Dear Parents/Caregivers,
Kia ora koutou
Today, the Prime Minister advised that in Alert Level 2 schools are safe environments for children, young people and staff and that additional public health control measures are in place to prevent the spread of disease and to support contact tracing.
The good news is that Hawera Intermediate will be ready to welcome all students and staff back to our school site next Monday 18th May.
Only those students who are currently on site should be present this week as teachers prepare for re-entry.
Our first priority heading back is to minimise the risk that someone gets infected in the first place, and second to ensure we can identify and contact anyone who has been in close contact with a person, if someone in our school is infected.
We must know who is at school, who our staff and students have been in close contact with and take appropriate measures to keep everyone safe.
Parents, whanau and visitors are asked to not enter the school grounds. Any person who does MUST sign in at the office and stay only in the reception area.
Good hygiene practices and regular cleaning will be a priority here at school. This includes
- Staff and students coughing into their elbows
- Handwashing and drying
- Regular cleaning of commonly touched surfaces.
Under Alert Level 2, we advise any students and staff to stay at home if they are sick, and we will send anyone home immediately if they show any symptoms.
Our school has safe and sensible practices to maintain the health and safety of everyone on the school site.
Students will be asked to:
- Sanitize on entry and exit of classrooms
- After using toileting facilities, thoroughly wash hands with soap & dry using blowers
- Provide own drink bottles, water is our preferred option, fountains will not be in use.
- Eat own food, no sharing, kai will be eaten in classrooms.
- Have pens, pencils in a pencil case or bag, return to school personal stationery
- If possible, provide personal ear phones/buds
- Avoid getting in peers 'moist breath' zone”. All students need to remember to have some breathing space at Alert Level 2!
- Be aware of personal space
Outside the classroom:
- Observe the 1-2 metre distancing rule
- Groups of up to 4 students will be permissible
- Playgrounds will be available for use
- Rotational use of sports gear will be available for use with regular sanitation in place.
School Bus Transportation:
Will be operating. We will be abiding by our bus provider's policy regarding sanitation, and seating arrangements- rolls will be taken daily, we must know who are travelling on buses for contact tracing.
Programme Planning
Teachers will continue to utilise "Spotlight" to upload weekly planning.
- Students will not be disadvantaged if parents choose to keep students home during level 2. We do however want to see your child/ren back at school as soon as you feel comfortable in doing so.
- If this is your intention please contact your classroom teacher
- If you require further resources, paper-based, please contact your class teacher.
- Classroom programmes will include the consideration of student well-being to meet this need.
School Devices
If you are intending for your child to return to school in Alert Level 2 we ask that devices are returned to school this week- Thursday or Friday. Students on site will leave their school device at school on Friday.
Sanitation of the same and restoring factory settings will be a priority before devices are returned to classrooms.
Please take your device to our meeting room (to the left of the school entrance)- observe social distancing rules.
It’s important however that not just at school but at home, safe hygiene habits are practised by everyone, as this is essential to minimise the risk that someone gets infected with Covid-19.
For more information about the public health measures at Alert Level 2, you can visit the covid19.govt.nz website: https://covid19.govt.nz/
If you have any questions about our health and safety plan, or have a child who might be vulnerable to serious illness and would like to discuss a plan for them, please contact me.
We will be in touch again soon to update you on our plans.
Ngā mihi
Neryda Sullivan
Acting Principal
