Dear Parents

We are looking forward to welcoming back the students on Tuesday 8 February. All students are able to return. The Ministry of Education has sent out health and safety guidelines for schools, in order that they can open in the Red setting of the Covid Protection Framework (CPF).  They are similar to those that were used in Term four last year. 

Please read through these guidelines that we have developed for our school, based on the Ministry of Education guidelines.

As you will appreciate we will need to make adjustments to these guidelines as Omicron takes a greater hold in our community. The current guidelines reflect the current situation, which sees all students and teachers back at school, participating in the programme of learning.

The following topics are covered in this Red setting of the Covid Protection Framework  Procedures information letter.

• Attendance
• Contact Tracing
• Masks
• Home Groups & Physical Distancing
• Programme of Learning
• Breaks
• Drop Off
• Pick Up
• Health and Safety Measures
• Student Injury / Illness
• Student Wellbeing
• Gatherings
• sKids

Should you have any questions please feel free to contact me at principal@sj.school.nz.

Ka manaakitia e te Atua

Alister Bridgman

Tumuaki

• All Students are to return to school Tuesday 8 February .
• Children with complex medical needs seek advice from their health professional about whether it is appropriate to come to school.
• Anyone who is unwell, self isolating, or who has been advised by health authorities to remain at home while they wait for their COVID-19 test results, must stay home.
• Students showing any respiratory symptoms such as a cold, a head cold, blocked ears, cough, sneezing, runny nose, chills or a fever, should stay home. The Healthline/family GP needs to be contacted for advice, which may include getting tested for COVID-19. The school needs to be informed of the outcome of that conversation.
• Anyone with these respiratory symptoms can not enter the school.
• Use the school website to notify us if your child will be absent. Alternatively you can report the absence via the @School App. Either of these methods of reporting will advise both Julie Kelly in the school office and your child’s teacher. We prefer you not ring the school to report absences please.
• Students who are late go directly to their Home Group learning space.
• As parents can not exit their car, they therefore do not need to sign in students when they are late.

• A contact tracing register has been set up at the school office.
• Adults, including parents, entering the school site will need to sign in and out.
• All parents will drop off/pick up their child at the drop off/pickup zone. Parents are not to enter the school site unless requested to do so. Please stay in your cars.

• Masks are to be worn by students and staff in the Kakapo and Kakariki teams, when indoors.
• Masks will be worn by staff in the Kea and Kiwi team, if it doesn’t interrupt the learning connection with the young children.

• Students and teachers will be in their home groups.
• Home groups can not mix.
• There is no physical distancing requirement between home group members, only between home groups (1 metre).

• The Programme of Learning will be delivered in school.
• Students at home in self-isolation will be contacted by their Home Group Teacher as to their programme of learning.

• Students will have food/play breaks throughout the day.
• Home Groups will have designated play areas in order that they do not mix.
• The school playgrounds are open to students during the school day but not before or after school.

Drop off – 8.15 am to 8.50 am

• • Students are dropped off in the drop off zone.
  • Adults must stay in their cars with masks on.
  • Students catching buses enter the property via the Dominion St school driveway and the entry by the office block.
  • Students walking to school go to the back of the church and wait to be accompanied by a staff member across the carpark. 
  • Students will walk directly to their Home Group when dropped off in the morning.

• The school grounds/playgrounds are not accessible before or after school.

Pick up – 2.30 pm to 3.15 pm

• Adults must stay in their cars with masks on.
• Please have your child’s name & Home Group number clearly displayed when you are collecting them in the pick up zone.
• Parents who normally collect their children at the Lake House Café will be able to continue to do so.
• Rosmini and Taharoto Rd Bus students will be accompanied by the duty teacher to the bus at 2.50 pm from the courts.
• Parents of St Joseph’s and Rosmini students are to park in the top Parish car park once they have collected their St Joseph’s students and wait in their cars for their Rosmini student.
• Parents picking up students from Rosmini and St Joseph’s please do so after 3 pm.
• Rosmini students being collected by parents access the car park via the Dominion Street entrance.
• The courts will be closed for cars.

• The school grounds/playgrounds are not accessible before or after school.

• Hand sanitiser at entry to learning spaces and soap, water and drying facilities in bathrooms. 
• Doors will be latched/wedged open, and windows opened, providing cross ventilation.
• All used work surfaces, door handles and toilets will be disinfected and cleaned regularly.
• In an emergency, normal evacuation procedures will be followed.

• Parents will be contacted and will need to arrange to have their child collected within thirty minutes.
• Parents will be asked to park in the pick up zone, not get out of the car, and the child will be guided by a staff member from their bubble to their parents car.
• Parents are to contact Healthline/family GP that day and to email principal@school.co.nz as to what advice they were given in regard to their child’s illness.

• Student wellbeing will be monitored throughout the day by the teachers.
• If teachers have any concerns they will contact parents.

Due to the need to keep groups separate …

• There will be no school/team prayers/liturgies/masses/gatherings.
• There will be no choir, kapa haka, cultural group etc.
• There will be no in school organised sport activities.

Out of school sport activities will be determined by individual out of school sport organisations.

• We are waiting for Ministry of Education advice as to how this will work.

We appreciate that this is an extensive range of measures. They are designed to ensure that both students and staff are safe, and are based on information we have received to date from the Ministry of Education.

Take care. Stay safe.

Ka manaakitia koutou e te Atua

Alister Bridgman

Principal