Dear parents we are returning to school on the 18th of May, here's the plan for Alert Level two

Dear parents, we are returning to school on the 18th of May, here's the plan ...

This is certainly a year to remember. It is with a great deal of pleasure we look forward to seeing the majority of our students this coming Monday. Today the teacher's have been planning what things will look like at school over the next few weeks and months while we have this unwelcome intruder in our midst. We are especially looking at the safety aspects of returning to school because school is still not quite back to normal. None of us can really guess how long we are going to be at Alert Level two but some epidemiologists are saying it could be for quite a long time.

Our first priority

Our first priority will be to ensure the health and well-being of our students and re-connect our face to face (kanohi ki te kanohi) relationships. Our best teaching and learning (ako) comes out of how effective we are at getting on with one another. Initially, it will take time to get going as we recommence the year.

Classes will be taking place at school based on the information we have

Based on the information we have so far, most students are returning to school. We would consider putting on an e-learning class in the senior part of the school but at the moment the numbers don't demand it. If there were sufficient expression of interest i.e. the equivalent of one classroom we would consider keeping one digital class up and running. So at the moment, all teachers are back in their classrooms. This may change late next week if we find a lot of unexpected absences. For those students not returning we will prepare further learning packs for the next couple of weeks. Educational television will also be going until the 10th of June. If you are going to stay at home during Level two please contact Joanne office@moana.school.nz to help us plan for Monday. We may have to redistribute classes.

Attendance

It appears that at the moment the MOE is being reasonably flexible about attendance at school. Under the circumstances, we as a school reflect that position. Our concern as a school would be for any of our students who are not engaged in learning at school or at home. For this small group of students, we will be seeking advice from the MOE.

Ministry of Education head Iona Holsted said all children were "expected" to return to school, as they are legally required to attend between their 6th and 16th birthdays. But she indicated that schools should not take a hard line on enforcing attendance.

Staff will be preparing classes this Friday

The start of school next Monday means that this coming Friday there will be no regular classes. Teachers are going to need to get back to their classrooms to prepare for two groups of students: the group of students who are not coming back to school next week and for the students who are coming back. Today is about safety planning. Friday will be about curriculum planning.

Continuity of programmes as appropriate

When your children come back please make sure they bring their computers (i.e. Room six, seven and eight). Over the next little while we will continue to run some elements of existing programmes and ensure that students really can manage in that digital environment should the need arise in the future. Junior and middle room school children are not expected to bring school devices.

Ministry of Education (MOE) digital devices

A lot of you did not necessarily have the adequate number of devices at home to easily access the programmes that were being offered. This compounded the stress in some families. Many of you have asked the question "When are the devices going to be delivered?". The short answer is: "I don't know". This is what I do know from colleagues, the news, reading MOE material and talking to our senior advisor.

• Digital devices have been delivered to some schools within our area.
• 70,000 digital devices have been ordered because there was a shortfall within the country.
• The delivery of devices has been patchy. Some computers have been delivered to the wrong homes. Some schools have had only partial deliveries.
• Devices were supposed to be delivered to high schools first and then rolled out to schools in deciles one to three. (Our school is not a decile one to three, so it would appear we are in the queue. Our school is decile four.)
• There is a misconception that the devices would belong to the children. They will not belong to the children. They will become part of the school's asset base and available to the children.

At this point with the return to school so close it is unlikely that the devices will be delivered very soon. As principal, I will be asking that the computers be delivered to school so that they are properly configured by a technician before they are used in a learning situation, whether that is at school or home. I have been told that if devices are being rolled out to school I will be notified by email.

Core safety principles

Under level two everything we do in terms of safety connects to four principles. These principles are:

1. maintaining good hygiene practices i.e. regular washing and drying of hands and knowing how to cough and sneeze properly
2. ensuring people with any symptoms of illness stay away from school (even runny noses and coughs) i.e. staff and students
3. maintaining physical distancing where practicable - Students at Alert Level two are not supposed to breathe on or touch each other (and pigs are also supposed to fly :-))
4. keeping track of people that enter your school

Here's the plan ...

In practice at school this is what it looks like at Moanataiari school:

Things that children will be able to do:

• Use the playground
• Use the sandpit
• Use sports equipment
• Mix with children outside of their home 'bubble'
• Attend after school care when it reopens. This is yet to be confirmed.

Preventive hygiene and health practices:

Sanitiser outside each room to be used before entry.

• Coughing and sneezing into elbows
• No spitting (Any child who spits will need to go home)
• Food and water brought from home. Drink bottles need to be clearly named. No drinking fountains are in operation.
• No sharing of kai (food)
• Regular cleaning of commonly touched surfaces
• Regular cleaning of equipment
• Regular cleaning of toilet areas
• Washing hands with sanitiser will happen every time a person enters a learning area or shared space.
• Maintain room temperatures at approximately 18 to 20 degrees.

Sick people - no exceptions:

• No student or teacher under any circumstances is permitted to school if they exhibit any symptoms of illness. Unwell learners must not be sent to school. Check your child's temperature if you have any concerns.
• All staff will be vigilant of students health under their care.
• Staff who exhibit any symptoms of illness will be directed by the principal to go home and if necessary be examined by a doctor.
• Unwell students will be sent to the sickbay where they will remain until they are picked up by their parents. Parents sending their children to school must be available by phone.
• Staff dealing with children in the sickbay will use PPE gear.

Physical distancing:

• There will be no assemblies until further notice. Awards will be given to students in class on Fridays and these will be acknowledged in the newsletter. Although assemblies are permitted under Level two, we are now in the winter terms, we have no hall and can not meet the physical distancing requirements in room six and seven.
• There will be no whakatau in the meantime, although we could truly do with this. No hongi or hariru (handshakes) are currently permitted.
• The library is closed to students entering. Classroom books will be delivered to classrooms.
• There will be no kea crossing in operation.

There will be no technology for the senior classes in the first week. Technology will resume at Thames High School in the following week once we have had the chance to re-establish class routines.

• Office administration will negotiate with the principal how the administration area will operate.
• The school will be broken into three cohorts (extra-large bubbles):
• Juniors (Rooms four, five and two)
• Middle (Rooms three and nine)
• Senior (Rooms six, seven and eight)
• Students will be able to come to school between 8.45 and 9.00 am. Students will not be allowed on-site until this time. No early arrivals, please.
• Parents will need to phone the office if a student is arriving late or if they are running late after school.
• When dropping children off and picking them up do not park on the yellow lines or in the bus bay as this creates a safety hazard.
• Students will come through staggered entry points and leave the same way.
• The Junior cohort will enter through the gates near Room four on Moanataiari Street. They will be met by Mrs Saunders who will greet the children and direct them to their classrooms.
• The Middle cohort will enter through the gates near the school library on Ensor Street. They will be met by Joanne who will greet the children and direct them to their classrooms.
• The Senior cohort will enter through the gates near the kea crossing on Kuranui Street. They will be met by Mr Brock who will greet the children and direct them to their classrooms.
• Students will have specific play areas.
• The Junior cohort will play in the Room four play area.
• The Middle cohort will play in the Junior play area, sandpit and on the court by the pool.
• The Senior cohort will play on the tennis courts, the senior playground and main field.
• No cohorts will play in the quadrangle.
• No hugging or high fiving etc.
• Teacher aides will be required to work on-site to assist students with social, learning and physical needs.
• Teachers will be required for additional duties.

Parents, please talk to your children about not touching other children or staff.

Be aware that at Level two, we do not have sufficient classroom sizes to modify our internal desk arrangements.

Keeping track of people:

• Parents may only come on-site if they have a specific appointment made through the office. When parents come on-site they will need to sign in and out so that we know who has been at school on any given day. This means that parents will have to leave their children at the gates and not come on to the premises. At the end of the day, children will again meet you outside the gates.
• All ancillary staff will be expected to sign in and out daily. Relievers will be required to do this too.
• The roll becomes a record of which students were on-site on any given day.
• When the tracing app becomes available by the Ministry of Health all people on the school site will be asked to download it for their own and our own protection.

If a Covid-19 infection should occur:

• The Ministry of Health will be notified or will notify us.
• The MOE will be notified.
• Families will be notified.
• The school will be closed for 72 hours while contact tracing occurs and then, potentially, another 14 days.

As a school, we will no longer be finishing at 2.00pm on Fridays. This decision has been made in response to feedback from the community and although there was reasonable support for the idea we think that for some families this is difficult. We are however likely to finish at 2.00pm on the last day of the term.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible this coming next Monday, the 18th of May.

David Brock

Principal