Deans Report For All Whānau and Students in Kōwhai.

Kia ora koutou, what an interesting year it has been so far. After successfully setting into teaching and learning for 2020, the country was rocked by COVID-19. I am glad you are safe and doing your part to keep this country safe. It has been a very unique start to Term 2 with online learning happening while we all deal with the ongoing impact of COVID-19. This experience has made me personally focus on my well-being and become much more connected to my whānau, even if it is through FaceTime. 

Well-being is the absolute priority at the moment. While teaching and learning are incredibly important, I can not stress enough the urgency of looking after your own well-being. For us to learn and for our brains to be able to learn, we need to be calm and avoid stress. That is a fact. Therefore, taking the necessary steps to look after your well-being is the priority at present. Before we can think about school work, we need to make sure our well-being is calm and relaxed and in a position to learn.

Once we are in an emotional state able for distance/online learning, all work for each student will be explained to them in their school e-mail. If they have forgotten their password or login information, please get in contact with me so I can give this to you. The school and Ministry of Education have been busy sending out Chromebooks and hardcopy packs so that everyone has an opportunity to learn. If students are struggling to understand what to do, they should e-mail their kaiako (teacher) to ask for help and clarification.

If you have changed address or have a new cellphone number, can you please make sure to let us know of this. Either by emailing or phoning me or the front office. It is imperative we have the correct contact information.

The whakatauki I will leave with you today is relevant to our current context as we are all doing our part, as New Zealanders, to keep this country safe and following the guidelines set by our government. With all of us working together, we can and will get through this. Kia kaha.

Ma whero ma pango ka oti ai te mahi

Ngā manaakitanga,

Mr Jesse Harding
hdg@linwoodcollege.school.nz

03 982 0100 ext 849