Welcome to our new school year. We hope you have all had a safe and enjoyable holiday and had time to enjoy the beautiful weather and refresh yourselves. We are all looking forward to seeing everyone back at school on Thursday 3 February 2022 ready to start classes at 8.45am.

In regard to Covid-19 we have moved fully into the new traffic light framework for all our school activities and events this year. You will be familiar with all the health measures we will have in place and it is good to know that a Red setting, we are able to support everyone learning onsite.

The following procedures will be followed while we are in the Red Light Framework to ensure everyone in our school community is safe.

• All students will be dropped off at one of the three gates; either by the tech room, by the office or at St George Street.
• Children are to go straight to their classrooms to avoid unnecessary mixing of school bubbles.
• All students will use hand sanitiser when entering and leaving the classroom.
• If your child has forgotten their new class, Teacher Aides on duty at each gate will be able to tell them their room number and if required there will be senior girls to walk them to their rooms.
• Parents or caregivers of Year 1 students who are new to our school may walk their child to class providing they are wearing a mask and sign in with the QR code.
• No parents, caregivers or whanau will be able to enter any classroom, porches or cloak bays.
• Everyone should maintain social distancing.
• All students from Year 4 and above must wear a mask. As our classes are multi level, you may wish for your Year 3 child to wear a mask too.
• All our classes are well ventilated and the teachers will ensure all windows and doors are kept open to ensure good air flow and ventilation.
• All of our staff and anyone who works within our school are double vaccinated.
• The Years 1 and 2 students do not have to wear masks but if you wish for your child to wear a mask you may do so.
• Students will be placed into bubbles of three classes and they will have designated play areas with the same team of teachers and teacher aides supervising their play.
• The school will have split breaks to keep the numbers of children in each area lower.
• At the end of the school day, please arrange for your child to meet you at a specific gate or place as, again, only the Year 1 parents will be able to come in and wait outside the Year 1 classrooms (Rooms 1, 4, 5, 9, 10 and Room 4A).

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 the Red Traffic Light Framework.

At this stage we will not be holding our weekly assemblies and Masses but we will keep you informed of our alternative arrangements as we still wish to welcome our new staff and students into our School Community and elect our School Council.

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 5 - 11 year old vaccination programme is now underway and more than 100,000 children in New Zealand have had their first dose of the vaccine.

There is some helpful information available to support you on the Unite Against Covid-19 website Unite against COVID-19 (covid19.govt.nz) including how to get your 5 - 11 year olds vaccinated How children and young people can get vaccinated | Unite against COVID-19 (covid19.govt.nz) There are some great videos on the Kids Health page that can support you to talk to your tamariki about the Covid-19 vaccine Immunising Children During COVID-19 | KidsHealth NZ

If you have any concerns or questions please do not hesitate to contact the school as we want the opening of the school year and the transition to school to be a positive experience for everyone.

Blessings to you All

Nga manaakitanga ki a koutou katoa

Julie Paul

Principal