Kia ora koutou

This update is to provide you with the latest information about our planning and response to keep the school environment and your children safe at school. The Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education are providing guidance and support to schools on a daily basis and we are following their advice. Our priority is to maintain our school environment as a safe place for our children and staff.

In New Zealand we have no community transmission of COVID-19. Schools across the country are open and because of the extremely low rate of infection in New Zealand school is a safe place to be. Children who are well need to be attending school and are able to do so safely. Our school counsellors have advised on the importance of keeping normal routines in place to help keep our children free of anxiety. This is their recommendation:

ü Keep things as normal as possible, healthy routines are important

ü Limit adult talk about what is happening in front of children, reduce access to media

ü Keep the handwashing expectations light-hearted and playful - make it like the Air New Zealand safety announcements on planes (a serious message done in a fun way)

ü For children - if you see them playing out their worries it is healthy as it allows them to process things

Following the Ministry guidelines to date we have made these changes:

· There will be no whole school assemblies or syndicate huis from this week for the rest of the term.

· There will be no whole school events that require children to be in close physical proximity to each other for the rest of the term.

· We are ensuring that all toilets have appropriate soap and hand towels available throughout the day.

· Our caretaker is working on shutting off the drinking fountains. We are encouraging children to bring their own drink bottle.

We will keep you updated whenever the situation changes. To help us please can you:

· Keep your child at home if they are unwell

· Help us keep our records up to date by:

o Providing us with up to date contact details – phone and email addresses. If you have recently changed any of your contact details please email these to: principal@belfast.school.nz It is very important that we have the correct information for parents, caregivers and emergency contacts.

o If you have a shared custody arrangement for you child / children we need to know who to contact for important messages.

o Please let us know if your child has any medical condition, or changes to a medical condition or medication that you will have told us about when your child was enrolled.

Please look out for emails from Belfast School that have COVID-19 in the subject line. This is how we will send all important information out to you.

Nga mihi nui - kind regards

Sue Elley

Principal - Tumuaki