Information for Parents and Caregivers:

Kia ora whānau,

Firstly, apologies for the length of this email but there is a lot of information to share with you.  😀

As you will be aware New Zealand is moving to Alert Level 2. For education, this means that school will be reopening on Monday 18th May, and we are thrilled to be back!

We will be open, but not everything will be the same. We want you to be confident that we have the best interests of your child and our staff at the centre of all decision making.

We have developed a plan for the next few weeks that has a strong focus on playing it safe. This plan is designed to give you confidence that we will have systems in place to keep your children and our staff safe. Once things settle, we will review this plan.

Some of you may be anxious at this time and we will ensure that school is the safest place for your children to be outside of your family bubbles. At all times we will be following the most up to date advice from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health.

1. At pick up and drop off 

• Drop off:  Some staff will be on the street to greet children and to direct them into class - the only adults that are permitted to escort children into school are parents of New Entrants in Rooms 2 and 3. We will have Contact Tracing Forms for these parents to complete in those classrooms.
• Added 14 May, 9.05am - Our thinking is that all children who can come into the school by themselves, should. If your child is anxious and needs you to accompany them into school, email the class teacher and we will come up with a solution.
• Please do not congregate near the gates or on the street. We want to keep to Alert Level 2 social distancing expectations.
• Our school grounds will be open from 8:25am.
• Children can come in through any entrance (except the staff carpark). 
• Pick up: Staff will be at the gates, ensuring a smooth exit for children so they  can meet you where arranged before school.
• Only parents of New Entrants in Rooms 2 and 3 can come inside the grounds to pick their children up.
• While this will be busy, we ask that you keep calm and head home quickly. This avoids congestion, follows physical distancing guidelines, and ensures that people get home quickly.
• This could be busy, so please be kind.
• Those children who bike or scoot home on their own usually, can continue to do so.
• If you do need to come on-site please email or phone the office 3388 429.
• We are trying to keep all visitors to the school to a minimum.

2. Classrooms

• Hand sanitiser will be used for everyone entering and exiting the classroom.
• Additional disinfectant and cloths will be available in classrooms to sanitise spaces throughout the school day as required.
• Frequent handwashing with soap and water will happen throughout the day.
• Children should be far enough away from each other so that they are not breathing on (moist breath zone) or touching each other.

3. Attendance

• Students and staff will not attend school if they are unwell.
• Students and staff who become unwell during the school day will be sent home.
• In schools, our contact tracing is a combination of attendance register and visitor register. These provide good information to health authorities if they need to contact people that might be considered a close contact of a confirmed case. This includes recording all adults who are on site at any time.

4. Cleaning and Hygiene

• Soap and water to be used in the toilet areas.
• Hand sanitiser in all rooms.
• Cleaners will complete daily cleans in line with the Ministry of Health guidelines.
• Continue to model good hygiene practices (coughing into your elbow, handwashing and drying) and regular cleaning of commonly touched surfaces.

5. In the Playground

• Each team will play in a separate play area with their own equipment to use.
• There will be regular cleaning of shared equipment such as balls, sticks etc.
• Drinking fountains will remain turned off. Students will need a named drink bottle at school.

6. Movement In and Out of school

We are limiting all non-essential curriculum activity both in and outside of school.

• No school assemblies.
• No large school gatherings involving parent spectators.
• There will be no South Hagley Winter Sports at this point in time.
• No class trips or excursions outside of the school.

7. Teaching

• This has been a very different time for the children and we will be planning programmes that in some ways resemble the start of the year - going over routines and expectations whilst ensuring everyone feels happy and safe to be at school.
• Wellbeing will be our number one priority.
• We will share a more detailed plan for how we will report in due course, but there will be no Term 2 Written Report. Instead we will settle your children into school, do assessments, work out their next steps and have a face to face interview with you towards the end of the term. 

The most important message is that parents are not to be on site, otherwise we need your details to contract trace if required. We would prefer that if you need to contact anyone, drop something off or if an emergency that you phone the office 3388 429 and we will help you out without the need for you to come in the gate.

Our goal is get everyone back safe and settled.

Of course if you or your child is sick, they should not attend school. Here's a helpful flow-chart:

If you have any concerns or questions please email principal@hoonhay.school.nz

Stay safe everyone, and we really look forward to catching up on Monday!

Lee McArthur