Nga mihi nui ki a koutou katoa – warm greetings to everyone

Hybrid Learning:

The challenge for us right now is providing continuity of learning with the intermittent attendance of students going in and out of self-isolation. Because of this it is not possible to carry on with ‘business as usual’ and expect those who have been away to ‘catch up’ on their return. The numbers involved make this unviable, plus the disruption of students coming and going at various times makes it extremely difficult to focus solely on what is happening on-site.

For this reason, this week we have moved to Hybrid Learning. Hybrid learning means in-person and remote forms of teaching and learning happen at the same time. The idea is that home learning and in-class learning work in parallel. The reason we have made this change is because we have less than 50% of students onsite. In each team we have two teachers in class teaching kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) and one teacher managing the learning online. Well done to those students at home who have jumped on zoom calls and are completing tasks via SeeSaw or Google Classroom!

Dental Clinic:

It has been a long time since the Mobile Dental Clinic came to Reporoa Primary School. I contacted the Lakes District Health Board to enquire about this. Due to lack of staffing and Covid, they have been under the pump BUT are trying to get to us as soon as possible.

In the meantime if children need dental attention please contact the Dental Service through one of the options available, and they will be happy to organise an appointment in the mobile unit or clinic near to them.

The different options to communicate with us to request appointments are:

0800 525 378 or text: 027 578 0275 or 027 203 7792

Email : [email protected]

Attendance:

Here is an explanation of the attendance codes we have been told by the MOE to record for current absences:

M – (Medical). Has Covid or is sick for another reason.

F – (Learning from home and justified) Isolating at home because a family member has Covid. Is still learning from home because of this.

E – (Explained but unjustified) Worried about Covid but there is no Covid in the household. Even if they are learning from home – No Covid in the house is marked as explained but unjustified.

J – (Justified) Another reason within the school policy. An example would be bus breakdown, accident, road closure, extreme weather conditions etc

PLEASE communicate with the office via email, phone or school cell. It is important to use this communication pathway for absences. Mrs J is having to follow up on lots of students who are not here as we are not being told when your child is away. Remember, we have to know the reason to mark the correct attendance code.

Email: [email protected], Phone: 07 333 8350, Cell: 027 660 2281

Covid-19 Plan:

With the ever changing guidlines and rules around Covid-19, we have decided to create a page on our website dedicated to this. Please get all of the updated information by clicking HERE.

Included are helpful guidelines around isolating if you have household positive cases.

Message from the Board:

The Board of Trustees welcomes Nikkole Fell onto the board as staff representative. Nikkole is the DP, SENCO and leads the senior team. We look forward to working with her at a board level.

The playground has been signed off and is waiting to be built. Unfortunately the wait will not see it start until October as Covid has had a huge impact on delivery schedules. Have a look in last week’s newsletter for the plans.

Stay safe and well everyone!

Kate Bowron, Presiding Member

Covid Response:

Thank you for taking notice of our Covid response and wearing a mask when you come into school! Hand sanitiser is readily available for you to use as well. The spread is very slow here as a result and mainly happening within homes at this stage. We have 6 positive cases spread across the school who are all isolating with their families at home. Remember to let us know if your child is positive or isolating because someone in the home is positive. We need to keep our records up to date.

Te Reo with Matua Tenia:

We enjoy having Matua Tenia in our school on Tuesday’s to teach us Te Reo and Tikanga. I am loving hearing lots of normalised Te Reo in the classrooms and the playground because of his input. Thank you Matua!

Swimming:

We are making the most of this burst of sunny weather to continue our swimming programme. Please remember to send your child with their togs everyday.

BYOD:

Please check your in box for information about BYOD.  Remember this is 100% optional and for iPads or Chromebooks only. We have school devices that our students can use at school. Make sure you fill in the paperwork required before your child brings the device to school.

Year 6 Leaders:

Sports:

Calendar:

Other Notices:

School Account Details:

Account payments can be made directly to our school ASB account using online banking.  The account number is: 123155 0134517 00

Details: 

Remember if you change address, get a new cell phone number or email address  to notify the school so we have up to date records. The office needs your up to date email address so the newsletter can be emailed out – thanks.

LUNCHES: 

We are part of the governments healthy lunches programme. Children are provided lunch everyday. If they have any allergies, please let the office know so that allowances can be made. Children still need to bring a drink bottle (water only please) and morning tea every day.

Absences:

Reminder – if your child is absent either text, phone and leave a message, or fill in an on-line absent form. We also are required to fill in the reason they are away, so remember to include this in your message – thanks. IF CHILDREN ARE SICK PLEASE KEEP THEM AT HOME.

Car Parks:

Please use the car parks provided at the front or back of the school. No vehicles are permitted on the school grounds except for staff or service vehicles.

Nãku i runga i aku mihi ki a koe – Yours with thanks

Richelle McDonald

and our team –Debs, Nikkole, Korkz, Gemma, Tanissha, Isla, Steven, Julie, Jasmin, Maureen, Heather, Mary, Bridget, Karla, Linda and Sarah.