By Simon Clarke | Posted: Thursday June 4, 2020
Today the Government made the announcement regarding moving into Level 1.
Action Points
Throughout the Covid19 crisis, we have been evaluating what we have done and examining where to next. The Board of Trustees and staff don't want to go backwards and we want to take the learnings from the lockdown and apply them
We have found the use of Google Classroom and especially Seesaw to be effective forms of communication for parents and teachers. As teachers, we have also become more adept at using video conferencing such as Meets and Zoom. We have also discovered over the last three weeks greater independence and less anxiety at the start of the day for the students.
One of the biggest surprises we have found, as have most schools in New Zealand, that the start of the day is much more positive for children and they have developed greater self-management and independence skills. Separation anxiety has been reduced and teachers are valuing the 1:1 time they are having with your child as they enter the class. As we move into Level 1, Kaikorai School will continue with the current pick up and drop off routines with the exception that children may enter the school via any gate they wish. Junior teachers will still be at the Tyne St gate should your child need more support to get to class.
Likewise, the end of the day is an important part of the learning process as teaches recap on the days learning and give important final instructions. Having parents on-site before 3pm sends the wrong message to the students that the day is over. We would encourage you to have a prearranged pick up spot some distance from the gates as a short walk will only improve their resilience and independence.
Contact tracing is no longer needed at Level 1 if you do need to enter the school for any reason and likewise, should you need to talk to a teacher, you are more than welcome. An email is helpful for teachers so that they know you are coming and can prepare any information that you may require.
Another change due to COVID19 will be the appearance and content of the mid-year report. Due to the time away from school and our underlying philosophy of the focus being on the mental health of students when they returned, teachers will not have enough data and observations to report back to you effectively. The shortened report will consist of their reading, writing and mathematic ability as well as some social skills observations in bullet point format along with their current learning goals. This will be the starting point for a discussion at the mid-year interviews which will take place between 30 June - 2 July.
We will be extending our mid-year interviews from 10 minutes to 15 so that we can have a more in-depth conversation about your child's progress, how they coped during the lockdown and the next step on their learning journey. We expect a 100% attendance from parents and it can be either completed face to face or if you prefer, over Zoom or Google Meet from the comfort of your house.
Our students have never been healthier and we are currently seeing very high attendance rates. This is in some part due to increased hygiene practices and sick children staying at home and not spreading any colds and flu. The advice from the Ministry remains the same and it is important that we don't slip back as we move towards Level 1.
The Ministry of Health advice is to stay away from school if unwell and if showing COVID-like symptoms they are to be assessed by a GP or Healthline to determine if testing is recommended. The symptoms for COVID-19 have expanded as more has become known about the virus. Symptoms noted on the Ministry of Health website are:
Kind regards
Simon Clarke
Principal