Tēnā koutou katoa.

Just a quick update and some key messages.

You may be aware of the announcement yesterday about what returning to alert level three may look like for students and schools. We have no information beyond what has been shared publicly but we will continue to keep you informed as required.

Below are some points of note from recent Ministry updates that you may need to be aware of.

Free internet safety filter for parents

While children are learning from home, they are away from the online safety and security services provided by Network for Learning (N4L) at school. So together with N4L and Netsafe, we have launched www.switchonsafety.co.nz - a free way to block the worst of the web for students and teachers.

Remember, no technical solution is a silver bullet. Please remind your parent community to complement this with digital citizenship toolkits provided by Netsafe.

Netsafe

Netsafe provides comprehensive support and information to support everyone to stay safe as they work, learn and play online. Netsafe has new and updated resources for parents, whānau and students at https://www.netsafe.org.nz/advice/staying-safe/

Students in work

With the start of Term 2, it is very timely to acknowledge the contributions students have been making to the essential workforce during the school holidays, including working hard in many of your local supermarkets.

The start of term 2 does, however, signal that students’ work hours must return to being outside of school hours only.

Thank you for supporting your children as we engage in distance learning. It has been a very positive start with high levels of engagement from students. We will continue to improve and refine our delivery of learning as the term develops.

Ngā mihi,

Alastair Sinton
Principal