One thing to explain straight away - there is no single simple answer to the question of how schools will operate at Red level. Moving to Red on the Covid Protection Framework is a very broad step in terms of how a school operates, and the context and size of the outbreak will impact how schools respond. This is very likely to be an evolving process that will change as the outbreak develops.
Here are some key details about the start of our new school year in Red level. Please be aware that these details may change and evolve as the term (and the outbreak) progresses. These details will come into effect from Feb 1st 2022.
- School will remain open, unless localised lockdowns occur or school is closed temporarily due to a Covid outbreak
- All students and staff working in or with Pōhutukawa Hub will be required to wear a mask indoors. It is mandated that all students in year 4 and above must wear a mask indoors at school.
- All staff working in or with Harakeke Hub will be required to wear a mask indoors. All students in Harakeke Hub are strongly encouraged to wear a mask indoors, but this is not a requirement. It is a requirement from the Ministry of Education that Year 4 students and above must wear a mask, but there is also room for schools to take a pragmatic approach where there are groups with a mix of year levels. Harakeke Hub has a mix of Year 2, 3 and 4 students, and as such we will be strongly encouraging, but not requiring, all students in Harakeke to wear a mask.
- Students in Koru Hub are not required to wear a mask, but are very welcome to do so. Teachers in Koru Hub will also not be required to wear masks, as it may not always be appropriate to wear masks with such young children. However, they are encouraged to wear masks when it is appropriate to do so.
- Support staff and leaders who come into direct contact with students will wear a mask indoors.
- All visitors and parents or whānau coming onsite (past the red boundary line shown on the attached map) must wear a mask.
- Daily thorough cleaning of all high touch surfaces will continue, along with strong and consistent hand cleaning / sanitising routines in all hubs.
- Hubs will not mix for learning or activities. Students will only mix with other students in their own hub.
- Co-curricular lessons will run but will be organised in hub groups. Students in different hubs will not be placed in the same co-curricular lessons.
- Only essential visitors will come onsite at school (past the onsite school boundary shown in red on the attached map). Visitors will be required to scan in on the QR code and wear a mask. If you need to come inside school buildings, please also ensure that you sign in, either at the office or with a teacher in your child's learning hub.
- Parents are encouraged to only come onsite if it is necessary to do so. For example, if your child is new to school or is feeling anxious about coming into school, it is absolutely fine to come into school with them. Any visitors or parents coming onsite must scan in and wear a mask. Where possible, please communicate with your child's teachers via email or an online conference rather than coming in to chat face to face.
- No vaccination passes will be required from any students, and no passes will be needed from parents to access activities or meetings directly relating to their child’s learning.
- We will not hold events or gatherings that will bring parents and whānau onsite, and we will not hold whole school events that will bring different hubs together in one indoor space. Any community events planned for the start of the school year will sadly be postponed or will not run.
- 'Meet the Teacher' sessions on Feb 11th will go ahead, but will be online rather than face to face. This will mean that parents and whānau can still get to know teaching teams and can hear key information about hub organisation, and we will ensure that there is a way to ask questions as you go through the session. We will send out more information about this shortly.
- Kelly Club before and after school care will continue to operate. They will be sending out information about how Kelly Club will operate during Red level directly to parents of tamariki enrolled.
- At this point, school will continue to start for all ākonga (students) at 9am, and it will finish for Harakeke and Pōhutukawa at 3pm. For Koru Hub ākonga we will continue the practice of coming out onto the courts at 2:55pm, to make their pick up a little smoother and less crowded for them. If Covid numbers grow locally, we may look to adapt these pick up times, if needed.
Hybrid learning
There will be other considerations within Red level. We are working on a system of hybrid learning, where onsite teaching and learning exists alongside distance teaching and learning. This is different from previous lockdown scenarios, where everyone was either completing distance learning or onsite learning - it was one or the other rather than a mix of both.
Hybrid learning brings with it different complexities and exciting opportunities. It may well be that we encounter periods of time where some students and/or teachers need to isolate at home, or where an outbreak of Covid-19 has reached a point where it is not advisable to have all students onsite at the same time. These are some of the scenarios we are currently planning for.
Whilst it is not possible to let you know how school will run in each different scenario, I can briefly explain some of the tools and strategies we are using to prepare for this.
- We are now using an extension version of Google Education, called Google Workspace Education Plus. This gives us a range of new features specifically designed for distance learning. These include the ability to create private online conferences within Google Classroom, including the use of private breakout rooms; the ability to privately livestream and record teaching content within Google Classroom; and the ability to use a range of shared online features within private Google Classroom and Google Meet online meetings.
- These tools will make connecting and working online much easier and more flexible and varied. Our teams will be using these tools from the start of the year, and Harakeke and Pōhutukawa will be using them directly with students to gain confidence in using them and also to ensure students become more comfortable and confident with them.
- All teams will also reset their distance learning websites, and begin using them again from the start of the year to store and access all key hub learning. This will enable students in Pōhutukawa and Harakeke to become familiar with the sites before possibly needing to use them at times for distance learning.
The use of learning websites and the various online learning tools now available will mean that teaching and learning is more easily available for both students and teachers whether you are onsite or offsite. We are setting our teams up slightly differently behind the scenes (although it will not look different to parents or tamariki) so that teams are able to be flexible and respond quickly if teachers or students are not able to learn onsite. Our collaborative, team teaching approach already makes this much easier, and we are looking to enhance this further to help us cope with possible disruptions ahead.
We appreciate that this does not give specific detail about particular scenarios if the outbreak worsens, but hopefully it gives you some assurance that teaching and learning can still operate well regardless of potential disruptions ahead. The flexibility through these different learning tools and through our team approach means that we are well placed to adapt to different situations as they arise. We will continue to communicate with you regarding this as the situation evolves.
If you have any questions about any of this, or if you would like to discuss your family's particular situation, please contact Urs Cunningham or your child's whānau teacher to talk further about it.
Ngā mihi nui,
Urs Cunningham, Acting Principal
