With winter now fully upon us, we’re seeing a familiar mix of chilly mornings, muddy shoes... and the inevitable chorus of sniffles and sneezes!

We want to strike the right balance between keeping everyone healthy and making the most of learning time. If your child is showing clear signs of illness — like a high temperature, persistent cough, vomiting, or fatigue — it's best to keep them home to rest and recover (and to help prevent bugs from spreading). We all want children to attend regularly and arrive on time, but sometimes parents are required to make tricky judgement calls as to whether or not their child should stay home. If they are too sick to learn, or there is the possibility that they are contagious, then they are better off at home. We all appreciate your care and consideration in this - we want to protect other learners and our staff as much as possible!

On the flip side, if it's just a mild case of the winter blues, or the odd sniffle with no real symptoms, it’s best to send them in. Being at school helps build routines, friendships, and learning momentum — and our teachers are great at lifting spirits with a bit of humour and warmth.

You might be interested that in Term 1, only 68% 76% of our students attended regularly (i.e. missing fewer than 5 days). The Ministry target is 80% regular attendance. Only 80% of students were on time to class, so there is room for improvement here. Students should aim to be at school by 8:30am daily.

We’re happy to help work through it together.

Thanks for helping us look after our school community — one tissue box and warm cup of lemon honey water at a time!

Ngā mihi mahana, warm regards.