3rd April 2020 update
Tauranga Primary School Newsletter
Principal's Message
Tēnā koutou katoa
Ngā mihi nui, kia koutou katoa - Warm greetings to you all.
Kia ora koutou
We are almost at the end of Week 1 of the "lockdown" school holidays. It's been wonderful to see so many families get in behind the House Challenges this week both on Facebook and via email to me. Congratulations to Puriri who are leading the way currently.
Being at home has seen a spike in internet use across the country. While the internet is a great place for learning and fun activities there are some dangers and things that parents and caregivers should remember to be aware of to try and prevent children and young persons from becoming victims and exploited online. Discuss internet safety with children of all ages and agree with them on what they can do online including sites to visit and appropriate behaviours. Some ideas are:
- Review and approve games and apps before they are downloaded
- Review privacy settings of sites and applications
- Check your children’s profiles and what they are posing online and be aware that anything that is posted online with be permanently on the internet
- Take the time to understand what sites they are visiting and who they are talking with and check in regularly
- Some social media sites have age restrictions to join, check these before letting your child use them or join
- Monitor your child’s use of the internet and consider having them use it in an open, common area of the house
- Make sure your children know to report any activity they don’t feel comfortable with to you straight away.
Remember if your children were going out you would go with them or depending on their age check where they are going. If your children are online you should be with them or check what sites they are visiting.
If you think your child or a child in your care is the victim of online exploitation or abuse, please do not hesitate to report it. If we all work together to make sure children are safe online, we can make the internet a great tool for people of all ages.
Some good news to support you either working at home and/or studying at home - Spark, Vodafone, Vocus/Slingshot, 2Degrees and Trustpower have all advised they have removed their data caps and the possibility of any extra charges based on usage.
As a school we are in the privileged position of having long term personal contact with our school community, therefore we are in a position to offer assistance to school families, if required. If you are struggling with anything at this time, please do make contact with me. Even if we are unable to offer direct assistance to help you, we do have access to a wide range of helping networks that we could put you in contact with.
Take care, stay at home in your bubble as much as possible and keep safe.
Ngā mihi
Fiona Hawes
Key dates reminder
28 March School holidays begin
10 – 14 April Easter including the Tuesday after Easter
15 April Term 2 begins (through distance learning)
22 April Current date for ending of lockdown period
27 April ANZAC Day observed
Information and resources to support wellbeing and support learning at home
- The Ministry of Education has developed a resource for parents, caregivers, whānau and family - http://education.govt.nz/school/health-safety-and-wellbeing/pastoral-care-and-wellbeing/talking-to-children-about-covid-19-coronavirus/.
- The Ministry of Health’s website includes Top ways to look after your mental wellbeing during the Covid-19 lockdown.
- I AM HOPE is the youth and community focused support group run by The Key to Life Charitable Trust, started by Mike King - https://www.iamhope.org.nz/
- Nathan Wallis has some helpful videos on his Facebook page for parents and whānau - https://www.facebook.com/nathanwallisxfactoreducation/ -
- Tips on looking after mental health and wellbeing during COVID-19 from the Mental Health foundation https://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/get-help/covid-19/
- a website by the Health Promotion Agency to help New Zealanders recognise and understand depression and anxiety - https://depression.org.nz/covid-19/
- Although overseas-based this is a good list and highlights some things particularly important for children. Remember the rules of New Zealand’s level 4 lockdown still apply - 25 Mental Health Wellness Tips during Quarantine from Eileen M Feliciano, Psy.D.
Great House spirit this week
Lockdown Challenges ... the House point tally ......so far
NEED HELP ?
This fact sheet below has lots of information and explains how to access help and assistance.
Home internet slow - try these suggestions:
It is important to eliminate performance/speed issues with the home wifi setup first, rather than assuming there is an issue with the connection from the house to the internet. To check this:
- Run a speed test at www.speedtest.net to establish a baseline, and repeat after making any change below to check for improvement
- Power off home router every morning, leave off for 30 secs before powering back on (don’t press the reset button this will reset the device settings!)
- Turn off, or disable Wi-Fi on, unused devices where possible, especially older devices that run at slower Wi-Fi speeds
- Decrease the physical distance between your device and the Wi-Fi router, line of sight is best
- Use an Ethernet cable on devices where possible, to reduce Wi-Fi load (especially smart TVs, gaming consoles) – plug these into a spare LAN port on your router
Break in
Unfortunately sometime in the first week of lockdown our caretaker shed was broken into (the one behind Room 11). Fortunately nothing appears to be taken, as we have removed items that were previously stored there and were stolen last Christmas.
The door has been significantly damaged - but we have secured the shed for now.
If you live close to the school and see any damage on the site, please do let me know so we can follow it up. At this stage the Secretary of Education controls all school sites and the only way to enter is to request access and gain special permission.
Community Notices
Contacts
Principal
Fiona Hawes
07 578 6222
Deputy Principal
Cathy Ediker
Assistant Principal
Robyn Caley
Junior Team Leader
Pam Wilkins
Middle Team Leader
Jason Morgan
Acting Senior Team Leader
Jo Howard
International Student enquiries
Cathy Ediker
Business Manager
Susan O'Neill
Office Administrator and Enrolment Officer
Barbara Turley