Well - we have made it to the end of the term. There were multitudes of scenarios being planned for around Covid and the changing responses directed by the Government. I would like to express my sincere thanks to our community in the way you helped us out and kept us informed about personal circumstances so that we could help you as best we could while still operating the school. Covid isn’t going away at this stage and although it looks like our region has had a fair hit, it will still be lingering.

Change to Orange Setting

With the update yesterday – we will return to school next term at Orange. This will enable us to operate almost normally. We will be constantly watching and monitoring our student and staff wellness and if needed under the Health and Safety risk management lens, we will make any necessary changes to school programmes and events if this is required.

Year 4-6 students are no longer mandated to wear masks in the classroom or on the school bus (Students aged 12 and above are still required to wear masks). However, we support individual circumstances and should staff, or students wish to wear masks in the classroom, then we will fully support these decisions.

Visitors on site are no longer required to wear masks, however, we still have the risk factor around staffing so we do ask that you keep a safe distance from staff/students and please ensure that students with any cold symptoms remain at home.

RATs tests – we have these available at school if you require any.

Heating next term

Coming into the winter months we are permitted to have the heating systems on, however we will need to provide fresh air a couple of times a day. We know that fresh air is the best way to minimise the transmission of airborne bugs (not just Covid). This is going to be an opportunity for resilience as the class temperatures will drop for short periods of time. May I suggest that in planning for the term ahead that students bring an extra coat or jacket if needed for these short periods. I understand that this extra layer may not be our specified uniform, but in cases of “needs must” then, comfort and wellbeing will come first. We will do our best to provide the adequate level of fresh air as well as warmth throughout the day.

Happy Holidays and Easter

The staff would like to wish you all a very happy holiday and Easter Break. We look forward to next term with excitement around our learning programmes and opportunities for students to participate in interschool events. Keep well and please don’t hesitate to contact me in the holidays if you need assistance with anything (well I can’t help with much on the farm… but I can with school related things!!)

Regards

Donna and our awesome Albury Team

We are requesting that students DO NOT arrive at school before 8.30am. The time before 8.30 is crucial for staff to prepare for their day and there is no supervision available before 8.30am.

The arrival time for students is in line with the Board’s policy and as we have staff who travel a fair distance to come to school, we also need to cater for the possibility that travel conditions through the winter term may hinder their trip. If there is a delay, I then have time to ensure we have adequate adult supervision for our students before they arrive at 8.30.

• Change of Bus Times

The buses do make this slightly complicated, as one bus travels into Fairlie and needs to be at the College by 8.55. So there is a small time compensation for bus students – the buses are expected to arrive at Albury NO EARLIER than 8.25am – which allows a transition time for the students who then travel into Fairlie.

For students who travel on the Fairlie Bus (with Blue as your driver) – the pick up times will be 10 minutes later than the current times effective from the start of next term.

As we do at Albury, we just make things happen so that the students can continue to have the best opportunities to shine. At the end of the term we celebrate students who have made a special effort with their learning (Achievement) and demonstrating our school values (Citizenship).

Congratulations to:

Tui Class:

Academic Award – Tilly

Citizenship Award – Pippa

Piwakawaka Class:

Academic Award – Alice

Citizenship Award – Paige

Winning House this term – OPUHA

2022

May

• Monday 2nd: Start Term 2

June

• Monday 6th: Queens Birthday - SCHOOL CLOSED
• Friday 24th: Matariki- SCHOOL CLOSED

July

• Friday 1st: Ice Skating Day Tekapo Springs
  
• Friday 8th: End of Term 2

• Monday 25th: Start of Term 3

August

• Wednesday 10th: Ski Day Roundhill

September

• Tuesday 6th: School Photos
• Friday 30th: End of Term 3

October

• Monday 17th: Start of Term 4
• Monday 24th: Labour Day- SCHOOL CLOSED

December

• Tuesday 13th: End of Term 4

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Timaru for donating a beautiful English Dictionary for each of our Year 4 students.

The lucky recipients are (front): Sophie, Harry, Olivia, Pippa and Scarlett,

(back): Maggie, Mackenzie, Gizelle and Ana. Absent: Maddison.

https://www.scrfu.co.nz/all-2022-online-registration-forms/school-holiday-program-registrations

Home and School have recently donated a brand new vacuum cleaner.

With the start of autumn we have had an invasion of cluster flies and are cleaning up large amounts of dead flies every morning before school in our classrooms.

This new vacuum cleaner is making a big difference and life a lot easier for our teachers.

Thank you very much, Home and School!

Does anyone have an old stainless steel kitchen sink they would like to donate to Albury School?

If you do, please get in touch with Heather or Kathrin, it would be much appreciated!

Our Albury Kids love their mud-kitchen and we would love to get it fixed in time for Term 2!

We currently have an issue with the junior block toilets and the Ministry of Education are undertaking some scoping work to determine the extent of the damage and are exploring options for remediation. We would like this sorted asap, however we are also aware that there are staff and supplies shortages (Covid Impacts). They are doing their best to get the junior toilet block back up and running as soon as possible.

To attend camps or overnight trips you must have a current Police Vet Check.

For some parents their PVCs are expiring this year (Kathrin will email you to let you know).

If you wish to renew your current PVC, and for new requests, please let Kathrin know and we will get the applications underway. They take quite a long time to process, so we need to plan months ahead to get these processed.

Many thanks to Di Anderson for maintaining the garden at our Queen Street entrance.

The growth this season has been unbelievable, so many thanks for your hard work Di (and Bill).

This is much appreciated.

Open invitation

Please feel free at any stage to pop down to school and spend some time in our other gardens, weeding, trimming, tidying. As staff we do not have the time to do this, and we love providing a well kept and loved learning environment for our students, employees, community and visitors.

A reminder to ensure that all students bring their own full water bottles from home daily.

To contact school during school hours please ring the office: phone number 03 685 5844.

If we are unable to take your call, please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

To let us know that your child is away for the day, please ring the office or send an email to office@albury.school.nz and we will pass on the information to the classroom teacher.

Please be aware that if your child is away or if there are changes to their pick up routine we are required to collect this information from a caregiver -just give us a quick call or flick us an email.

Thank you!

Health and Safety Management and Emergency, Disaster, and Crisis Management

Albury School Policies are located online at School Docs.

www.schooldocs.co.nz

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