#12 Covid19 Notice
24 August 2021 - Remaining at Alert Level 4
Dear Parents, Whānau and Caregivers
I think we had all anticipated a further extension of Alert Level 4, and the Prime Minister confirmed this yesterday. The Alert Level will be reviewed on Friday afternoon, but for now Alert Level 4 will remain in place until 12:59pm Friday 27 August. Despite this news, it is really pleasing to see Alert Level 4 is having an impact, with numbers not dramatically increasing as they would likely have done if we had been at a lower Alert Level.
Our learning @ home programme is underway! Teams started yesterday and are in contact with students and their families. There is more information about our guidelines for learning at home further down in the newsletter.
Learning @ home survey is closed
Thanks for filling out the survey at the weekend. 77% of families were able to do so which helped immensely with our device distribution plans yesterday.
Behind the scenes, we are starting to prepare for opening under Alert Level 3 so we're ready whenever the time comes. We will be in contact later in the week with families who indicated in the survey there is an essential worker in their household and that they may require supervision for their child at school. If your circumstances change please contact the Principal or Team Leaders.
What are our plans?
Learning @ Home started yesterday
Teams have started delivering learning at home programmes. Our main message for parents is to just do what you can! We understand that every family situation is different, so our learning at home programmes are designed to be flexible. For those of you with tamariki in more than one team, you can mix and match activities between teams from the ideas that are offered.
Teams will let you know the times when they are available to answer questions from parents as well as their timetable for staying in contact with the children themselves. There will also be non-contact times when teachers are in team or staff meetings - these are Wednesday and Friday afternoons.
Our learning at home plans aren't the same as a traditional school day at Paparangi. However, they do provide students with age-appropriate home learning options and specific tasks that are directly related to the curriculum. The learning at home plan will follow the school timetable: Monday-Friday, but there is lots of flexibility in order to meet the different needs of families.
As parents, it is your choice as to how you manage learning time in lockdown, as you are right there and best able to judge what your child's needs are. You can choose to:
- Opt-in to most/all of the learning at home programme provided for your child
- Opt-in to some of the learning at home programme provided for your child
- Opt-out of all of the learning at home programme, instead providing your own learning opportunities
You will know what works best for you and your child/ren on a day-to-day basis. If you or they are tired or distracted - do something different, go for a walk or build a hut from blankets!
Only some of the learning ideas provided are meant to be done online. Many of the suggestions are off-line and do not require a device to complete them.
Parents are able to contact their child’s teacher by email. They will respond as soon as they can. Please remember that they will be working with other families, as well as taking care of their own!
Covid19 help and advice
I know some families in our community may be finding it difficult to access food and essential items such as medicine. This information about how to access to food or essential items summarises the supports that are available, including financial help to buy food.
Here is a link for help and advice in many languages. Go to https://covid19.govt.nz/iwi-and-communities/translations/. For further information about Alert Level 4 go to the COVID-19.govt.nz website.
General Information
A reminder that schools are closed until midnight on Friday, including the playgrounds and fields. If you are out walking, please stay away from schools.
We will keep in touch over the coming days. Our focus is to support the well-being and learning of our tamariki and staff and we are here to support parents as well. Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or me, if there is something you need assistance with.
Please do take care and let us know how we can best support you and your whānau. Kia kaha!
Ngā mihi nui, Tracey Arthurs, Principal/Tumuaki
Contact Us
During Alert Level 4 the school phones are not manned and messages cannot be cleared. Contact the Office or Principal by email for general Covid19 information. For learning at home queries email your child's home class teacher or team leaders.
Email: office@paparangi.school.nz
Website: https://paparangi.school.nz
Location: 57-59 Beazley Avenue, Paparangi, Wellington 6037, New Zealand
Phone: +64 4-478 6617