COVID-19 Updates

12th August - Alert Level 2 Update

8/12/2020

We are currently in Alert Level 2. This means continuing our current practices of hand sanitising, increased hygiene practices in classrooms and physical distancing where possible.
Due to guidelines around mass gatherings in Alert Level 2, we will not have our Open Classroom session that was scheduled for this Friday 14th August. Any planned trips outside of the school will not go ahead.

We will endeavour to keep you up-to-date with information as it becomes available to us.

June 08th, 2020

6/8/2020

Kia ora
I am sure you were as pleased as we were to hear the Prime Minister’s announcement about moving to Alert Level 1.
We will be keeping the current protocols around entry and exit to school in place for the remainder of the week. This will allow us time to work through the survey responses, of which the majority have been supportive, and Ministry advice around safe practices during Level 1. On Friday, you will receive more information about what Level 1 will look like at Christchurch East School.
At this stage we see that there will be no major changes to what we are doing. Our school continues to be safe to attend. We have a good cleaning routine in place, people who are sick are staying at home and we continue to encourage good hygiene practices.

Welcome Back

5/18/2020

Kia ora,
You did it! Learning from home has ended and we are excited to to see you all back at school today. There will be a range of emotions and teachers will be taking it slowly to ease children back into school life.
Please remember to:
- bring your drink bottle
- no personal sports equipment
- the school gates will be open from 8.30am
Looking forward to seeing you all!

Level 3 Update

4/27/2020

COVID-19 Update
All parents of children who will be on site during Level 3 have been contacted with information regarding the protocols for this. If you require your child to return to school because you are an Essential Worker, we will need 48 hours notice to accomodate this.
Children who are continuing to learn from home have been assigned Remote Learning teachers. You will receive an email from these teachers tonight at 6.30 pm.

Website to Support Learning At Home

4/23/2020

This website has some great resources to support learning at home. It is separated into age groups with great ideas for each level.
Have a look.

Transition to Level 3 Update

4/23/2020

Kia ora koutou,
Thank you all for getting back to us regarding your intentions for Level 3. We are finalising details and will be in contact with those who are essential workers and will need their children at school during Level 3.
A reminder that Monday is a Public Holiday and Tuesday is a countywide Teacher Only Day so there will be no remote learning on these days.
You will hear from the Remote Learning Teaching Team on Tuesday 28th at 6.30pm.
Take care.

Communication Letter re. Transition to Level 3.

4/20/2020

21st April 2020

Kia ora koutou,

We hope that Term 2 and our distance learning programme has been a success for you so far.

We know there will have been any number of challenges for you to deal with but we have been getting some great feedback about the learning that is happening and thank you for all your support.

Yesterday the Government decided that we will move into Alert Level 3 on 28 April. That means we will be open to receive students from the 29 April. We will start to prepare our site from today.

The key message for you is that if you can, you should keep your child at home. You should only physically send your child to school if you need to. If your child has a health condition that means they are at a greater risk of a severe illness you must keep them at home. If your child is sick please also ensure you keep them at home.
In order to ensure the safety of those children and our staff who do come to school, we will be operating with strict enforcement of health and safety measures.

I want to assure you that we will continue to support your child’s learning at home.

We will contact you later this week to find out whether you can keep your child learning from home, or need your child to attend in person. The Ministry of Education has advised that they are working closely with health to develop clear guidance that will support schools to safely re-open their premises to students and staff. This will help us work through the public health requirements that we all need to meet.
As you will be doing, we want to be sure that what we do will keep our community as safe as possible.
For now, we will continue to support your child’s learning by distance while we progress our planning for what Alert Level 3 will mean for you and for our school. We will be in touch again soon with more information. As you have been doing, please keep connecting with your teachers with any questions you might have.
Ngā mihi nui, Mike

20th April Announcement

4/19/2020

We hope you are all well in your bubbles.

You will have heard today’s announcement that we will be shifting to Level 3 next week.
For now, our approach with Remote Learning will continue as it has been.
School staff are working with the Ministry guidelines to develop a process for a safe return to school and will share this with you as soon as possible.
Take care
Mike

Term 2 - Day 1 Update

4/15/2020

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome back, to a very different term two as remote learning starts across the country. Many of you will have seen differing reports in the media about when and how schools will reopen once we move down from Alert Level 4. There is a lot of misinformation out there so I thought it best that you hear it from the horse's mouth (with the Ministry of Education being the horse!). The five main points are:

1. No decision has been made yet about when schools will reopen. This decision will be made based on data about the spread of Covid-19 and how we are going in stamping it out. It is unlikely that a decision will be made before 20 April.

2. The very earliest schools would open would be 29 April. And this would likely only be for SOME students, not all.

3. The Ministry (and us) are preparing for several possible scenarios - opening only for staff, opening for essential workers' children, opening in shifts so that children can stay 2m apart, opening for just senior students, a combination of distance and on-site learning, staggered opening, not opening for a number of weeks etc. We want to be prepared for whatever the decision is once the data becomes clear.

4. There will be ample notice before schools open. They will not be closed one day and open the next. We will be given ample time to ensure that the school has a deep-clean, that our planning for the term is completed and that we put in place any H&S regulations.

5. The Ministry has been VERY clear that we will NOT be moving out of Alert Level 4 early. Chris Hipkins is, this week, working on guidelines for what Alert Level 3 could look like for schools. We look forward to his guidance on this matter. If you have any questions about remote learning, please email your child's teacher. Your child's homeroom teacher will be phoning you this week to see how you are doing in your bubble and also to get an idea of your home digital capability (Devices and wifi access ).

Thank you for your continued support, stay safe, be kind.

Ngā mihi nui,
Mike