What an awesome moment it was to hear that as a country we are another step closer to returning to normal. With the PM confirming the move to Alert Level 2, there are a few things I can share right now to help with your preparation for this week and next.
There is obviously going to be a mix of relief, excitement and apprehension in our community about returning to school after being in lockdown for so many weeks.
I want to reassure you that I have been hard at work with my senior leadership team to ensure that the approach we take at school allows people the time they need to adjust to this significant change. I am confident that as I work with the rest of the staff this week, that we are ready to be back at school.
An important message before we get into what school will look like from next week, is that we will continue to be open at Alert Level 3 conditions for the rest of this week. This means that if you have been sending your child to school at Level 3, then you can continue to do so on Thursday and Friday.
The key messages for us all at Alert Level 2 are
- to minimise risk through maintaining distance where practical
- practice safe hygiene habits like handwashing and coughing into your elbow
- and most importantly to stay home when we are sick.
With that in mind here’s the initial information regarding Alert Level 2 at Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery
- Good hygiene practices and regular cleaning are in place at school.
- All people entering the building will need to be signed in. Processes for this will be shared with you later this week as we want to make this an easy process for our parents.
- The processes we are developing with staff are designed to encourage physical distancing
- The school will be open from 8.45am to 3.15pm. No students will be allowed in the building outside these times.
- Y1-6 students will work in homebases for the next two weeks.
- Y7-13 students will continue to work on the courses they are currently engaged with in Term 2.1. These courses will happen at school, with the material continuing to be provided online. We will put out the details for these courses through the website as we have been doing for the last couple of weeks.
- We will provide more detail on the timetable for students at all year levels on Friday. It will look a little different as we plan to provide a staggered approach to students arriving at the start and end of the day.
- Students will need to bring prepared food to school each day. They will not be able to prepare / cook food at school
- No devices will be issued at reception. Students will need to bring a suitable device if necessary. If you have been issued a school laptop or ipad during the lockdown, you will be able to continue to use this while at school.
- Y7-13 students will not be able to bring food purchased at lunch times into the school.
- The school is open for distance learning for students who need to self isolate.
I realise that many of you will have lots of questions. Please keep an eye on the website over the next couple of days. I will post more info as we develop it. As with everything right now, we are working to tight time frames and sometimes the release of key information to myself doesn’t happen quite as quickly as I’d like.
I do have one final request that will help the staff get the learning spaces prepared for a return to school. On Friday we will be having 1:1s again. However this Friday your HBLA is going to send you an email with 1:1 questions on it that we need you to complete. They will read these and put them into the LMS, rather than meeting with you on zoom or whatever platform they have been using. Doing this allows the staff the ability to get set up and prepare. Remember that just like you, most of them have been in lockdown for this entire time too.
Thanks so much for your understanding and support throughout this time. We are really looking forward to seeing you again next week. Enjoy the rest of the week and keep an eye out for more info on the website.
Steven Mustor – Director