IMPORTANT NOTICES

   /   
HPV vaccination forms for Year 8 students need to be completed and returned by Friday 23 February.

YEAR 8 HPV VACCINATIONS

Students were issued with an HPV information sheet to take home on Monday and this includes a consent form. All forms need to be completed and returned by Friday 23 February even if consent is not given (there is a section in the form for declining).

Here is a link to the information supplied by the Public Health team: https://www.immunise.health.nz/about-vaccines/nz-immunisations/hpv-human-papillomavirus-vaccine/

The first dose of the vaccine will be delivered to students (with parental consent) on Monday 11 March.

If you have any questions regarding the HPV vaccination programme please address them directly to the public health nurse for the southern region:

Nicola Ellis
027 344 6457 or email nicola.h.ellis@southerndhb.govt.nz


IMPORTANT BUS ROUTE UPDATE

For the following five weeks, from Monday 19 February, vehicles travelling into Wānaka from Luggate will have to detour via Ballantyne Road. This will affect some of the bus routes, but GoBus have been able to make changes that will have minimal impact.

Luggate Loop – D130429

Currently this bus is following a different route due to Riverbank Road being closed. As of Monday, the bus will revert to it’s previous timetabled route.

Wānaka Airport D130430

This bus will continue to operate as normal. (It has been allowed access through the road closure to travel past Ballantyne Road, so it will be able to come back along Morris Road).

Affected run: Luggate Express D130409

IMPORTANT – Any changes detailed below will only affect the morning bus run. The afternoon bus run will operate as normal.

In the morning the Luggate Express bus will detour via Ballantyne Road.

Any students catching the bus at 548 Wanaka-Luggate Highway (“Sandhills”) will need to get on the Wānaka Airport bus at Sandhills but please be there by 7:55am.

Students who would get on “just past the corner of Ballantyne Road” will still be on the Luggate Express, but will need to get on at 622 Ballantyne Road. Please be at the stop at 8.00 am.

All of these bus timetables can be viewed here: https://mtaspiring.school.nz/school-bus/

If you have any questions please address these directly to GoBus – 03 448 6868.


SPECIALISED SCHOOL TRANSPORT ASSISTANCE (SESTA) OVERVIEW 

School transport assistance is usually a place on a school bus. It can also be an allowance that contributes to the cost of the caregiver transporting their child to school.

For information about school transport assistance for children and young people with safety and/or mobility needs, see: Specialised School Transport Assistance (SESTA).

Eligibility criteria

Your child must meet all three eligibility criteria to get school transport assistance:

  • The school must be the closest state or state integrated school your child can enrol at. For students attending a state integrated school, it must be the closest school of its type, i.e. the closest Catholic school if a Catholic education is chosen.
  • Your child must live more than a certain distance from the school.
  • Years 1-8: At least 3.2 km from the school (over the shortest public road or pedestrian route from home roadside gate to the school’s front gate).
  • Years 9-13: At least 4.8 km from the school (over the shortest public road or pedestrian route from home roadside gate to the school’s front gate).
  • There must be no suitable public transport options.

Conveyance allowance criteria

Your child may be eligible for a conveyance allowance if they meet all 3 criteria above and: there isn’t a school bus available, or they live more than 2.4 km from the nearest school bus route.

“Suitable” public transport

“Suitable” public transport is public transport that travels within:

  • 2.4 km of the roadside gate of your home, and
  • 2.4 km of the closest appropriate school.

and can provide transport that does not require your child to:

  • be picked up before 7am
  • arrive at school before it starts
  • can be picked up no later than one hour after school finishes
  • change buses more than once on a journey.

Your school will tell you if a Ministry-funded service is cancelled because public transport has become available.

Apply

To apply for school transport assistance, talk to your child’s school about whether they are eligible for:

A place on a school bus

The school’s bus controller will arrange the details of the transport with you.

A conveyance allowance to help with transport costs

If your child meets the criteria for a conveyance allowance (see above), you can apply online. Please start the application and submit to your school who will complete their section of the application and send to the Ministry of Education.

Link to conveyance allowance application https://takueducationnz.my.site.com/SESTA/s/