Please read below what this means for schools tomorrow and next term.

Kia ora e te whānau

Many of us will be aware that Minister of Education Chris Hipkins has announced the move to Orange at 11:59pm tonight.

The decision to move to Orange has been made on public health advice and reflects that nationally we are moving past the peak of cases and our health system is able to cope. Nationally we are seeing that cases are declining due to high levels of vaccination and natural immunity after infection.

Mask wearing at school tomorrow, our last day of term

We are following the MOE recommendations which is to retain our current Red settings at school tomorrow. This means that mask wearing indoors at school is continued tomorrow.

Mask wearing at school next term

When we return next term we will be at Orange. At Orange, public health advice is that masks continue to be strongly encouraged when indoors but they are no longer compulsory at school.  

Wearing a mask is a key health measure that slows the spread of COVID-19 in indoor settings. For that reason, we ask that visitors to the school, including parents and whānau, wear a mask whenever they are indoors on school grounds.

We also ask that your child continues to bring a mask to school every day. There may be times that we’ll ask them to wear a mask, too, for example, when we are having an assembly in the hall. If there are a high number of cases at school or in the community, we may ask that masks are worn in classrooms for a time.

Mask wearing on buses

At Orange, students aged 12 and above are still required to wear a face mask on school or public transport.

Student gatherings 

At Orange,  assemblies and other student-gathering activities can occur. These activities should be in well-ventilated areas or outdoors. Public health advice strongly recommends that masks are worn for large indoor gatherings.

Retaining other health measures

We will continue to keep all the other health measures in place at school that we know slow the spread of COVID-19. These include ensuring our indoor spaces are well-ventilated, maintaining good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette, appropriate physical distancing whenever we can and, most importantly, staying home if we are sick.

And it is good news to have some good news!

We are looking forward to a few less restrictions and returning to school life that is a bit closer to normal.

Ngā mihi nui

Richard Edmundson
Tumuaki-Principal

Have you had your booster? Vaccinate for our future. Protect yourself, your whānau, and your whakapapa.