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Welcome back!
I hope that you and your family have enjoyed a relaxing summer holiday break and that your children are looking forward to the start of the new school year.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to those joining our school community for the first time.
Two areas of focus this year will be uniform and beginning the day on time.
Uniform
Please ensure your children are in the correct uniform. High expectations of personal grooming and dress are expected here at OneSchool Global and we encourage all students to show respect by following school uniform guidelines.
- Summer uniform for term one and four
- Hair – short, appropriate haircuts for our young men and neatly tied back hair styles with appropriate token for our young ladies.
- Shoes will need a quick polish. Some students will need to check to ensure their current shoes adhere to the OneSchool guidelines.
- Only clear nail polish is allowed (transparent, NOT opaque, not french manicure)
- Check skirt length if your daughter has had a growth spurt over summer
- Socks – plain black or white
- Braid on blazers for students in Year 12 and 13
If students arrive at school in the correct uniform, well groomed, it is much easier for us to keep our standards high. As parents, we appreciate your supportive eye, checking their appearance before they leave home in the mornings. It is much easier to deal with grooming and uniform issues at home than once they arrive at school.
We thank you in advance!
Bell Time For the Start of The Day
8:40am is the start of the day for all students, both Senior and Junior. Please ensure everyone is on campus by 8:35am.
Welcome to New Staff
Gemma Hunt, Teacher and Teacher Aide - Blenheim
I am excited to begin my new roles at OneSchool Global, returning to teaching and learning after a break to have my family. My previous experience includes teaching English and Classical Studies and marking NZQA examinations. In my free time I enjoy reading, the outdoors and spending time with friends and family.
Casper Kruger, Principal West Coast
My name is Casper Kruger and I’m very excited to be the new OSG Campus Principal for the Greymouth and Westport Campuses.
My wife, Hanlie and I moved from South Africa to New Zealand just over 25 years ago. Our three children, Cara, Cecile and Jeandre were all born in this beautiful country.
We love living on the West Coast and settled in Greymouth. Until the end of last year, I was the Principal at Kokatahi-Kowhitirangi School near Hokitika and before that the principal at Fox Glacier School.
I’m looking forward to meeting all the students and parents over the next few weeks. I’m also looking forward to working with the staff to provide the best learning environment for each individual child.
Sue Glue, Year 7-8 West Coast - Based in Greymouth
I am Sue Glue the new Year 7-8 teacher at the West Coast Campus at OneSchool Global.
I live in Greymouth, and my husband and I have raised our family of three daughters here on the West Coast. I enjoy following sport of all kinds and have coached and managed various sporting teams.
I am a keen player of the strategy card game of Bridge and I have represented Greymouth and the greater region in tournaments. I am excited to take on the new role at OneSchool Global and look forward to meeting the students and their families.
Lisa Roche, OA West Coast - Based in Westport
My husband and I recently moved back to Westport from Christchurch, after being away for 14 years. I am a Mum of two grown up girls, one still lives in Christchurch and the other lives in Blenheim and I am soon to be a Grandmother. Looking forward to meeting and working alongside the staff, students and families.
Jann Brouard, Teacher Aide - Junior School Nelson
I am very excited to start my journey with OneSchool Global. I relocated to New Zealand three years ago from South Africa and I am a qualified dance teacher with over 13 year's experience.
I enjoy new challenges and getting involved in all that I commit to. I love working with children and meeting new people. Coffee is my best friend but keep anything with raisins far away from me. I am extremely excited to start my new adventure with you all as a teacher aide.
Christina Naughton - Senior School, English - Nelson
I am originally from Ireland, but lived in London during my teenage years. I have been teaching (English, Film and Media) since 2002.
I moved to Nelson in 2007 and have taught at Garin College and Nelson College, where I have been for the last six years as Head of Media Studies. I am excited to be part of OSG and I look forward to getting to know everyone.
Natalie Stuart - Teacher and Teacher Aide - Nelson
I’m Natalie and I’m born and bred in Nelson. When I’m not teaching I enjoy running on trails, camping in our poptop, spending time with family or reading a good book.
I have represented New Zealand in both Rowing and Boxing, so I see an importance in working towards excellence. I am passionate about teaching and am really looking forward to working at OneSchool Global from this year on.
Our next Upper South assembly is scheduled for 09.00am on Tuesday 23rd February
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.
Students are required to have a suitable headset available to them when on campus and while participating in Zoom Meetings.
These headsets don’t need to cost much, they typically range in price from $20.00 to $80.00 for a standard set.
The key requirement is that the student is comfortable with the headset and can hear and be heard during lessons.
A few key features:
- Must have a microphone
- Over the ear or earbuds style
- Connects via USB (preferred) or a single 3.5mm stereo input - Bluetooth is not recommended*
- No distracting bright lights or themed models (headsets should be simple)
If student headphones don’t meet these criteria parents may need to supply an alternative that meets the above criteria.
*Bluetooth headphones must be charged daily and can be difficult to connect to the laptop. Students that choose to use Bluetooth should ensure they have a wired backup up pair in the event where they are not connecting or have flat batteries.
To ensure your child has the best learning experience via Zoom, it is a requirement that all students own a quality headset to participate in these classes. There are many options available on the market and we recommend students make their own choice of headset which will also help them take ownership for the care of their headset.
We highly recommend headsets with the following specifications to get the best audio quality:
- Noise-Cancelling
- Connects to a device with USB connection (Not Bluetooth or Headphone Jack input)
- Has a mouthpiece
Below are our recommendations of suitable headphones from our IT team, with the price of the item if purchased from UBT:
- Logitech H340 USB Headset $65.00
- Jabra Enterprise Evolve 20 professional USB (Wired) Stereo Headset UC 4999-829-409 $78.00
- Logitech H390 USB Pure Digital Headset $89.00
Due to the important part these items play in your students learning, we recommend careful consideration and a quality investment is made, and if your student does not yet own one of these, it is important a set is purchased to ensure the student can attend their classes.
Parents are responsible for ensuring our Year 7-13 students have these purchased prior to school starting on Thursday 27th January.
Please note: If you have purchased a headset for your child previously from PB Tech, not to worry! PB Tech headsets offer an excellent rebate to OneSchool.
Please feel free to email our IT team for any questions, or further headset recommendations: it.support@nz.oneschoolglobal.com
With the impending ‘Traversing the Land’ excursion we are conscious that some venues will require a Vaccination Passport for any students 12 and older.
We ask you please submit the Vaccination Passport for your children to the OA onsite by 01st February.
For Nelson campus, please submit via the following smartsheet link:
Failure to submit this by the specified date may impact your child’s ability to participate in this excursion. We thank you in advance and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
TRAVERSING THE LAND
Excursion for all Upper South Year 9-13 students, Tuesday 8th February - Abel Tasman
Excursion for all Upper South Year 7 and 8 students, Wednesday 9th February - Nelson
Excursion for West Coast Year 3-6 students, Wednesday 9th February - Walking Bike Trail
Excursion for Nelson Year 3-6 students, Thursday 10th February - Aniseed Valley
Excursion for Blenheim Year 3-6 students, Tuesday 8th February – Lagoon Walk
As many of you will be aware, the 2022 Achievers Forum event was scheduled to be held on the afternoon of the Graduation Ceremony (Friday 18th February) for all current Year 12-13 students.
Due to the current status of the pandemic in NSW, Australia, the Achievers Forum event has been postponed, which has had flow-on effects for the event here in New Zealand.
It has been thought prudent to postpone this event until further notice. Rescheduling and communication of this event will take place after direction to proceed is received from OSG AU.
More information will be provided closer to the time.
