UPDATE
St Joseph's Catholic School Onehunga - 27 February 2022
COVID - phase 3
New Zealand’s COVID-19 response continues amid much larger numbers of daily cases.
You may well have seen the headlines in the media about the numbers of cases being seen in schools. Please don’t be alarmed by this. It is only natural as cases in our community increase, they will appear in our school. We have really good systems in place to respond to this and to keep any spread of the virus to a minimum.
You may have seen Dr Jin Russell in the media noting research from New South Wales about their recent Omicron outbreak showing that spread within the school setting is very low (less than 4% of cases at school infected someone else when at school). We have seen that in New Zealand too.
This is why we remain open at Red. It’s great for a child’s wellbeing and learning to be at school with their friends and school staff, and we have very good systems in place to keep everyone as safe as possible.
Your job remains the same, too: please continue to keep a really close watch of your whānau for anyone with symptoms. If unwell, please stay at home and get advice about getting a COVID-19 test.
With Phase 3 of the Omicron response, the key change is that it is only confirmed cases and their household contacts who need to self-isolate. Everyone else, including those who may have had close contact with the case but aren’t in the household, must continue to monitor really closely for any symptoms of COVID-19.
PHASE 3 PROTOCOLS FLOW
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
CONNECTED WEDNESDAYS
Last year during our extended lockdown we started an initiative called 'CONNECTED WEDNESDAYS' as a way to stay connected to our parent community.
Due to its success, we are continuing with it this year with our first session being this Wednesday 2 March.
Meeting link details are:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84073021318?pwd=R1NRTVhSbVh0WFdBQmdEeUw5WTdmQT09
Meeting ID: 840 7302 1318
Passcode: sjs
If you have any questions you would like addressed in this session on our COVID response plan please add them prior to the meeting on the attached link so as that we can be sure to address them.
Vaccination for five- to 11-year-olds
Vaccination including a booster shot, remains an important tool to help prevent the most serious harm from the COVID-19 virus. If children and young adults who have been vaccinated do develop COVID-19, they are far less likely to get seriously ill and less likely to transmit the virus to others.
The free five- to 11-year-old vaccination programme is now underway and more than 100,000 children in New Zealand have had their first dose.
There is some helpful information available to support you on the Unite Against COVID-19 website including How to book a vaccine for your five – 11 year old and some great videos on the Kids Health page that can support you to talk to your tamariki about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Impacts of COVID
We know how hard the impacts on COVID-19 have been for many families in New Zealand. If you know of a family in your community who is struggling, please encourage them to reach out for support for example to access food, medicine, or access financial support: Help is available – COVID-19 Health Hub.
If you have any concerns about sending your child to school, please do get in touch. We are here to help.
Aku mihi,
Carolyn Massey
Principal
Contact Us
Email: admin@sjs.school.nz
Website: http://www.sjs.school.nz/
Location: 125 Church Street, Onehunga, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: 09 636 8102
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SJSOnehunga