COVID-19 Update, 3 April 2020

KingsWay School —

Please read the following update from Graeme Budler which includes information from the Ministry of Education.

Dear KingsWay Community,

I trust that you are enjoying the break, and are exercising loads of patience to those with whom you are privileged to accompany in your lockdown bubble. As per my commitment to avoid you having to regularly check your emails during the break, here is my weekly update outlining significant COVID-19 developments. The Ministry of Education provides substantial information to principals at this time, so I have only included relevant information to parents. I plan to update you again next Thursday to avoid sending an email on Good Friday.

I continue to pray for you as you navigate this challenging situation. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any queries or issues causing you angst at this time.

Kind regards,

Graeme Budler
Executive Principal

Update from the Ministry of Education

Ministry of Education Logo — Image by: KingsWay School

What We’re Doing

We’re working with a range of providers – including ICT, education and PLD providers – on a package of supports and resources to supplement

We are also working with the telecommunications industry to identify the location of student households without connectivity and to develop solutions for students in these homes.

In addition, we are exploring at pace the possibility of educational material being broadcast on TV.

Sending Out Packs to Homes

Please remember that during a lockdown there is to be no direct contact with people outside your household (bubble). Doing so creates risk of spreading COVID-19, including through putting together and delivering parcels. Staying home keeps people safe.

You will also be aware that Staff are not permitted to go onto the school sites to collect resources for distribution.

We are working hard to support distance learning for all school communities and will continue to map out what that looks like in the coming days, including getting learning packs, devices and internet connectivity into homes across New Zealand. See our item further below for more details about this work programme.

Remote Learning Through Term Two

Schools will shortly be moving into distance learning delivery.

Online support for distance learning
The Ministry has launched its Learning From Home and Ki Te Ao Mārama websites which provide advice and resources to support parents, whānau and teachers. The websites will help early learning centres, schools and kura to develop online learning plans that they can share with their parents and whānau.

We have set up a Connected Learning Advisory helpdesk to assist leaders, teachers, kaiako and whānau to make full use of the online environments and resources, as they provide for a continuity of learning for their students and tamariki. CORE Education, which runs the helpdesk, will provide this and other online support from 8 am to 5 pm on business days.

Support includes:

  • Technical advice for teachers and whānau in response to their Helpdesk enquiries
  • Online support to assist:
    • whānau to understand how to use the IT tools they have and how to engage safely in collaborative spaces
    • principals, leadership teams and teachers to select and use appropriate tools and strategies to communicate, maintain learning programmes effectively across their community, and manage online safety
  • Community liaison: connecting early learning services/school/kura leaders and whānau with networks and resources.

Wellbeing information updated including new tip sheets for families, caregivers and whānau.

We have slightly updated the wellbeing information on our website to better reflect how the COVID-19 response has changed over the last weeks. Included in there are three new tip sheets for parents, caregivers and teachers:

If you know someone who might be struggling in your school or early learning service community, there are a large range of supports in place that may be able to assist including:

Information in languages other than English:

Welfare

If you are aware there are people in your community who cannot get access to essential goods such as food, they can contact the local Emergency Coordination Centres (ECC), part of Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Groups. These groups coordinate the regional multi-agency response and provide a range of support activities. This is intended for people who don’t have any other options available to them and operates 7 days a week from 7am to 7pm - https://www.civildefence.govt.nz/resources/news-and-events/news/cdem-group-0800-numbers-for-supporting-communities/

Further Welfare Supports Include:

Improving Internet Connectivity

Our IT team has put together some tips for improved connectivity at home.

For Home Internet Connections
It is important to eliminate performance/speed issues with the home wifi setup first, rather than assuming there is an issue with the connection from the house to the internet. To check this:

  • Run a speed test at www.speedtest.net to establish a baseline, and repeat after making any change below to check for improvement
  • Power off home router every morning, leave off for 30 secs before powering back on (don’t press the reset button this will reset the device settings!)
  • Turn off, or disable Wi-Fi on, unused devices where possible, especially older devices that run at slower Wi-Fi speeds
  • Decrease the physical distance between your device and the Wi-Fi router, line of sight is best
  • Use an Ethernet cable on devices where possible, to reduce Wi-Fi load (especially smart TVs, gaming consoles) – plug these into a spare LAN port on your router.

Data Allowance/Cap Issues

  • Check you are not already on an uncapped data plan as previously communicated in the bulletin (applies to Spark, Vodafone, Vocus/Slingshot, and 2Degrees, Trustpower). If unsure contact your provider
  • Some providers have made uncapped offers to rural and remote customers for off peak (night time hours only). Consider shifting non time critical downloads such as computer patching to these time periods
  • Check what options are available for the address at https://broadbandmap.nz/ and if not on the cheapest/best option suggest changing provider as an option (this is covered as an essential service).

In some remote areas speed of connection AND the amount of data is a hard technical constraint based on the capacity of the technology used such as satellite or “point to point” wireless.

  • As a very rough indicator if it requires an externally mounted antenna or dish it probably falls into this category
  • If this is the situation for a teacher delivering distance learning, consider non-digital alternatives in the short term.