September Update

Kia ora whanau, 

 We’re all getting a little bit better at dealing with whatever changes come our way!  With the recent move back into level 3 COVID restrictions, we all found ourselves in familiar territory for supporting our children at home with their education, and moving back to an online programme of learning.  Last time I wrote to you, I highlighted just how prepared and ready the school was for this eventuality, and how the teachers and management team were ready to shift approach in a moment’s notice. I didn’t for one second think we’d be  back there within weeks.

 How wonderful to see many classrooms switching to an online programme of work almost immediately, and with very few problems. We’re all being tested to become more flexible, and more open to the changes that come our way – it’s a great skill for our children to have, and one which I think they are doing a fabulous job of growing into.  A massive thank you to the teachers for being ready, for being resilient, and again being flexible to make the changes needed to keep continuity of learning for the children. Lockdown has impacted all of us in different ways – teachers are looking to assess the impact that time out of the classroom has had on each of the children, and are working hard to address any areas that may have fallen behind in these unprecedented times.  The challenges presented by Covid are a stark reminder that it takes all of us  – parents, caregivers and teachers, management, and the board – to support our children with their learning. 

 Now that we’re back in level 2.5, it’s so important that we have children back in school and back to learning with their teacher and their friends. We know that some parents and caregivers have had an increased level of concern over family wellbeing (which is understandable), so it’s brilliant to see the vast majority of our children now back at school – and returning more quickly than many other schools are seeing. Please be assured that the school is taking all appropriate steps to keep the risk of virus transmission as low as possible, and are enforcing all guidelines and safety procedures outlined by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education.

You’ll have seen a separate note from Janine and I about the upcoming property works at the school. We’re delighted to be able to continue to improve the school environment for everyone who uses it.  In this instance, we were fortunate to receive a grant from the government to focus on a narrow range of projects. With other projects, we continue to rely on your school donations and other fundraising to make improvements. We’re super grateful to see donations to the school continuing. If you would like to talk to the school about paying a donation, then please contact the school office.

 Lastly, we really appreciate all of the positive comments we’ve received about the school’s approach to safety – particularly in the car park, and with our Covid safety measures. It’s great to know that the community is supportive of our determination to keep everyone safe in all areas in and around the school.

 Thank you all. Stay well, and stay safe.

 Nick

Chair, Board of Trustees

 
亲爱的家长们您们好，

 我们对于任何事情的变化已经有了更好地应对措施！随着之前重新回到 Level 3 COVID 的限制，我们很快进入熟悉的领域中，支持我们的孩子在家中接受教育，并重回网上教学工作。上次给您发讯息时，我强调学校为这种可能发生的情况做好了充分的准备，以及老师和管理团队已准备好在即将到来的情况下随时转变教学方法。我完全没有想到我们会在几周内又回到那个情景。

 看到许多班级能够立即切换到网上教学程序并且几乎没有任何问题，真是太好了。我们大家都在接受考验，让自己变得更加灵活，并且更能夠接受即将发生的变化 – 这对我们的孩子们来说是一项重要的技能，而我认为他们在成长过程中表现得非常出色。衷心感谢老师们为他们的学习做好准备，保持稳定并再次灵活运用所需的改变，以保持孩子们学习的连续性。封锁期间以不同的方式影响了我们所有的人 – 老师们正在寻求评估网上教学对每个孩子的影响，并正在努力解决这个史无前例的时代可能会造成落后的部分领域。 Covid 所产生的挑战完完全全提醒我们 – 父母，看护人，老师，管理层以及董事会 – 我们必须支持我们的孩子学习。

 现在我们回到了 Level 2.5，让孩子重返学校并与他们的老师和朋友一起学习非常重要。 我们知道，一些父母和看护者对家庭福祉的关注程度越来越高（这是可以理解的），因此，我们非常高兴看到几乎所有的孩子都已经重返校园，而且返回的速度比其他许多学校都快。 请放心，学校正采取所有适当的措施以尽可能降低病毒传播的风险，并正在执行卫生部和教育部概述的所有准则和安全程序。

您已经从 Janine 和我一起发出的另一个讯息里看到有关学校即将进行的整修工程。我们很高兴能够继续为使用学校的每一个人改善学校环境。在这种情况下，我们很幸运地获得了政府的拨款，在规定的项目中使用。对于其他项目，我们将继续依靠您对学校的捐款和其他筹款活动来进行改进。我们非常感谢家长们，继续不断有人向学校捐款。如果您想与学校讨论捐款事宜，请联系学校办公室。

最后，我们非常感谢大家，我们收到有关学校安全方面的正面评价，尤其是在停车场以及我们采用 Covid 安全措施方面。非常高兴，社区大眾支持我们确保学校安全及其周围地区所有人的安全的决心。

谢谢您们。保持健康，并保持安全。

Nick 

董事会主席