An update from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health.
Tēnā koutou school whānau,
As you would have seen from the media the Coronavirus is spreading rapidly and more measures are being put in place to isolate the virus. As a school we want to ensure the safety of everyone by taking the recommended measures.
Authority to prevent a student’s attendance
As a precautionary measure we are asking students the have been in China or in recent contact with anyone from China that they remain home for the 14 day period (Section 19 Education Act).
Please advise the office asap if you are keeping your child at home for the 14 days. Email office@knightsstream.school.nz
Supporting students’ learning for their 14 day stay away time
- Students (or their parents/caregivers) who are staying at home to avoid the risk of spreading the virus, can contact their teacher via email and ask that they provide them with some work that’s related to what is being covered in the curriculum in the early weeks.
- This might include some maths worksheets, or home learning programmes such as Mathletics, or topic/s of inquiry that the class, or school, is focusing on.
- Students can be doing some of their own research into these learning areas, so that by the time they return to school, they are ready and able to contribute to class discussions.
- Because the purpose of the 14-day incubation period is to try to avoid contact with other people, and possible spread of the virus, it is not recommended that students visit libraries, or undertake other activities that might involve mixing with the public.
For parents of students at home
Literacy and numeracy:
- Depending on their age, students can be encouraged to read, or be read to. They can also help, by reading to their younger siblings, if they’re also home.
- Keeping a journal or scrapbook during the time period is a way for them to collect and create. These could incorporate drawings, photos, plans and stories of things they’ve done, all of which will help their literacy skills.
- Helping out with cooking and baking makes use of their maths skills and shows them how maths is all around them. Helping with housework also teaches your child lots of important skills about being organised, being part of the family, co-operating and contributing.
Key competencies:
As well as literacy and numeracy, The New Zealand Curriculum includes some important key competencies to prepare young people for life and work, and so that they can adapt and function well in the world.
These include ‘thinking’, ‘managing self’, ‘relating to others’ and ‘participating and contributing’.
The 14-day at-home period is a good opportunity to do things together that use one or more key competencies.
You could:
- Plan a meal together (managing self)
- Get some discussions going, for example, talk to your child about how (critical) thinking is important to make sense of everything they do at school and at home. Find some news items or opinion pieces, and discuss whether you each agree with what’s been said. Why? Why not?
- Or talk about different ways of “being” in the world. Compare the different cultures in your life, so you can talk about how things are in different contexts, and why (relating
Kind regards
Mike Molloy
Other useful information
You can also contact your local District Health Board if you require further information – Public Health Unit Contacts
The Ministry of Education is working closely with the Ministry of Health to ensure that you have the most relevant information to inform your planning in regard to the potential risks associated with the coronavirus and information is now on our website - http://education.govt.nz/news/novel-coronavirus/
Current travel information – please do continue to refer to the Ministry of Health’s information page on their website. It will be updated as new information comes to hand. Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) guidance – Ministry of Health website