health who:

”Strongly recommend that all schools and kura amend their mask policy for the first four weeks of term to require mask wearing in all indoor settings (where it will not have a significant impact on teaching and learning – see below) for students in Years 4 and above. This is because we know that respiratory infections always jump 1-2 weeks after the term starts.

This recommendation does not include any situation where mask wearing might not be practicable, such as while eating and drinking, playing certain musical instruments, indoor sport, where it will have a significant impact on teaching and learning (for example, students with particular learning needs), certain activities such as singing or drama performance on stage, and PE. In these situations, particular attention will be paid to ensuring there is good ventilation during the activity (as is practicable in a Dunedin winter), and physical distancing where possible.

Wearing masks can reduce new cases of the virus by as much as 53%. It works alongside other measures including vaccination, good ventilation, staying home when sick, and hand washing and other hygiene measures, to protect our students and staff.
We know that some of our tamariki/ākonga are exempt from wearing a mask. If they have an exemption card or a letter from their health provider, or we have agreed that mask wearing is not practicable for them, we will support them to not wear a mask.
Please make sure that tamariki/ākonga come to school ready to wear masks. Students should bring masks from home. If students cannot bring masks from home, there will be a limited supply of masks for those who are unable to bring one.

Thank you for your support in protecting our school community. Reintroducing mask wearing is an important strategy in supporting the good health of all our learners and staff.

Teacher Only Day - Monday 12 September

The Board of Trustees has approved a Teacher Only Day to be taken on Monday 12 September for the teaching staff to participate in a Professional Development Day with Mark Osborne, Director of 'Leading Learning NZ.' Mark has been working with the staff this year looking at our Local Curriculum, Inquiry Leaning and Learner Agency.

Stay safe and well.

Ngā mihi nui

Jennifer