Week 7 Term 3 Panui
Tuesday/Rātu - 7th September
Contact Us
Email: office@witherlea.school.nz
Website: https://witherlea.school.nz
Location: 214-216 Weld Street, Witherlea, Blenheim 7201, New Zealand
Phone: 64 (03) 578 5568
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/witherleablenheim
Alert Level 2 = School Opening Thursday
- Today is Alert Level 3 and the existing Bubbles will be operating at school.
- Wednesday is Alert Level 2: staff, cleaners, contractors will be onsite preparing for opening on Thursday
- The current students in Bubbles will operate on Wednesday however no other students will be at school on Wednesday = school is CLOSED for set up.
- We realise this may take organising at home for one more day however this is essential so that we have everything safely sorted for Thursday according to the 'new' Public Health Order.
Public Health Order at Level 2-Delta;
- School grounds OPEN at 8:30am NO earlier: children will wait till the gate is opened
- Adults not permitted to gather at the school gate - 2 meters distance outside and inside in particular from our staff and students
- Parents of students from Year 2-6 can drop their children at the gate
- Parents of 'new' students in the Ferns (Year 1) may need to bring their children into school but will not be permitted to enter the classroom or cloak bays
- If you HAVE to come onsite you MUST scan or sign in - SCANNING is preferred
- Adults (outside of staff) MUST wear a mask if coming onsite
- If you or your child is SICK = STAY HOME
- If it is cold or flu symptoms = get tested
- You will be called to pick up your child if they are; coughing, sneezing, have a runny nose or are generally unwell
- If it is essential to collect your child during the school day for an appointment, the procedure is; SCAN in - go to the office and wait for your child to be called (you will need to wear a mask)
- We will have an IN and OUT system running at the school Office so please follow all signage
- Are NOT mandatory at Primary School however many of our staff will be wearing these
- It is YOUR choice for your children to wear one at school
- If your child is unable to manage the wearing of a mask correctly they will be asked to put it in their bag. One of the reasons Primary School students are not recommended to wear masks is that incorrect use can impair their effectiveness against transmission.
Devices NEED to be returned Thursday
We will have a staff member checking the device off as they are handed in.
These will be checked and cleaned before being placed back into the classes.
Principal Message
Kia ora koutou Witherlea whānau,
It is hard to believe that this newsletter (Panui) is going into your homes and we have not been face-to-face in almost four weeks.
Tuesday 17th August we sat with our staff at 4:30pm and had a discussion about getting our students 'ready' for a possible Delta outbreak - that it COULD happen. That night at 6pm the decision to Lockdown New Zealand was made because of 1 case.
As I am writing this we are up to 841 cases = which is enormous for a small country however we have all done our part and our cases each day are dropping.
As a school we have achieved many things in a short time;
- Creation of more than 200 hard packs for students in Level 3 Bubbles (onsite) and into the homes of our students offsite
- The Ministry needed to prioritise Auckland so we mucked in ourselves
- Deployment of over 50 devices for students in Year 3-6 to connect with Distance Learning
- Our teachers thinking quickly, being creative and working in their teams to deliver Distance Learning that was age-specific, engaging and manageable for our families
- We then surveyed the ENTIRE community with follow up phone calls to ensure no was missed so we knew who was returning at Level 3
- We organised 4 Bubbles at school and are into our second week of this
- Teachers have been delivering distance learning and supervising onsite
- Our teacher aides have connected with their target students via Google Meet or phone
- The staff have met regularly on Google Meet as have the Board of Trustees to ensure we had clear communication and consistency for our students and their families and whānau
- Ms Marion has continued to deliver Reading Recovery to students in their own Bubble
The board and I have never been prouder of the staff response, all the teamwork, mahi, above and beyond delivery and our community engagement throughout Lockdown and Level 3.
We look forward to Thursday and Alert Level 2 - which is outlined above. Finally, we will have all our students back at school so ONSITE learning can continue for Term 3.
We look forward to seeing our parents onsite when we drop to Level 1.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Andrea Harnett - Tumuaki
Term 3 Events - Wahanga Tuawhā
We will update any events in the upcoming Newsletters and on the Parent Calendar when/if Alert Levels change.
Week 7 - Wiki Tuawhitu
Monday 6th September - Friday 10th September
School Closed except for Bubbles = Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
Thursday 9th September
School Opens at Alert Level 2 to all students
Friday 10th September
Subway Lunches return
Week 8 - Wiki Tuawaru
Monday 13th September - Friday 17th September
Māori Language Week
Māori Language Moment: Tuesday 14th September 12pm
Friday 17th September
Subway Lunches
Week 9 - Wiki Tuaiwa
Monday 20th September - Thursday 23rd September
Friday 24th September - SCHOOL CLOSED
Teachers Only Day
Week 10 - Wiki Tekau
Monday 27th September - Friday 1st October
Friday 1st October
Subway School Lunches
TBC: Whānau Open Day and Art Exhibition (if at Alert Level 1)
- Talent Show
- Kapa Haka
- Choir
- Sign Language Club
Last Day of Term 3
Cancelled Events Due to COVID (Delta)
- Music Festival: Was to be held Thursday 23rd September - we will do something at school.
- Hockey Festival
- Sevens Rugby Tournament
These have been taken off our Parent Calendar.
Many other events may be cancelled, postponed or changed and we will update you regarding these as soon as we have details.