Tēnā koutou katoa

As you will no doubt be aware, all students in Year 4 and above continue to be strongly encouraged to wear a face mask at ‘orange’ under the Covid Protection Framework, which covers all students, and adults, in Rākau Nui.

For the start of Term 3, 2022, the Ministries of Education and Health strongly recommend that for the first four weeks all schools require mask wearing in all indoor settings (where it will not have a significant impact on teaching and learning – see below) for students in Years 4 and above. Therefore we ask that all Y4-6 students have masks ready to wear for the start of next week. We know that some of our tamariki are exempt from wearing a mask. If they have an exemption card or a letter from their health provider, we will support them to not wear a mask.

As in Terms 1 and 2, it would be really helpful if all face masks coming to school are clearly labelled with names to help support safety measures.

In additional to mask-wearing we will continue to keep all the other health measures in place at school that we know slow the spread of COVID-19. These include

• ensuring our indoor spaces are ventilated

• maintaining good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette

• appropriate physical distancing whenever we can

• and most importantly, students and staff staying home when they are sick.

Parents, please make sure that Y4-6 tamariki come to school ready to wear masks. We ask that students bring masks from home but if some students cannot bring a mask there will be a limited supply of masks to give out.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss anything with me, please contact me:

jharrison@paparangi.school.nz

Ngā mihi

Jenni