Kia Ora Koutou, and warm greetings from Kākāriki house.

Firstly, I hope that everyone is safe and well within your respective bubbles. These are extraordinary times that we are living in, and everything seems a bit surreal at the moment. The national level four lockdown, and all that comes with that, are presenting challenges that many of us have not experienced before, and I would like to remind us all to look after our well-being, first and foremost.

As I am writing this, we are just completing the second week of term two. This is a very different start to the term, unlike any we have experienced, and possibly ever will. We are two weeks into distance learning, with students across all year levels interacting with their teachers, and learning, via online platforms like Google Classroom, Education Perfect, Google Meet and Hapara Workspace. I have seen and heard of some amazing learning still taking place across these platforms, and that is a tremendous credit to the students and teaching staff we have in our Linwood College Community. 

A reminder that students should receive emails from their teachers with links to work, and the appropriate platform. If your child is feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to access work, their school email is the best place to access the work set. If there are any concerns around schoolwork and engagement, then please do not hesitate to contact me, and we can make time to catch up. Alternatively you can also contact your child’s Kaiārahi (Ako teacher), they can also help and are attempting to check in with all of their students throughout each week via email.

I am looking forward to welcoming back all Kākāriki students to school, when it is safe to do so. Until then I hope everyone stays safe, keeps well and stays home where possible. If you have any questions, queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards,

Ethan Smith

Kākāriki House Dean

smi@linwoodcollege.school.nz