An update from Graeme Budler, 7 May 2020

Dear KingsWay Community,

Kia ora koutou

Like me, I am sure you have followed with interest the announcements made by the Prime Minister.

It is reassuring to hear how well our country has done at minimising the impacts of COVID-19. Alert Levels 4 and 3 have not been easy, and I thank you for your ongoing support for the work we are doing.

Today, the Prime Minister advised that in Alert Level 2 schools are safe environments for children, young people and staff and that additional public health control measures are in place to prevent the spread of disease and to support contact tracing.

The good news is that when we can, we will be ready to welcome all students and staff back to our school site.

The key Public Health approach is to minimise the risk that someone gets infected in the first place, and second to ensure we can identify and contact anyone who has been in close contact with a person if someone in a school is infected.

As we have done in Alert Level 3, you can be reassured that in Alert Level 2 we will know who is at school, who our staff and students have been in close contact with and take appropriate measures to keep everyone safe.

Physical distancing is an excellent precaution to prevent the spread of disease. We do, however, know it is challenging in schools, so effective hygiene practices and regular cleaning are even more critical here. These measures include staff and students coughing into their elbows, hand washing and drying and routine cleaning of commonly touched surfaces.

Under Alert Level 2, we advise any students and staff to stay at home if they are sick, and we will send anyone home immediately if they show any symptoms.

Our school has safe and sensible practices to maintain the health and safety of everyone on the school site. As described by Dr Payinda in his NZ Herald article, "Covid's not measles or chickenpox, it doesn't hang in the air for hours waiting to infect passers-by. It travels on invisible drops of spit. You don't have to cross the street to avoid anyone. Just avoid getting in their 'moist breath' zone". We all just need to remember to have some breathing space at Alert Level 2!

It's essential, however, that not just at school but at home, safe hygiene habits are practised by everyone, as this is essential to minimise the risk that someone gets infected with Covid-19.

For more information about the public health measures at Alert Level 2, you can visit the covid19.govt.nz website: https://covid19.govt.nz/

The school's leadership are processing all information and awaiting further direction from the Ministry of Education in the next few days before we advise the KingsWay community regarding our plan to move to Alert Level 2 safely.

Please productively use the remainder of Alert Level 3 to prepare emotionally for the transition to a new normal. To this end, I also recommend a resource, prepared by the KingsWay Counselling Department, to discuss with your children as part of their preparation for a return to school. This resource can be found below as an attached pdf.

We will be in touch again soon to update you on our plans. Meanwhile, let us continue to pray for ongoing wisdom for our country's decision-makers during this challenging time.

Ngā mihi

Greame Budler
Executive Principal