Tuesday 21st April - School at Alert Level 3
Kia ora koutou - Dear Parents and Whanau,
Following the COVID Alert Level changes and timelines announced by the Prime Minister on the 20th April, I am writing to inform you of what ‘Level 3’ will look like at Parua Bay School and to determine which children will be returning to school on Wednesday 29th April.
The key message from the Ministry of Health is that we are still in a state of emergency and the best course of action for parents and carers is to keep their children at home and maintain distance learning wherever possible. Students and staff with underlying medical conditions should remain home.
For both students, whanau and staff, returning to school does raise a degree of transmission risk which we will seek to reduce through classroom bubbles, physical distancing, handwashing regimes and surface cleaning. Please do not send children to school who are sick, they will be sent home straight away - please also report any flu-like symptoms.
Multiple bubbles of approximately 10 students each will be created. Physical segregation of bubbles plus staggered start, break, lunch and end of day times will be used to reduce interaction between student groups. Under Ministry of Education requirements, no playground equipment or PE equipment will be available to students during breaks as they constitute a transmission risk. Students will be asked to maintain a 2 metre safe distance from each other at break times and maintain a 1 metre distance in classrooms. Classroom furniture will be arranged to accommodate physical distancing as much as possible. Learning experiences of students that do attend school during Alert Level 3 will be on the whole a continuation of existing online or remote lessons and activities.
We have received no indications that school buses will be operating. Due to staggered start and finish times, which we will notify you of as soon as possible, parents are advised to arrange their own transport to and from school independent of bus services. There will be no SKIDS after school service due to the risk of mixing bubbles.
Parents and carers are asked to communicate with the School Office via phone or email and avoid any unnecessary physical contact or meetings with staff. The Senior Leadership Team are planning for different attendance scenarios and bubbles. In order to do this we need you to complete the Google Form linked at the bottom of this letter by Thursday of this week at the latest. This will help us to make staffing decisions while also seeking to keep transmission risks to a minimum.
The teachers and support staff are keen to return to ‘normal’ schooling for your child when it is safe to do so. The change from Alert Level 4 to Level 3 suggests we still have to exercise a high degree of caution before the state of ‘normal’ schooling is reached.
I hope you are safe and well in your whanau bubbles and very much appreciate your completion of the linked form.
Nga mihi,
Mark Ashcroft
Principal
