Taiari Times of Thames

Don't forget that parents are overwhelmed ... (Advice to self, staff and other professionals connected to school.) Emerging from lockdown and restarting school As we look to come out of lock down tonight and start to emerge into a new way of doing things it would be a sensible thing for us as a school to recognise the pressures that exist within our homes. Thank goodness it's a short week and we all need to just manage the three working days. At school, as you are aware we were planning for a return to school tomorrow. As it happens only a very small group expressed any interest in coming back whatsoever and so we will be running just the one class. Parents overwhelmingly wanted to make sure their children and wh ānau were safe. It may be that other parents will need to return to work during level three at some point. Please keep us informed if circumstances change for you. We will do our best to accommodate your needs. The zombie apocalypse As a principal, I h...

Regarding the preparation for a level three return to school Dear parents, caregivers and whānau, Broad principles Here’s what the Government has set out for education under level 3 some of which has been amended but the broad principles are outlined below: ‘Schools will be open for children to go to learn if their parents need to return to work, or the children cannot learn at a distance. Children who are able to, should remain home and learn via distance.’ - Ministry of Education (MOE) Early learning centres and schools will be open up for children up to and including year 10 All children who are able to should remain home and continue to learn remotely Within schools and centres children should be kept in their own bubbles where possible to limit exposure between children Children, young people and staff who are at greater risk are encouraged to stay at home Any child, young person or staff member who is sick should remain at home A difficult p...

Moanataiari Kitchen Challenge The Moanataiari Kitchen Challenge will be shared with all students at Moanataiari School in the coming weeks. It is a great chance for children to help out in the kitchen and improve and prove their skills! There is a Google Slide instructional to show how to complete each task.  Then there is a task completion sheet for parents or someone at home to sign as each task is accomplished. Encourage your children to have a go, there will be eight challenges in all. Children will be able to use their skills in the school kitchen and show us their brilliance once we all return to school. We would love you to share some photos of your children working and creating in the kitchen as they progress through the tasks. It would be awesome for everyone to see what each other is doing on Moanataiari School facebook. The Challenge is on!

Online one to one assessments being run for dyslexia While we are online and still not back to normal we would like to continue to run assessments for your children. We are going to timetable the Burt word reading test to be done with your child starting Monday. Your child will be given a link in their email to meet with one of our teachers or teacher aides to a Zoom session. Testing will take a number of days so do not be surprised if it doesn't happen this week. The Burt test is one of several tools that we will be using, as guided by the 'Learning Support Coordinator', Ann Hoover to check for dyslexia. Parents do not under any circumstances help your child with this test. It will undermine the accuracy of the test and render it useless for learning purposes. The people who are going to contact you are: The famous Mr D. i.e. Mr Donaldson (Celtic, Warriors and Liverpool supporter and alias Tweedledum). Mr Donaldson is a long serving teacher a...

Ministry of Education guidelines for a return to school in alert level three - Summary Full document:  Schooling and Early Learning Education detail for Alert Levels 2, 3 and 4 General principles (for primary schools) Early learning centres and schools are open for children up to year 10, with appropriate public health measures in place. If there is a parent or caregiver available to look after children at home, stay at home.  Children at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 must stay home wherever possible. Primary and intermediate schools are open. If there is a parent or caregiver available to look after children at home and school children have access to distance learning, continue education at home. Distance learning is available for those not attending school (e.g. self- isolating or parent at home).  Initially the number of children or young people must be limited to 10 in a group, but this can be increased to 20 once all processes are runn...

How to change your Zoom background 1. Start Zoom 2. Go to the cog that represents settings 3. Go to Virtual Background 4. Click on an image to choose your virtual background or add your own image by clicking  +  and choosing if you want to upload an image. 

How to make a Zoom background using Canva (by Jorawer Thiara) See file below Making a Zoom background with Canva and also as a slideshow  Slideshow: Making a Zoom virtual background

Technical support for devices at home  At school we use several technicians depending on our need and the availability of the technician. If things go wrong on your computers or Chrome devices staff don't have the technical expertise to help. We can help sort out basic things like passwords or login issues most of the time but if it's something else you may need help from a technician. If you need technical help we make two possible suggestions: 1. HomeIT solutions and 2. Bell Bird computers. There are other companies in town as well but you might look at these a starting point. Keep in mind that if you need this sort of help there could be a cost so you may need to ask up front what the likely costs are and how long it is likely to take. We can only offer phone and remote support during this time. Contact by email is best, or ring 078689106 E:    info@homeit.co.nz W:  www.homeit.co.nz FB:  www.facebook.com/ homeitsolution Da...

Local support Food Thames Foodbank: Ph: 8686274  Monday to Thursday (Baptist Church in Mary St.) 0800 800 405 for people in our Thames-Coromandel District struggling to get food, groceries, medication or other household goods and services available between 7am and 7pm daily. Counselling Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki Thames : Ph: 8680033 or 0508 835 676  8.30 - 4.30 Monday to Sunday CAPS Hauraki: Ph: 0508227728 - they have created a free calling number. If you have concerns around your safety or that of your child please give them a call Free call or text 1737 at any time to speak with a trained counsellor New Zealand wide support Depression Helpline 0800 111 757 Lifeline 0800 543354 or text HELP to 4357 Websites Blog on student anxiety (UK) while not our context or pressures around exams, still very relevant strategies on what to say and do  Children wellbeing - How whanau can help children learning from home  Cov...

Educational television programme for today Learning from home programme schedule Maori television live Home learning television - Here now for past episodes Home Learning | Papa Kāinga TV and Māori Television education programme broadcasting for early learners and students (Years 1–10) TVNZ 2+1 TVNZ on Demand Sky Channel 502 Māori Television will be broadcasting around 300 hours of educational content for ākonga and whānau between the ages of 0 and 18 over the next 10 weeks. For the most up-to-date schedule, check the TV guide on your television set or device.