As you will be aware the NZ Government has announced that the country would return to Covid Alert Level Red which affects all of our campuses.

With the 2022 school year commencing on Thursday this means that the following guidelines will need to be adhered to:

COVID ALERT LEVEL RED REQUIREMENTS

Student Transport and drop-off’s:

• All van drivers, volunteers or staff travelling in school vans must wear masks.
• All students 12 years of age and above must wear face coverings while travelling in school vans.
• Parents dropping off and collecting students from school will be required to maintain a minimum 2m physical distance from staff and students on site.
• All parents and volunteers getting out of their vehicles and visiting the site will be required to sign in at the front desk visitor register and also use the Government Covid Tracer app.
• All visitors, including parents and caregivers, if they do come onsite, should wear face coverings when on school grounds. This includes canteen, library, and any other volunteer duties. 

Attending School:

• All students in Year 4 and above will need to wear face coverings indoors and when in close contact with others, (in classes where there is a mixture of year 3 and 4 students and the numbers of year 4 are low, a pragmatic approach may be taken by the teacher and the teacher may make face coverings for the year 4 students optional).
• All Staff must wear face coverings when teaching students face to face from Year 4 and above.
• Teachers teaching students by Zoom and in a room on their own may remove their mask to teach.
• Masks are not required to be worn outdoors.
• Beyond classroom groupings, physical distancing of 1 metre when indoors should be observed wherever practical.
• Large groups of students meeting indoors is discouraged including school assemblies etc.
• Playgrounds can be used (maintain good hand hygiene) but rostering of age groups may be required to minimise congestion.
• Exercising must be held outdoors. Physical distancing is not possible in some sporting activities. In these situations, extra emphasis on handwashing and drying before and after activities.
• For singing, participants must be outside and two metres distant from each other. No singing should take place inside. Wind instruments not to be shared and limited to home use, or outside only.
• Basic hygiene measures include good hand hygiene, cough and sneeze etiquette, avoid touching your face, and regularly clean and disinfect surfaces.
• If you are sick, or a member of your household has tested positive for Covid 19 - stay home and get tested.

The NZ Government has made its intentions clear that they are wanting to avoid disruptions to education where possible in the 2022 year.

Closing schools is an unlikely option at all colours of the framework. However, it may be considered where there is a high volume of cases in a school.