This communication comes off the back of the government announcement today that school will resume at Level 2 for the South Island from this Thursday.

Dear parents/caregivers

As you will be aware, we have been informed that it is safe for students south of Auckland to return to school under Covid Alert Level 2 from Thursday 9 September. Additional public health control measures will be in place to prevent the spread of disease and to support contact tracing.

The key Public Health approach at Level 2 is to minimise the risk that someone gets infected in the first place, and second to ensure we can identify and contact anyone who has been in close contact with a person, if someone in a school is infected.

Physical distancing is a good precaution to prevent the spread of disease. We do, however, know it is challenging in schools, so good hygiene practices and regular cleaning will continue. This includes staff and students coughing into their elbows, washing and drying hands thoroughly and regular cleaning of commonly touched surfaces.

Under Alert Level 2, we advise any students and staff to stay at home if they are sick, and we will send anyone home immediately if they show any symptoms.

Our school has safe and sensible practices to maintain the health and safety of everyone on the school site. 

Some changes that students will notice at Level 2 include the following:

• Students will be encouraged to sanitise or wash hands upon entering a classroom and will be required to before using school equipment.
• Students should not touch or breathe on others.
• Students will not be able to leave the school grounds during the day unless they are sick or have a pre-scheduled appointment. This includes Year 13 students and students that usually have a lunch pass.
• Assemblies will not run under level 2.
• Wearing of face masks is recommended at school under level 2.  Students and staff are encouraged to wear these, however, it is not compulsory. 
• All visitors to the school must sign in and provide a current address and phone number.

We are still awaiting Ministry of Education advice regarding the resumption of trips and extra-curricular activities. 

It’s important however that safe hygiene habits are practiced by everyone, not just at school but at home as well. This is essential to minimise the risk that someone gets infected with Covid-19.  We also encourage families to follow public health advice regarding vaccinations, which are now available for 12-15 year olds.

For more information about the public health measures at Alert Level 2, you can visit the Covid-19 website: https://covid19.govt.nz/

I look forward to seeing all of our students at 8:50am on Thursday.  

Ngā mihi

Daniel Wilson
Principal