Newsletter Term 1
Bishop Edward Gaines Catholic School
Principal Message
Kia ora, I am Bernadette Hall (Bernie) and I extend a warm welcome to all our families and hope you have had a wonderful summer break. Our teachers and staff have all been working hard to prepare for our student's return next week. This newsletter is to inform our families about important dates for term one and how to ensure your child is school ready. Regular updates will be put on our school facebook page and the newsletter will come out each Thursday. We have some exciting learning organised and of course a special emphasis on Literacy, Numeracy and Religious Education. Over the first couple of weeks this term, our students will begin by learning about what makes a safe and fun environment to learn and play in so learning is successful. We will be developing positive learner /teacher relationships, where students can begin to identify their unique learning style and their personal learning goals for term 1. Bishop is your school, and we welcome and encourage whanau to join us in our school projects, Liturgy, Mass and sports events, so keep an eye out for what is coming up. We are welcoming new students to our fabulous whanau, if you know of a family or relatives who may be interested in attending, please pass on our school details and we can arrange a school visit. Preschool visits are Fridays from 11:30 am.
Ma te Atua koutou e manaaki—God’s blessings,
Bernadette Hall
Principal
Our 2022 Staff
- Bernadette Hall— Principal/ DRS
- Lucy Richards—Year 1-3
- Samantha McKibbin—Year 4-8
- Susan Nelson-LSC
- Reading Recovery Teacher (TBA)
- Annie Asiata—Teacher Aide
- Caroline Morunga— Office Administrator
- Liz Mott-Cleaner
Our Vision
Important Dates:
Term One: 1 February-14 April
Term Two: 2 May-8 July
Term Three: 25 July-30 September
Term Four: 17 October-14 December (TBC)
Welcome Liturgy
1 February 9:30am on turf courts
Swimming Days @ Aquatic Centre:
W 1: 2 February & 3 February 12-1pm
W 2: 8 February & 10 February 12-1pm
W 3: 14 February 12-1pm
W 4: No swimming
W 5: 28 February & 1 March 1:30-2:30pm
W 6: 7 March 1:30pm
W7: No swimming
W 8: No swimming
W 9: 29 March & 1 April 10:00am
W 10: 5 April & 8 April 10:00am
Student Led Conferences
24 February 1:30-5:30pm
Preschool Visits
Begin in week 2 and will run each Friday from 11:30am. Please let others know who may be interested.
Lunchtime Fun Sports for our Tamariki
Every Tuesday and Thursday
Health Nurse Educational Talks to Senior Students
16 February-Talk
16 March-Immunisations HPV/Boostrix for our yr 7s and Yr 8s
Whanau Hui
24 March 6:00pm staffroom-all welcome.
Shrove Tuesday & Ash Wednesday
1 March and 2 March
St Joseph Feast Day Liturgy
18 March 9:30am
Holy Week
10-15 April
Covid -19 Update
What does this mean for whanau?
Covid-19
Kei aku nui, kei aku rahi, tēnā koutou katoa i roto i ngā āhuatanga o te wā.
In regard to COVID-19 we have moved fully into the new traffic light framework for all our school and kura activities and events this year. It is good to know that at Red setting, we are able to support everyone learning onsite.
Events and activities
Large hui and gatherings especially when indoors continue to be one of the riskier activities we can undertake. We have therefore reviewed all our events and activities for the upcoming term to ensure we meet the health guidance for Red.
Ventilation
We have used the Ministry of Education self-assessment tool to review all our ventilation in readiness for the start of the year. Providing good old fashioned fresh air remains the most important thing we can do in our learning spaces to minimise risk for ākonga and kaiako (and the same goes for you at home). We will also be receiving a CO2 monitor in the coming weeks to further support our ventilation plan
Omicron and testing
We have all seen the very large numbers of cases overseas and we will very likely see much larger numbers of cases in Aotearoa than we have previously experienced in the last two years. While Omicron is more transmissible than previous strains, most people who get COVID-19 will have a mild to moderate illness and will fully recover in their own home.
However, some of our community who are immune compromised, are ill or have other vulnerabilities, even when they are fully vaccinated, could be more affected by Omicron. So, we all need to continue to play our part to minimise the spread of the virus.
In regard to testing, the health system currently has capacity to process 40,000 PCR tests a day. PCR testing is the most accurate test for COVID-19 and will continue to be used while New Zealand is in the stamp-it-out phase.
Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) will begin to be used more widely over time. They are not as accurate as PCR tests and this means that some people who do have COVID-19 will get a negative test result back. There are currently 4.6 million RATs in the country and 10s of millions ordered.
If you are symptomatic or need to be tested to access a workplace or service, you will be guided at the time on which test is best for you.
Face coverings
Staff and children in Years 4 – 13 must wear face coverings when inside at school when we are at Red.
Public health advice is that an appropriate face covering will fit snugly and seal well around facial contours. This can include single use, disposable masks (medical masks) and re-usable fabric masks with three layers.
Don’t worry if you don’t have these specific types of face coverings, as public health experts also say that any face covering is better than no face covering.
The Unite Against COVID-19 website also has information on how to make a face covering.
For those of you with children who might be reluctant to wear a face covering, there is some helpful advice from Michigan Health, including using simple, specific explanations about why they need to wear a face covering, adults being the role models, providing small rewards for wearing them, bringing face coverings into play such as drawing face coverings on characters in colouring books, or letting them choose/make the mask.
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.
Managing cases in our school
We have a good contact tracing system in place so that if there is a confirmed case who has been at school while infectious, we can quickly identify who was a close contact of that person. We will then quickly advise those contacts of what they need to do.
Only if the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Education advises to do so, would we consider closing a physical onsite school and moving to distance learning for everyone. At Red we will keep everyone learning onsite for as long as we can.
Please make sure your contact details we have on file are up to date, so we can get in touch with you if needed.
Preparing for COVID-19
You can also prepare for COVID-19, making sure you and your household have a plan and know what to do. This will mean your whānau and community can help each other if needed. Find out more here:
· Download the COVID-19 Readiness Checklist [PDF, 121 KB]
· What to expect when self-isolating at home
Self-isolating at home because of COVID-19
Many people will be able to manage self-isolation with help from friends and whānau, but there is help available if you need it – both with health support and access to food and other essentials.
· What to expect when self-isolating at home | Unite against COVID-19 (covid19.govt.nz)
· COVID-19 positive – managing your symptoms | Health Navigator NZ
If you know anyone in your community affected by COVID-19 and who may need help, such as food and other financial assistance, Work and Income has a range of supports available for individuals, families, employers and self-employed people affected by COVID-19.
Work and Income support
The beginning of the year can be a tough time for parents who are faced with many costs and it is important you are aware of what assistance you may be able to get from Work and Income. These are available to people on a low income as well as those on a benefit.
· Out of School Care and Recreation (OSCAR) Subsidy
· School and Year Start-up Payment (for people getting Orphan’s Benefit or Unsupported Child’s Benefit)
· Help with living costs (including food and rent/mortgage)
Use the links above or call 0800 559 009 to find out more, or to apply.
MoneyTalks can assist with free budgeting and debt help
You can also contact your local community provider. Please find more information here.
Getting ready to return to school
The Ministry of Education has some helpful information on their Parents and Whānau website to support your tamariki to get back to school. There is also a very important reminder about how you can take care of yourself.
Education outside the classroom: Offsite options
With careful planning, education outside the classroom (EOTC) activities can go ahead at Red.
By 4 February we anticipate that public health orders will be in place so that EOTC providers will be able to offer curriculum-related activities/services to a registered school that does not require all children to be vaccinated (even if require this from other users of their facilities).
This means the provider will need to meet a number of conditions, such as:
- working with a registered school to deliver curriculum-related activities
- the activity is in a defined space (sole use of part or all of a setting/venue for the period the service is provided)
- staff delivering the service are vaccinated.
Getting extra support if you have COVID-19 or are self-isolating-https://covid19.govt.nz/isolation-and-care/getting-extra-support-if-you-have-covid-19-or-are-self-isolating/
While this might all feel a little overwhelming at times, we know that all these measures will help our children return to school, reconnect with whānau and friends and do what they enjoy.
We are also here to help. Please get in touch if you have any concerns or need help in any way office@beg.school.nz principal@beg.school.nz
See you soon!
Bernie and the staff at Bishop.
Email: office@beg.school.nz
Website: http://www.beg.school.nz
Location: 1 Mossop Rd P.O Box 167 Tokoroa
Phone: 07 886 8021
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bishop-Edward-Gaines-Catholic-School-Tokoroa-310873056309874/