12 November 2021
Dear Parents and Caregivers
Kohimarama School will reopen on a part time basis as allowed by the Ministry of Education. Staff very much look forward to welcoming children back to school commencing Wednesday 17th November.
This update contains important information to reassure you that we have the necessary health, safety and hygiene measures in place. We want to ensure that your child’s return to school is a positive one for all. Please read this carefully as the school will be operating in a different way than in previous returns after lockdown.
Thank you to all those parents who completed the survey regarding a part time return to school. There was an overwhelming response to students returning in their year groups. More than 2/3rds indicated this as the preference. We have heard this and have planned
our return using a teaching team approach. I understand that for some of you this is not what you hoped for. Here is the learning setup for the remainder of the year.
Week 9
Hillary and Kiri Hillary and Kiri Snell and Cowley
13 – 16 December
N.B. Kiri and Hillary Teams will always be on a Monday and Tuesday, Cowley and Snell Teams will always be on Thursday and Friday. On alternate Wednesday’s one group of teams will be at school.
Learning modes for the week
- When teams are not at school, they continue their online learning at home. ● Students not returning to school for the remainder of the school year, continue their learning from home.
Chromebooks
For those families who have borrowed a Chromebook during lockdown please return these to school. These will need to be delivered on Monday 15th November so that they may be cleaned and prepared for use by our students returning on site.
There will be a box inside the door of the office. Please just pop these into the box. Remember charges and cords as well as the Chromebook.
Kohimarama School will be following Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Health (MOH) guidelines, namely;
- Masks are to be worn by students and staff in Years 4 and above. This is not a school decision, rather the cabinet made that decision on Monday. The Minister announced this at his presentation on Tuesday. The National Office of the Ministry of Education has confirmed this also stating; If a parent is not willing to send their child in Year 4-8 to school with a mask from next Wednesday, then that child cannot attend school. Again, this is not a school decision rather a government Health Order that is due to be published before Wednesday 17th November. Please put a spare mask in your child’s bag.
- Enabling good hygiene practices – regular washing and drying of hands and good cough and sneeze etiquette remain fundamental to preventing spread of illness such as colds, flu and COVID-19. As we have done previously, please send your child to school with their own towel to dry their hands.
- Cleaning – Additional cleaning of table surfaces, high touch areas, handles and resources will be cleaned during the day and as much as possible.
- Hand Sanitising – Learners will be asked to use it each time they enter and leave the classroom. Handwashing will be carried out throughout the day before food and after using the bathroom.
- Physical Distancing – Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Health (MOH) have advised as much as practicable, physical distancing is a good precaution to prevent the spread of disease. In an Alert Level 3.2 school environment, this means children, young people, and staff maintaining a physical distance so that they are not breathing on or
touching each other, coupled with good hygiene practices (coughing into your elbow, handwashing and drying) and regular cleaning of commonly touched surfaces. ○ We are intending to use the outside areas as much as possible to ensure that children are not in the confined space of a classroom for lengthy periods where possible.
- The school is adhering to the Government mandated requirements regarding vaccination and testing of staff.
General Information
We have collated the data on students returning to school in each of the teaching teams. In doing this we have allocated sufficient space and staff to manage those students recorded as attending on site. If you need to discuss the return to school for your child please contact me on pengles@kohimarama.school.nz.
While we are in Alert Level 3.2 the key thing for us all to remember is that physical distancing is still a good precaution to prevent the spread of Covid19 Delta . This will be especially important at drop off and pick up time.
We would like to continue to practise social distancing as much as is possible within our school environment For us at school, this means our team groupings.
Below are some guidelines we have put in place to keep everyone at school safe Students will be required to bring;
- Their own drink bottle with water – these can be refilled in the classroom ● Their own packed lunch, there will be no sushi, pizza or ice-blocks available at school ● Year 4 to 8 students are required by the Ministry of Education to wear a face mask when
they enter the school and in the classroom. These will need to be provided by families. Mask wearing will be required when working inside classrooms. No mask will be required when playing outside.
- Year 3 to 8 students are required to bring their BYOD if applicable.
- School sunhat
- Hand towels to completely dry hands after washing
Contact with Classroom Teacher
- From now until the end of the year there will be no onsite meetings with teachers. Please email your child’s teacher and arrange a phone or google meet.
Arrival and Departure from school
- Kiri and Cowley Teams enter and exit school grounds from Rawhitiroa Road entrance ● Hillary and Snell Teams enter and exit school grounds from Kohimarama Road entrance. ● Parents please drop your child/ren at their designated gate in the morning and collect them from the same gate in the afternoon.
- A staff member will open the gates for drop off (entry) between 8.40am and 8.55am. ● A staff member will open the gates for pickup between 3.00pm and 3.15pm ● The exception will be Room 24 new entrant students who will be able to escort their
children to and from the Hall as we start our learning on site. This is to allow them to become familiar with the school environment and settle into life at school. These students started while we were in lockdown. We appreciate your support in keeping our students safe.
- If when you get to school, you feel that your child needs extra support in getting to their classroom, please speak first to the staff member monitoring the gate. We would expect that your time onsite would be limited to 10-15 minutes.
- If you need to enter the school yourself at any time during the day, this must be done via the Kohimarama Road gate and you must go to the office and sign in and sign out regardless of which classroom you are going to.
- Any parent coming onsite will be required to use the QR code before they enter the school gate and wear a mask.
- Please ensure that the area around the school gate remains free for students to walk in. ● We would ask you to support the required distancing while dropping off and collecting students. The recommendation is 1.5M.
We thank you in advance for helping us to manage Alert Level 3.2.
Play spaces at school:
Kiri and Cowley teams, who come on different days, will use the space outside their classrooms and the bottom field. Cowley team only, may use the adventure playground. Hillary and Snell teams, who come on different days, will use the top field and courts Break times will remain the same as usual.
Programme for the first week back
As students have been absent from school for a lengthy lockdown period where Auckland is experiencing a pandemic first hand, teachers will be focusing on students’ well-being and rebuilding relationships within the classroom.
Teachers will continue to plan work for students to complete either online or at school for the remainder of the term.
Daily routines during Alert Level 3.2
- Lateness – Arriving at school on time is imperative during this time. Please let the office know if you will be running late by calling 09 930 9826 or emailing
office@kohimarama.school.nz
In the event of a child being late, a late ticket will be printed and collected from the office door entrance. They will need to show the late ticket to their class teacher. ● Footwear- we are asking students to wear footwear outside at all times, this will eliminate minor cuts and abrasions that can occur during play.
School Office
We will be limiting entry to the School office. Think of the office like a pre-order and pick up service. E.g. your child needs a bookbag – please order via email and we will organise for the item to go home with your child. Preferred method of payment is eftpos.
Students who are unwell.
- Symptoms to monitor are; any respiratory symptoms such as a cold, a head cold, blocked ears, cough, sneezing, sick tummy, chills and a fever.
○ Anyone with those symptoms must stay home
○ You can contact Healthline for advice, which may include getting tested for COVID-19 as a precaution.
- If your child becomes unwell at school we will contact you and request that you collect them immediately to take them home.
Extra Curricular Activities
- There will be no Band
- There will be no Kapa Haka
- There will be no Choir
- There will be no Cheerleading
- There will be no piano, guitar or ukulele lessons
- There will be no after school activities based at our school during this Alert Level setting
Thank you for your continued support of Kohimarama School. Our undertaking is to manage the learning within the parameters of a pandemic while enabling students to continue to develop and learn. Our school vision is; We Dream, We Inspire, We Create, We Empower. During these unsettled times we have certainly used our vision to guide our way.
Nga Mihi Nui
Paul Engles
Principal
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