Kia ora koutou

I trust you enjoyed some quality time with friends and whānau over Matariki weekend.  It was fantastic to see the way our country embraced the new national holiday and joined together to celebrate the true meaning of Matariki. 

It is hard to believe that this is the last newsletter for Term 2. The term seems to have flown by. This is partly due to us being able to offer so many more events and activities that we could not do under the Red Setting last term. This would not be possible without the hard work of our staff and I just want to acknowledge their efforts in making this a very rewarding term. 

On Monday you received a Hero notification regarding the further reduction of Coivid-19 controls at Halswell School Te Kura o Te Tauawa from the beginning of Term 3. The main changes will be as follows:

• The wearing of masks by staff and students will be optional
• Lunch and morning breaks will return to being at the same time for the whole school
• Parents and volunteers will be welcome to enter Learning Centres, but we do encourage mask-wearing please
• Learning Conferences will take place (face to face with masks encouraged) on Tuesday 2 and Wednesday 3 August

The controls that will remain in place are as follows:

• Physical distancing where practical
• Avoidance of large indoor gatherings such as whole school assemblies
• Continuation of regular hand washing routines and our increased daily cleaning scope

It would be helpful if you can discuss these changes with your children so they know what to expect when they arrive at school next term please. We will be monitoring the situation closely over the next three-four weeks and will keep you informed if any of the above changes. 

In staffing news, we have two new teachers joining our Year 0-2 Team from the beginning of next term. Melissa Botha will take over teaching T2 in Ahuriri. Melissa and her family are relocating from Auckland where she currently teaches at Gulf Harbour School. Sara Carter will be teaching our latest New Entrant start-up class T4 and will be based in the Performing Arts Suite. Many of you will already know Sara as she has two children at Halswell School. 

We are delighted to have two such high-quality teachers joining us and I know that they will add to the existing skills, passions and curriculum strengths we have on our staff.

I would like to wish Nicky Edwards all the best as she is leaving Halswell School at the end of the term. Nicky has been a valued member of our team for many years and will be greatly missed. I'm sure you will join me in wishing Nicky all the best for the adventures ahead.

Finally, if I don't see you before the end of next week, I hope you have a great holiday and look forward to seeing you when school resumes at 8.30am on Monday 25 July.

Ngā mihi nui

Stuart Cameron

Principal