Sport, Middle School and Senior School updates.
Dear KingsWay Community,
I am sure that you heard the message regarding the possibility that Year 12 and 13s can return to school from Wednesday under strict protocols. The KingsWay leadership, along with most North Shore principals, have considered the possibility and do not believe it is in the best interests of the students and staff to return under Alert Level 3 at this stage. The restrictions of 20 students to a bubble and not mixing with other bubbles is one of the many reasons that make this solution unworkable and disruptive. The school leadership are working on ensuring that a plan is in place that results in the least disruption and a fair opportunity for our students to achieve their given potential.
Sport Update
Following the government’s decision that Auckland will remain at Alert Level 3 until 11.59 PM on Wednesday 26 August, all College Sport Auckland events and activities remain on hold.
The government is due to give another update on the current Alert Level status on Friday 21 August.
At Alert Level 3, College Sport Auckland events and fixtures are not possible due to gathering size restrictions.
Middle School Update
We are very pleased with the smooth transition to our Distance Learning programme. Thank you for your support and assisting your children to be in their Zoom sessions and with their learning. Please email your child’s form teacher with any questions. This is the best way for a teacher to be able to respond.
Please note the following events are postponed until further notice:
- Middle School Cross Country
- Year 9 Options Information Evening (please see Senior School notice below)
- North Shore Mathex for Year 7 & 8
- Year 9 Auckland Mathex
- Year 7-8 North Harbour Gymnastics
Senior School Update
We hope that this communication finds you well and that you are managing to readjust to this temporary change of circumstances. In this update we have important information regarding assessments, online learning and the Options Evening that was initially planned to occur at the Senior Campus next Tuesday 25th August.
One of the key messages for students currently is to continue applying themselves and to work to the best of their ability. While the government has provided ‘learning recognition credits’ to ease pressure on students this year, it is concerning to hear that some students are potentially planning to do less as a result. Calculating credits and then withdrawing from external examinations or internal assessments is highly inadvisable.
We strongly recommend that students do not do this because they may miscalculate how much they need or wrongly assume they will pass internals. All students should be completing every standard in each course. We would also hope that students would be developing a ‘lifelong learning ethic’ and see learning as valuable in and of itself, rather than simply seeing it as an instrumental transaction. As such, we encourage you to have conversations with students around this.
Government Announcement:
Today (Tuesday 18th August) the government made an announcement that schools are able to bring Year 12 and 13 students back on site, with several restrictions. Note that KingsWay will not be bringing students back this week due to the complexity around the government restrictions.
However, please be assured that we are working hard to respond to the circumstances we now face. We are formulating action plans to ensure students assessments can go ahead this term. Also, as communicated previously, due to Covid-19 students should expect that classes will continue later this year, potentially right up until 9 December. There will also likely be additional catch-up sessions, similar to those completed after the first lock-down.
Online Learning Protocols
As per the first lock-down, remote learning will be delivered through Teams. The expectations for contact teaching time is that there would be a minimum of one full teaching session per week, alongside work set outside of this. We have recommended that each teacher keeps their contact time on Teams to a maximum of 2 hours per week and ideally less than this. This is to ensure that students have enough time to keep up to date on set work and to minimise time spent in online meetings. Teachers will be following the regular timetable, but will communicate to students in advance which session(s) they will be meeting them in. We will continue to follow online teaching protocols to ensure student and teacher safety and well-being, which includes recording all online meetings.
Let us know if there are issues with connectivity, devices or other aspects of online learning as we want students to keep engaged and involved in their learning wherever that is possible.
If your child is having any technical difficulties in accessing online work, please email the relevant dean and cc Colin Thomson (Colin.Thomson@kingsway.school.nz) as soon as possible so we can see how we can support their learning.
Options Evening:
Alternative (Tuesday 25th & Wed 26th August)
Due to lock-down restrictions, we will not be conducting the Options Evening on site as previously communicated. Alternative arrangements are being planned using digital platforms.
1. NCEA information and Faculty Information Videos (Tuesday 25th August)
2. Subject Webinars: Q&A with teachers (Wednesday 26th August)
NCEA Information and Faculty Information Videos (Tuesday 25th August)
Videos will be uploaded to a shared location on the following subjects on Tuesday 25th August, including:
- NCEA Information Overview (mainly for parents of Year 11’s in 2021).
- Faculty Information Overview
This will consist of an overview of the subjects offered in each faculty and the pathways needed if students want certain subjects at Level 3/Year 13. - The Senior School Options Booklet will be sent out electronically on Tuesday. Instructions for subject selection included will be included in the booklet.
Subject Webinars: Q&A with teachers (Wednesday 26th August)
On Wednesday 26th August, individual teachers will be available for 20-minute time slots to answer questions about specific subjects. Unlike parent teacher conferences, multiple parents will be able to enter the meeting simultaneously, so everyone can benefit from questions asked.
Students will be notified that their main teaching lesson of that week will not occur on Wednesday after Period 4, so webinars can start at 1pm, as per below.
Specific links will be made available on Tuesday 25th August that relate to the subject areas in the outline. Note that depending on the faculty/subject, there may be more than one subject discussed simultaneously. For example, Mr Forrest teaches Level 2 Geography and L2 Tourism, and these may occur at the same time to make the evening more efficient.
Year 10 Options Information (Monday 31st August)
Parents of students moving into Year 10 in 2021 do not need to attend these seminars, as they are aimed at students moving from Year 10 into Year 11 or Year 12 into 13 etc. However, year 10 subject selection will occur at the same time (deadline will be 10th September). Parents interested in hearing about Year 10 options can log in to a series of twenty minutes seminars on Monday 31st August from 4:00pm to 6:30pm.
Please note that Year 10 students have a similar model to year 9 and only need to select 4 options subjects for the year, most of which do not affect course pathways in Senior School.
Subject Webinars:
(also attached as a pdf)
Options Selection Timeline
The following dates have been adjusted due to Covid-19/ the second lock-down (also attached as a pdf).
Graeme Budler
Executive Principal