Notices

TEACHER ONLY DAY

There is a Teacher Only Day on Friday 3 June. This is a day for teachers to learn about a new well-being programme we are introducing at the school called Pause, Breathe, Smile.  This day, was negotiated by the NZEI (teachers' union) in the last round of contract negotiations.

Dear Parents/Caregivers

I hope you all enjoyed the Easter break. As you are aware our school will be returning for term two on Monday 2nd May in the Covid Protection Framework orange light setting. This newsletter contains important information about the safety protocols and guidelines we will be following as a school. Please take the time to read through.

The focus continues to be on keeping our school community as safe as possible and we will do our best to limit the interruptions Covid 19 will have on our students' learning and wellbeing.

We follow the guidance set from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education. When completing our risk assessment and setting our health and safety protocols, we are guided by the Covid19 protection summary for schools and we continue to stay vigilant to keep our school community safe. We are still experiencing Covid19 transmission in the community. 
 

Health and Safety Protocols at Orange

Stay Home If Sick

If your child is sick they need to stay home and get tested. If your child has cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms, stay home and get tested. Those presenting as unwell will be asked to go home. It is for the safety of us all. 

Principals at state and state-integrated schools have authority to preclude a student from attending if they believe on reasonable grounds, they may have a communicable disease under section 77 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

 If a student becomes unwell at school, they will be sent to the office area. The person who receives the child will wear gloves and a mask and place the child in the health room. Any staff member becoming unwell at school will be asked to go home.

Mask Wearing
In Years 4-8, face masks are now strongly encouraged, but not required, when inside at school. All parents, caregivers, whānau, and other visitors are strongly encouraged to wear face masks on site, especially if going indoors. All staff are strongly encouraged to wear masks indoors.

School Drop Off 
Students are now in a great routine and as a school we have noticed an increase in how students are taking responsibility and managing themselves to prepare for the school day each morning. Parents/Caregivers are still encouraged to continue to drop off at the school gate. However, parents/caregivers are now allowed to come onsite in the morning and drop off at the classroom. We ask that you do this as fast as possible please. If you come into school you are strongly encouraged to wear a face mask, especially when indoors. 

School Pick Up
At this stage there will be no change to the afternoon pick up routine. At the end of the school day parents/caregivers will continue to pick up from the school gate. Year 1 classes will continue to be walked out to the main gates. We ask that parents/caregivers do not come onsite to avoid large groups congregating on school grounds. 

School Visitors
If coming onsite during the school day all visitors must sign in through the office, this does not include morning drop off.

School Events/Assemblies
Parents/Caregivers are welcome to attend all school events and whole school assemblies. Whole school assemblies will begin again in term 2 and will be held outdoors (weather permitting). 

Good Hygiene
All students will continue to sanitise their hands on entry to classrooms, wash their hands after the bathroom and cough and sneeze into elbows. Surfaces in classrooms will be regularly cleaned.

Ventilation 
We know that good ventilation is one of the tools to help minimise the spread of Covid 19. We will have doors and windows open. Students will have regular opportunities to work outside, weather permitting.

Positive cases
If anyone in your family is confirmed as having COVID-19, you will be asked to notify your close contacts yourself. Please get in touch with us-This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
as soon as you can if your child or any household member has tested positive for COVID-19.

If you have any concerns about sending your child to school, please do get in touch with myself, Kate Deane or Steve Harper-Travers. We are here to help.

Thank you in advance for your support with keeping our school community as safe as possible. We are looking forward to welcoming all our students back at the beginning of term 2. 

Kind Regards



Mark Keenan
Principal

Dear Parents/Caregivers

I am writing to keep you updated about how our school is continuing to respond to COVID-19. As you may have seen, in the last few days the media has reported a reduction in the number of daily cases, however there is no change in the red light setting. Until the end of term one we will be keeping the additional layers of protection in place to help prevent or reduce the risk of onward spread and will not be making any changes to our current protocols. We will review this for the beginning of term two dependent on any change to the red light setting.  When completing our risk assessment, we are guided by the Covid19 protection summary which can be found here. We continue to stay vigilant to keep our school community safe.

While we know that cases in school will rise and fall with that of the level in our community, health experts tell us that children are much more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 in the community than at school. We also know that nationally in mid-March no more than 4% of teachers in any seven-day period reported as testing positive. It is currently around 3.5%.  

As you know, it’s great for any child’s wellbeing and learning to be at school with their friends, teachers and other school staff. You also know that we have very good systems in place to keep everyone as safe as possible. This term we have had an average attendance rate of 87%, this is very pleasing. Our focus continues to be on face-to-face teaching and we have worked very hard to try and minimise disruption and remain open throughout the term for all children. For any children isolating at home we will continue to provide online learning that can be accessed through our school website - undefined. Please scroll to the bottom and click on the distance learning hub. Any questions please contact your child’s classroom teacher. 
  
Mask wearing for our students Year 4 and above and for adults remains in place in indoor spaces and we are getting lots of fresh air during the day. We also continue to focus on basic hygiene such as washing hands regularly, covering any coughs and sneezes, and cleaning surfaces regularly.

KidsHealth has some other great resources you may be interested in:

• Why wearing masks and creating airflow helps – KidsHealth
• Back to school with Omicron in 2022 – KidsHealth

If you have any concerns about sending your child to school, please get in touch – Year 1-4 Mrs Deane and Year 5-8 Mr Harper-Travers. We want all children to be at school and engaging in learning with their friends.

Your job remains the same, too: please continue to keep a really close watch of your whānau for anyone with symptoms. If unwell, please stay at home and get advice about getting a COVID-19 test.

Kind Regards



Mark Keenan
Principal

What is the difference between a positive case, household/whānau of 

a positive case and a close contact?

Household/Whānau - People who live in your house with you

Positive Cases - Someone who has tested positive for COVID 19

Close Contact - Someone who has had contact with a person with COVID 19 when they were infectious

COVID-19 

Frequently Asked Questions

In light of recent cases in the local area this information is to support our families with any Covid-19 queries, and what you need to do.

In advance we know that this will end up in disruptions to your lives and work, and thank you for your understanding and support.

Please note that we are not the “health experts”, but do know that the Ministry of Health may be delayed in providing advice/guidance to you.

Please also note that this information is subject to change, based on any updated guidelines from the Ministry of Education & Health.

Who do we advise if my child tests positive for Covid-19?

Please contact Mark Keenan as soon as possible after you have been informed of a positive test result.  

Contact:  by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or phone the school 09 5366 570.

What actions does the school take when there is a positive case?

We follow a response plan based on guidance from the Ministry of Education.

This involves:

• Seeking confirmation of the positive case, and when the infectious period was
• If this was on a school day, we then work through contact tracing
• We will advise close contacts, via text/email.
• If this occurs during a school day, we will request that you come and collect your child as soon as you are able to.  Arrive and wait outside the office, phone the office (09 5366 570) to let us know you are there and we will bring your child(ren) out to you safely.
• Communication will be sent out to our school community – please wait for this and do not contact the school directly.

How do we work out who is a Close Contact?

There is detailed guidance around this and a range of criteria. As a school we use the criteria provided to us to determine which learners/staff are close contacts. Some of the determining factors are ventilation, mask wearing, proximity to the positive case and time frames.

My child is a close contact. What does this mean?

• This means your child has had contact with a positive case at our school.  
• They will need to isolate for 7 days and be tested on Day 5 (Note - the 7 days start from the date that they were in contact with a positive case at school.  Because of the time lag between the confirmed case/test results, this may mean that your child only needs to remain home for a smaller number of days).
• The Day 5 test is likely when you would receive the notification of being a close contact.
• We will advise you further regarding testing and isolation dates.

Do I need to provide anything before my child is able to return to school?

Yes please.  For positive Covid cases or close contacts we would like to see the last negative test result please.  Note: if your family chooses not to get the Covid test done, then the period of isolation will need to be extended.

If my child is a close contact, does the rest of our household also need to isolate?

No, not for our region.  We have received official direction from the Auckland Regional Health Board & Ministry of Education that this no longer applies to the Auckland region.

Please note: the Covid19 website still says that other household members of close contacts are casual contacts, and also need to isolate for 5 days, but this does not apply to the Waikato/Auckland areas.

A member of our household is a close contact. Can my child still attend school?

Yes, as above.  Your child is able to attend school. 

We received the letter saying that my child is NOT a close contact. What do I need to do?

Most importantly, your child is still able to attend school

• You and your whānau should watch for symptoms
• If anyone develops symptoms, get tested immediately
• Then, stay at home until you receive the result
• Please keep an eye out for school communications
• If your whānau hasn’t been vaccinated, please consider doing so as soon as possible.

My child has tested positive for Covid-19. What does this mean?

This will mean that your child will need to isolate.  All family members will be close contacts and also need to isolate.

Ministry of Health will provide more guidance.

A member of our household has tested positive. What does this mean?

This will mean that your child will be a close contact and also needs to isolate.  Ministry of Health will provide more guidance.

My child is feeling unwell (e.g. cough, headache, sore throat etc). Can I still send them to school?

These are all symptoms of Covid, please do not send your child to school.  While these may be the normal bugs/sniffles that occur, we encourage you to get your child tested.

Is it safe to send my child to school?

Our processes involve working through a detailed contact tracing assessment.  If your child is not a close contact, then school is still open for them and we encourage you to send them to school as much as you can.  As you know, our learners have missed a lot of teaching and learning over the past 2 years, and we really want to see them at school as much as possible.

Our school health and safety plan for Red does contain a large number of protections.

What are some of the things you are doing to keep my child safe?

• All staff, volunteers, contractors on site are vaccinated
• We are ventilating all our rooms
• Staff and learners in Year 4 and above are wearing masks
• We have different gates for drop offs and pickups
• We have staggered break times and allocated eating / play areas to minimise contact between learners and staff

My child is anxious or scared. What advice do you have?

Our staff are working hard to make school fun, safe and a place of learning.  We encourage you to focus on the things that they can do to help - mask-wearing, washing hands, getting a test (if required)

This website has some useful tips - https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/

My child needs to isolate at home. What support will school provide around teaching and learning?

Our support and response will also depend on the situation within school at the time. If all teachers are onsite teaching you can access materials here: https://www.maraetaibeach.school.nz/students/distance-learning 

Kind Regards

Mark Keenan

Principal