Oratia District School Newsletter
Week 05 - 3 March 2022
Message from Ms Linda
Tena koutou katoa. Nau mai ki te whanau o te Ōrātia. Ni hao. Talofa lava. Zdravo. Kia orana. Namaste.
Greetings Ōrātia whānau. It is hard to believe that we are virtually half way through the first term. If your household has been disrupted in any way by the Omicron virus I send you my best wishes for a speedy recovery and no lingering symptoms. For some, it has just been the inconvenience of interrupted school or work, and how to juggle all the expectations of keeping the family running smoothly. Here at school we are facing similar challenges with a number of our teachers home isolating. We have been very fortunate to have relievers able to come in and work in our classrooms so that our students' learning is not too disrupted. You should be receiving from the office a notification about which rooms have been affected each day so that you are in the loop. The government has indicated that it will be between 3-6 weeks before the peak has passed, and with recent numbers reaching over 20,000 new cases a day, it is likely we all will be affected in some way before it is finished. So, we face each day with hope and do all we can here at school to keep our spaces clean and well ventilated. Teachers and staff so appreciate your efforts to send your children to school, and for the masks being worn. The government encourages all parents to carefully consider their options for vaccination of your children, and speak to your health professional if you have any questions. All these measures make a difference for our continued health.
We had our first board meeting of the year this week. It was great to meet with the trustees again, and remind ourselves of the annual plan and set the delegations for the year. Jason Lewis is continuing as our board presiding member, which we are very thankful for as he is an amazing Chair. We sadly received two resignations from Emily Stenhouse-White and Jeff Hoffman who were unable to continue with the board till September, due to changed circumstances in their worlds. Emily has served two terms and Jeff was elected to this current term. We will miss them greatly for their skill and competence in serving, and for their positive advocacy of our school. Because of their leaving the board voted to hold a by-election with voting opening in April, which is the earliest we can do this by following the ministry guidelines. We are looking for two representatives who are prepared to serve until September. In September, the regular triennial board election will take place to find a board for the next three years. If you are interested in being considered as a representative for the by-election please contact Michelle Muir in the office for information.
All the best for your continued health and well being.
Kia kaha, kia atawhai.
Ngā mihi nui
Ms Linda
Calendar of Events - Term 1, 2022
Monday 7 March - Friday 11 March - Family Friendly Week. Staff will be going home after students depart to enjoy some family time after school next week.
Tuesday 15 March - Parent Network Meeting by Zoom. EVERYONE WELCOME!
Friday 18 March - Teacher Only Day. School is closed for Instruction
Thursday 14 April - Last day of Term One
All school events are recorded in our public calendar on the front page of our website.
COVID RED LEVEL - PHASE THREE
IF A STUDENT HAS SYMPTOMS
- Get a Covid test
- Isolate at home until they receive a negative Covid test
- Advise the office of the reason for absence via school app, website absence tool or phoning absence line on 818 6216.
- Check with class teacher if there is any suggested home learning to do.
IF A STUDENT HAS A FAMILY MEMBER WITH POSTIVE COVID TEST RESULT
- Advise Oratia School of the reason for absence
- Isolate at home for 10 days, same as the person with COVID (with Day 0 being when they tested postive or when symptoms started)
- Continue to do online learning as much as possible
- Get an RA test on Day 3 and Day 10
- Can stop isolating and RETURN to normal life once you have received a negative Day 10 RA test AND once 10 days have passed (ie. on Day 11).
IF A STUDENT TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID
- Please contact us by calling 818 6216 or email janinem@oratia.school.nz
- Isolate at home for 10 days (with Day 0 being when they were exposed to the virus) or longer if still sick
- Follow the advice you receive from the Ministry of Health to manage Covid illness https://www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-health-advice-public/advice-people-covid-19
RETURNING FROM ISOLATION AS A HOUSEHOLD CONTACT
If students have completed their required 10 days’ isolation but have had family members subsequently test positive: Currently there is no legal requirement for family members to remain in isolation beyond the initial 10-day period.
Learn more: What does it mean if I’m a household contact?
To manage this risk, it is important that if the student develops symptoms they stay at home until they are symptom-free and have returned a negative test result. Alternatively, they could be managed as a case without any need for testing.
It’s important that anyone with symptoms remain at home until they are symptom-free for at least 48 hours.
Please be assured that the current measures in place (masks, physical distancing and ventilation of rooms) in schools continue to provide high levels of protection from infection in a school environment.
Important points to note:
- School entrances are at Shaw Rd and West Coast Rd (sliding gate only)
- School access can begin at 8.30am
- Parents are to remain off site for drop off and pick up. Please do not let children back over the fence to play in playgrounds after school while teachers are on site.
- Any parent volunteer in the classroom must be fully vaccinated and wear a medical grade mask while onsite, sign in using the contract tracer app and sign in at the office.
- Pick up at the end of the day will be staggered to reduce congestion at the gate - Potiki (Junior) at 2.30pm, Arawhata (Middle) at 2.40pm, Tuakana (Senior) at 2.50pm, Bus travellers at 3.00pm Siblings can leave at the same time as their younger sibling.
- If your child shows any sign of illness, please keep them home till they are well again
- If your child becomes ill at school we will call you and ask you to collect them. (We will meet you at the school gate).
- Children from Year 4 - 6 and their teachers will be wearing masks in the classroom and on the school buses; no masks are required when children are outside
- Please call the office on 818 6216 if you need to drop something to your child or collect them early and we will make arrangements with you.
Friday Lunch Schedule
Friday lunches can be ordered on Kindo and will be delivered to your child's classroom at the beginning of lunchtime. Cut off times for orders are 7.00pm Thursday night except for Sushi which is Wednesday night. If your child is absent on the ordered and you would like to collect the lunch please phone the office.
Friday 4 March - Jesters Pies
Friday 11 March - Subway
Friday 18 March - Pita Pit
We are a Silver Enviro school!
Visitors to Lone Kauri School
This week, Cassie Knox brought her kitten, Sunny, to school. Sunny was the calmest kitten ever!
This week we also had a visit from Nova’s pet Guinea Pig, Pickles. Pickles stayed for reading and writing. We hope he enjoyed learning with us too.
Library Corner
Come and visit us online, with Access-it Library. Check out our new range of books on the carousel. http://aiscloud.nz/ORT01
Lucky book catalogues have been sent home with your child. Last day for Lucky Book Orders 28th February 2022. Online Loop Orders Only.
Librarian’s choice:
Meet twelve real life children and discover how they made a difference Meet kids - just like you - taking action against climate change. Learn about the work they do and discover how the future of our planet starts here... with youPasifika update
Oa mai oe? How are you?
Manuia fa'afetai! Well thank you!
These are some of the phrases our Pasifika group have been learning during our meetings on Tuesday afternoons.
This week we continued on with our sasa, led by Loma. We also began learning about Pasifika patterns in preparation for an exciting art project ahead of us. We learnt that the different patterns tell a story! We look forward to sharing more with you as we go!
PB4L
Policy for Review
The instructions to contribute to the review are below:
- Visit the website https://oratia.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
- Enter the username (oratia) and password (0604).
- Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
- Read the policy.
- Click the Policy Review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
- Select the reviewer type "Parent".
- Enter your name (optional).
- Submit your ratings and comments.
- If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.
Netball Notices
COMMUNITY NOTICES
PARENT CORNER
Contact Us
Email: principal@oratia.school.nz
Website: https://www.oratia.school.nz
Location: Shaw Road & West Coast Road, Oratia, Auckland 0604, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 818-6216
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OratiaSchool/