By Simon Clarke | Posted: Sunday November 7, 2021
Dear Parents and Caregivers
As you are aware the Public Health Order for workers in education came into force from midnight 15th November 2021.
The Order requires that from Tuesday, 16 November 2021 any person who works, volunteers or does unpaid work at or for the school and who may come into contact with children or students must have at least one Covid 19 vaccination.
The vaccination requirements also apply at school camps, swimming pools, or where other education outside the classroom (EOTC) take place.
The Board of Trustees are working with the Principal to review our policies and procedures in order to reflect the Government requirements and deliver on our responsibilities. The Board acknowledges this is a particularly tough, confronting and stressful time for many.
As a Board, we are committed to ensuring the health and safety of our students, staff, whanau and the wider community. We must comply with the Order and the Ministry's guidance.
While other organisations are considering and in some cases moving towards implementing mandatory vaccination policies that would mean only vaccinated adults could come onto site that is not a position the Board will be taking.
The Board's focus is on getting through to the end of the School year with as little disruption as possible, ensuring everyone' safety and also being able to celebrate and recognise all the hard work of our students and our fantastic teaching team.
With that in mind, the following additional requirements will apply from Monday the 22nd of November until the end of the School year.
· Anyone entering the school grounds, between the hours of 8:00 am - 5:30 pm please wear a mask.
· If you have an appointment with staff, wish to settle your child in class with staff supervision, or are entering any buildings, please wear a mask, report to the office, sign in using the displayed QR code, use hand sanitiser and maintain appropriate social distancing. If you have an exemption from wearing a mask please provide a copy of that exemption to the School office by emailing. You will not be asked about the nature of your disability or condition, we just need to sight the exemption,
Staff may require you to follow other instructions on entry and exit of the schoolgrounds or buildings to manage people flows and maintain social distancing. Please be kind and work with staff in these instances.
Dropping off or picking up students at the school gate continues as at present with appropriate social distancing protocols in place as per Covid Level 2. Please enter the school site only if you absolutely need to.
Finally, we have a number of school-wide events planned over the next month, including the School Camps, discos, movie and leavers assembly, As a Board we are committed to doing all that we can to ensure that these events go ahead and to celebrate the students' achievements, provided we can do so safely, and within the guidelines set. We are frequently evaluating our responsibilities for hosting events and group activities and we will keep you updated.
If you have any uncertainty or questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Principal or the Chair of the Board directly.