The Connection Week 4 Term 1

We delayed sending the newsletter out yesterday following the Phase 3 announcement.

Above all this, please understand we will do all we can to keep the focus on children and the continuation of our work - learning.

Our approach has been to be ready and to be cautious. Thank you for the way you support the school in working with us to secure children at home and back into online learning for those classes impacted this week.

Phase 3 changes things considerably. Where we have focussed on close contacts and building a plan around this, this has now changed. Close contacts no longer exist and the focus is on positive cases and household contacts. Our focus is now very much working with the individual on a class by class basis.

The key messaging is, we are back on site and in our classes. We have resourced every child with a book to work from if / when they are having to isolate due to being COVID positive or having someone in their household who is positive. We will communicate where we have positive cases to the families of that class, this may well become a frequent message.

We will adjust our school responses as issues arise. Online may need to be reactivated, however this may look quite different to a full school lockdown online situation. We suspect the real challenge will be in keeping the school open with teachers testing positive or as a household positive contact. In the current climate, accessing a relief teacher is near to impossible.

The school remains at “Red” and so our processes of limiting exposure, wearing masks, ventilation and high standards of care remain.

It is critical that you communicate with us when you have a child identified as a positive case. We also have a process in place to confirm when a child can return to school. An email will be sent to the family before the date of their return.

• Friday 4th March - Teacher Only Day

Can My Child Come To School?

Covid is in our community and as a school we are taking a cautious approach. Our priority is the well being of our students, staff and community. We are keen to keep learning for your child as uninterrupted here at school as possible. To summarise the advice given by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, we have created the following table:

If your child has covid, please let us know. This allows us to contact other students who may be close contacts. If someone in your house has covid, your whole household must isolate and your child cannot come to school.

If someone in your household is a close contact (but your child is not considered a close contact), then your child can come to school.

Ways You Can Help:

• Please communicate if you have any concerns or questions.
• Given the huge number of absences / sickness at the moment, please inform the school of absences and if isolating the time period. Please note - using SchoolApps allows you to record the duration and is the easiest option.
• If /when your child becomes positive please tell us, even if they are already home isolating.
• If someone in your home becomes positive, keep your children at home.

Reminder:

We have supplied a book for your child to use when isolating at home.

Please do not hesitate to connect with your child’s teacher or directly to our Senior Leadership team:

Maree.Lloyd@hds.school.nz - Deputy Principal and overall lead

John.Petrie@hds.school.nz - Principal

Keryn.Annan@hds.school.nz - Deputy Principal

Rachael (Year 3) says: “I love Huapai School because I love playing outside with my friends. It’s really fun here. Reading is my favourite thing to do in class because I’m learning how to read better. In my class we are learning about SeeSaw so we can do learning online.”

Friday 4th March 2022

We are watching closely our potential impacts with COVID, however we are hoping we can proceed with the planned Teacher Only Day. This day has been allocated to schools through negotiation between Government and Teachers unions and was part of a settlement. We were not able to take this last year. The day is used for staff planning, assessment and reporting.

Our Huapai+ will offer support and supervision for families who might otherwise struggle with supervision for their children. Bookings can be made through AimyPlus, linked below.

This is the first of two (2) planned Teacher only Days - the second being Friday June 3rd (Queens Birthday weekend).

We have had two cases of chickenpox in the last fortnight. Parents in the affected year groups have been emailed. This is very common in childhood, however as chickenpox is contagious from 1–2 days before the blisters appear, we do like to advise families.

People with chickenpox have small blisters (like a rash) on their skin. These can be very itchy.

Other symptoms of chickenpox are:

• tiredness

• fever

• general aches and pains

Please take a moment tonight to check your child.

We can not sustain the impact we are currently experiencing with requests from parents to get messages to their children. Parents are encouraged to establish expectations with their children before they arrive at school. Where there is a change, please phone the class directly using the extension option given to you when you call the school contact number (class extensions are provided below). Where a significant issue arises we will always help. Where the message is a change of plans, please phone the classroom directly and continue doing so if the class is not present or not answering.

The school day is 9am - 3pm. Unless necessary, we ask that you please wait until 3pm to pick up your child. If you do need to pick up your child earlier than 3pm, then please email their teacher, as well as the School Office, in advance.

An email has been sent to all families this morning encouraging your support through the school donation. This is such a key element to the success of our school. Donations are voluntary and greatly appreciated. Please note your donation attracts a 30% tax rebate.

IMPORTANT NOTE: there was an error on the email sent out in regards to the payment of the School Donation. There is no part-payment option via KINDO. You are only able to pay using the payment options provided on your child's HERO account, which is payment in full via Credit Card or bank transfer. Part-payments can only be made via bank transfer. Our bank account details are listed in HERO. We apologise for any confusion caused.

Do you have any size 12/14/16+ school uniform at home? If you are happy to donate these to the school, please pop it into the School Office.

Is your child keen to play winter hockey for school? Please open the attached google form to find out more and to register your child. Entries close in three weeks - Friday 11th March.

These are now overdue. Please pay via Hero. Managers will be following up with conversations.

Our good friends at MusiqHub are looking forward to another awesome year of music in 2022 at Huapai School! They will have some slots available for Guitar, Drums, Piano and Ukulele lessons in Term 1. If you're interested, be sure to get in touch to reserve your spot or ask any questions you may have. Contact details below:

Drums - paul.barry@musiqhub.co.nz

Guitar, Keyboard and Ukulele - scott.wotherspoon@musiqhub.co.nz

Our 2022 Term dates are:

Term 1 - Thursday 3rd February - Thursday 14th April

Term 2 - Monday 2nd May - Friday 8th July

Term 3 - Monday 25th July - Friday 30th September

Additional to this there are two planned Teacher only days:

• Friday 4th March

• Friday 3rd June (making Queens Birthday a 4 day option)

We use HERO to send classroom updates, to share regular learning posts and now for payment on all in-school costs. HERO sends push notifications or emails. You can now choose how you receive HERO notifications as well as manage devices that receive them.

To set your own notification preferences:

1. Click on your profile image

2. Select EDIT PROFILE

3. Scroll down to My Devices and select your preferences.
   

Or please see the full instructions linked below.

Email: office@hds.school.nz
Website: https://www.huapaidistrict.school.nz/
Location: Huapai District School 40 Station Rd, Kumeū, New Zealand
Phone: +64 09 412 5042
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huapaidistrictschool