BOT Newsletter

24 Nov 2021

CHRISTMAS TREES:

It is that time of year again. Pre-order your Christmas Tree through Kindo for contactless collection on the 1st December. Small trees $40, Large $65 and stands $40. Trees will be on sale during the weekend 4th/5th and 11th/12th at the school gate. 

NETBALL SKIRTS:

Regards,

Red Beach School

16 Nov 2021

We are really looking forward to welcoming back your children over the next two days - it will be so good to have them back.

Just a few reminders:

• Students are to be in correct school uniform
• They will need a named drink bottle, hat, and mask  (for all year 4-6 students and we recommend mask wearing for the Year 3’s)
• Because of our composite classes, our Y3/4 teachers will be wearing masks along with the Y5/6 teachers and Motuora. It is not a requirement for our Y1 and 2 students and teachers to wear a mask
• Please follow the allotted drop off and pick up time. Can you prepare your child for a quick drop off as we need to keep the traffic flowing. The MOE has requested that parents and caregivers do not congregate around entrances into school. You may wish to identify a meeting spot that will help reduce potential congestion
• Packed lunch - there will be no lunch order systems operating at this stage
• If you need to purchase a hat  -you can do this by contacting Shelley. We will deliver the hat to your child
• Please bring back all readers and library books
• Year 3 to 6 students are encouraged they bring their own digital device. All students who borrowed a device from the school must bring it in to use on the school day however they can continue to use it for home learning at this stage
• Kelly Club is not able to operate under Level 3.2

See you soon

Regards,

Julie Hepburn
Principal

12 Nov 2021

Kīa ora koutou

Due to the Ministries of Health and Education giving us further information late last night we are still working through how the reopening of Red Beach School is going to look. However, we are delighted to have the opportunity to welcome our tamariki back onsite under Alert Level 3 step 2 starting from Wednesday 17 November.

Over the past days we have been communicating with local schools, our community and reading continuous documentation sent to us in regards to how we can safely run our school at Level 3.  When planning for a safe return it is important that all public health measures are met.  

Even with the Delta variant, the risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools should be lower because of all the public health measures we will have in place. What this will look like:

• school will be open on a rotational basis with online learning continuing at home
• the number of tamariki onsite will be limited each day
• children onsite will be in separate groups and with their class teacher
• physical distancing of 1 metre is encouraged
• classrooms will be well ventilated
• good hygiene practices with regular hand washing and coughing/sneezing etiquette will be reinforced
• Kelly Club will not operate as directed by Ministry of Education because children would be mixing groups
• No lunch orders at this stage

The size of our school means that all students can’t attend every day because we have to adhere to public health measures.  

In addition to this, all staff and children in Years 4 and above (while Year 3 students are encouraged) are required to wear face coverings indoors (unless they have an exemption), and we’ll ensure all staff (and external contractors) who are on site are fully vaccinated or will have had had at least one dose of the vaccine and return a negative weekly test.

In our current planning school is going to be on a rotational basis with online learning to continue for those who cannot come in and days when students are at home. Siblings will be on the same rotation as we realise that this would be incredibly difficult for parents if they were to come in on separate days.  

Come Monday 15th we will have full details out on what particular days your child/ren will be attending school, health and safety measures, what your child needs to bring to school and drop off and pick up times as we will need to stagger these.  

Please note that on Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th we are not doing face to face - Zooms or Meets and may not respond to emails instantly etc. but we will still send out a learning/ activity plan for these days. Staff will be using this time as we are using these days to brief staff on health and safety, working out the organisation of the school days taking into account the Ministry of Health's guidelines and getting classes ready for the reopening of Red Beach School.

Parents and caregivers are also required to wear masks when picking up or dropping off children or visiting the office.  Please keep a two metre distance from people outside your household.  This is important to adhere to when dropping off or picking up children.  No parents will be allowed onsite for pickups and drop offs.  Please drop your children at the front entrance or entrance next to the bus stop on Albert Hall drive.

Please remember children will need a hat, which can be purchased from the office if needed.

We thank you for your patience and understanding while we put the final touches on our organisation of reopening Red Beach School. You may wish to use the weekend to check your child does have a named drink bottle and if required - a facemask.

Have a great weekend, stay safe, and teachers will be in touch on Monday.

Regards,

Julie Hepburn
Principal