Kia ora e te whanau,
We have over the past week been busy preparing the school to open on Monday 18 May at Alert Level 2. The staff team and I are really looking forward to welcoming the school community back at school.
During Alert Level 3 and 4 students in Ruma Nikau and Ruma Kauri captured some snapshots of their time at home. Hans Weston, one of our parents, helped produce this wonderful reminder of our time apart. I hope you enjoy viewing this video as much as I did.
https://vimeo.com/417850025/3ff51a4540
Things will be a little different on your child’s return to school.
- We intend to have three breaks throughout the day and no long lunch time.
- Often used surfaces will be cleaned regularly throughout the day including doors and table tops.
- The toilets will be cleaned throughout the day following the different planned breaks.
- There will be no contact sports played at break times. If your child likes to play soccer or basketball they can bring their own ball to school.
- Our drinking fountains will remain turned off. PLEASE ensure your child comes with a drink bottle each day.
- To reduce traffic on the drive and contact between adults arriving at school you may choose to collect your child from 2.30pm. If you choose to do this can you please let your child’s teacher know your plans.
- There will be no playing on the lower playground after school. We are asking you to collect your child at the end of the day and leave the school grounds. This will help us support our after school care programme’s need to trace people in contact with their children.
Knowing who has been on our school site
As we have done at Alert Level 3, we will at Alert Level 2 need to know who is at school. We need to be able to know who our staff and students have been in close contact with.
Each class will have a contact register and they will record what adults have visited a classroom over the course of a day.
Georgie and Jo in the school office will keep a record of visitors to our school.
At the start and end of each day, if you come up the drive to collect your child, you will need to record your name and details on one of our contact registers. There will be a register in the shelter shed down by South Block, one near the new Reading Recovery Centre on the top playground and there will be another register outside the main block.
We are asking for your support in the following ways:
- Wherever possible we ask you to drop off or collect your child at the bottom of the school drive or off the school site. We have previously managed this well after we closed off the school drive when the building project got underway last year. We are asking you to return to those same practices. If you can drop your children off the school site please do this. If you can meet your child off the school site please do so. Our students in Years 5 – 8 can be dropped off or collected on Abel Smith Street or Willis Street or Aro Street or on Victoria Street or Buller Street.
- If you need to talk with Sue, Georgie or Jo we ask you to email or phone us so we can reduce the number of people in the main building and waiting outside the office area. We can then make a time to meet with you.
- If you bring your child up the school drive we would like you to not enter your child’s classroom. The exception here is parents and whanau of our new entrants. If you think you need to bring your child into their classroom please let your child’s teacher or Sue know. Please email us so we can talk about how we can support you and your child. This may mean you and your child come to school after 9.00am when Sue, Bernice or Cathie are free to help you.
- It is important both at school and at home, that we all practise safe hygiene habits. This includes staff and students coughing into their elbows, handwashing and drying and regular cleaning of commonly touched surfaces.
- Under Alert Level 2, any students and staff who are sick need to stay at home and not attend school. We will be sending anyone home if they show any signs of being unwell. Symptoms include:
- a cough
- A high temperature of at least 38°C
- Shortness of breath
- Sore throat
- Sneezing and a runny nose
- Temporary loss of smell
Please get in touch if you have any questions or concerns about our plans for next week.
Be safe. Take care of yourself. Take care of others.
Nga mihi mahana,
Sue
Tumuaki | Principal