Rewa Rewa School COVID-19 Update #8

Rewa Rewa School COVID-19 Update #8

Thursday 14 May 2020

PREPARING YOUR CHILD FOR THEIR RETURN TO SCHOOL

Alert Level 2

School Start date: Monday 18 May

* MUST READ BEFORE YOUR CHILD RETURNS TO SCHOOL *

If you have not yet completed the RETURN TO SCHOOL SURVEY

– please do so IMMEDIATELY!

Dear parents and whānau

We are SO excited that 68 of our students will be returning to school onsite as from Day One, Monday 18 May, the first day back under Alert Level 2 – woohoo!! For those families who are choosing to stagger the return date of their child, please email office@rewarewa.school.nz so that we can discuss a return date with you.

The purpose of this newsletter is to help each family manage their child’s transition back to school, when that day arrives. For this to be as smooth as possible, everyone in our community will be asked to follow the simple expectations that we are putting in place, in accordance with Ministry guidelines, to keep all of our children and staff safe and supported.

The key areas that we will be promoting include:

RETURN TO SCHOOL UNDER ALERT LEVEL 2 – GENERAL INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES

• If your child is unwell in any way they MUST stay at home – NO EXCEPTION.
• Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms (eg. sore throat, runny nose), must be tested and not return onsite until they have been medically cleared to return. The current response time is 24-48 hours.
• PLEASE have your phone switched on and be prepared to collect your child quickly if we ring you.
• If you or anyone in your family/bubble/close contacts either has COVID-19 or has been in close contact with someone confirmed as having COVID-19 you MUST telephone the Principal immediately (04 939 0186 or a/h 021 215 8000), and self-isolate at home. Health officials will be informed by the school and we would follow their advice and management. The school would need to be closed immediately for at least 72 hours, whilst contact tracing and sanitising is undertaken. Students would need to remain at home.

SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITIES

We will ensure required Health and Safety protocols are followed to keep our community safe. However, we take no responsibility for any person in our school community either contracting or transmitting COVID-19 to any other person.

THINGS YOU CAN EXPLAIN TO YOUR CHILD BEFORE THEY ARRIVE BACK AT SCHOOL

THINGS THAT WILL STAY THE SAME

• They will be with their own class and their own teacher
• Their teacher will keep their learning programme similar to what they are used to
• They can talk and play with the children in their class
• They can use the equipment in their classroom
• They can use any seat and table in their classroom
• They will cough/sneeze into their elbow, as always
• They will use the same toilet block each day
• They will have morning tea and lunch at the same time as usual
• They will enjoy being back with their teacher and their class

THINGS THAT WILL BE DIFFERENT

• They will be dropped off either at the gate or outside their classroom (see Options below)
• Their teacher will remind them to use hand sanitiser every time they enter their classroom or any other indoor space and before they eat their food
• They will clean their hands lots of times during the day
• They will try not to get too close to or touch others
• They will stay out of other classrooms at present
• They will play and work with just students from their own class
• Their class will have set days when they can play on the Adventure Playground

WHAT YOUR CHILD NEEDS TO BRING TO SCHOOL IN THEIR SCHOOL BAG

• All of their food and a water bottle for each day – all leftovers will be sent home in lunchboxes.
• You can choose to provide your child’s own sanitizer if you wish, as we know some students may be allergic to some products. Please inform their class teacher of this.

PARENT DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP INFORMATION

• During Lockdown Level 2 the earliest that children will arrive onsite is 8.30 am, they will then report to the designated flag and go straight into their classroom. We will not be using the hall or quad as a waiting area, as this would mix all year levels together.
• In order to minimise contact with others, we ask that you choose the Option# below that best supports your child when they arrive/leave school each day. It is quite alright to change the option you use, on a daily basis, but you must advise your child’s teacher if you are using Option 3#.
• We are very aware that some of our students, such as those in Whero, may be more settled if a parent is allowed to bring them into the school grounds. For this reason we have created Option #3 for these families (see below).
• For Option #3 ONLY we will use a staggered end of day pick up – parents may arrive from 2.30 pm to collect their child. Please follow the process below for this.
• We ask that all children and adults leave the school property immediately at the end of each day during Alert Level 2.
• The only adults to enter any of our school buildings will be staff. For exceptions to this rule, please telephone the school office (939 0186), to discuss this prior to arrival.
• All onsite visitors must report to the school office on arrival, use hand sanitiser before completing the contact tracing register and maintain a distance of 2m from others at all times.

OPTION #1

Your child will walk between school and home without needing an adult needing to accompany them. On arrival, your child will walk directly to their classroom door via the quad and walk into their classroom.

OPTION #2

You will drop-off/pick-up your child outside the school property, maintaining a distance of 2m from others at the patrolled crossing and as you wait for your child. On arrival your child will walk onsite by themselves to their classroom door via the quad and walk into their classroom without an adult.

OPTION #3

Drop-Off:

Your child requires an adult to accompany them to their external classroom door.  Maintaining a distance of 2m from others at all times, enter via the quad and walk directly with your child to the external door closest to their classroom. For the first few days, a staff member will greet you from the door and accompany your child into the classroom. If there is a queue, please line up ensuring a 2m distance from those in front or behind you.  Once children become settled into this routine, we may remove the meet/greet person and parents will leave their child at the designated door and wave goodbye to them.

Pick-Up:

Your child requires an adult to accompany them from their external classroom door. You will come onsite at the arranged pick up time and wait outside your child’s external classroom door. A staff member will bring your child to the door and release them to you. If there is a queue, please line up ensuring a 2m distance from those in front or behind you. You will accompany your child directly off school property via the quad, maintaining a 2m distance from others at all times.

OTHER

If these options do not work for you and your child, please email principal@rewarewa.school.nz so that together we can find a solution that will work.

STUDENTS BASED AT HOME DURING ALERT LEVEL 2

We expect that parents of these students will actively support their children with their learning using any/all of the following options:

• Own offline/online programme e.g. TV Channel 7
• School online tasks (using Seesaw/Hapara), which will be set by class teachers for the week ahead. Please note, there will be no ZOOM/teacher interaction sessions.
• Special needs students who remain at home will continue to be supported by our ORS teacher each week
• The Principal will telephone each family where students are remaining at home to discuss the reason for their child remaining at home and what support that we may be able to offer.
• All loaned IT devices must be returned to school on Monday 18 May to the school office, as we need these to support school-based programmes – please call before arrival.