ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC
SCHOOL
TAKAPUNA

Principal’s Letter – Alert Level 2

Dear Parents and Whanau

The Prime Minister announced yesterday that schools are fully open from Monday 18 May. We look forward to welcoming all our students back on this day. 

The following procedures have been developed in order to assist students and staff to return to school safely.  While we know many of you will be anxious at this time, we will ensure that school is the safest possible place for your children to be, outside of your family bubbles. At all times we will be following the most up to date advice from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health. These procedures will be reviewed weekly.

The following topics are covered in this Alert Level 2 Procedures information letter.

• Attendance
• Contact Tracing
• Programme of Learning
• Home Groups
• Physical Distancing (MOE)
• Uniform
• Breaks
• Drop Off / Pick Up
• Bus
• Health and Safety Measures
• Student Injury / Illness
• Student Wellbeing
• Student Equipment
• Gatherings
• sKids
• Re-emergence of COVID-19 (MOE)

Attendance

• Students are to return to school beginning Monday 18th May.
• If you are choosing to continue to self isolate your child please email principal@sj.school.nz.
• Students showing any respiratory symptoms such as a cold, a head cold, blocked ears, cough, sneezing, chills or a fever, should stay home. The Healthline/family GP needs to be contacted for advice, which may include getting tested for COVID-19. The school needs to be informed of the outcome of that conversation.
• Anyone with these respiratory symptoms can not enter the school
• Use the school website to notify us if your child will be absent.

• Students who are late go directly to their Home Group learning space.
• Parents do not need to sign in students when they are late.

Contact Tracing

• A contact tracing register has been set up at the school office.
• Adults, including parents, entering the school site will need to sign in and out.
• All parents will drop off/pick up their child at the drop off/pickup zone. Parents are not to enter the school site unless requested to do so. Please stay in your cars.

Programme of Learning

• The Programme of Learning over the first few weeks will focus on the students revisiting school routines and re-establishing relationships – Theme – RECONNECTING.
• It will be important for the students and teachers to reconnect and develop their school relationships, as they do at the beginning of each school year.
• The Programme of Learning will be a variety of activities focused on ‘Reconnecting’ and mindful of the fact students are spaced out working independently.
• Students at home in self-isolation will be contacted by their Home Group Teacher as to their Programme of learning.

Home Groups

• Students and teachers will be in their home groups.

Physical Distancing (MOE)

• Physical distancing is a good precaution to prevent the spread of disease. 
• Children, young people and staff should be far enough away from each other so that they are not breathing on or touching each other, coupled with good hygiene practices and regular cleaning of commonly touched surfaces.
• There does not need to be a specific measurement but where practicable 1 metre should be used as a guide, particularly between adults.

Uniform

• All students wear their school uniform.
• We are aware that some children will have grown over the eight weeks so time has been given to allow parents to purchase new uniform items for their children.
• Uniform items can be purchased through Janbells on a contactless basis.
• There are some second-hand uniform items available. Please ring with sizes and we will be able to inform you as to what we have available. Any items to be purchased will be given to the student to take home. Payment will be via the internet.
• We would happily receive any parts of the uniform no longer needed and we will pass them on to other families who need them.

Breaks

• Students will have food breaks in their learning space.
• Students will have regular play breaks throughout the day.
• Play breaks will be timetabled so that not all students are out at the same time.
• The school playgrounds are open to students during the school day but not before or after school.

Drop Off / Pick Up

• Students being dropped off / collected by car are dropped off/collected in the drop off / pick up zone.
• Adults must stay in their cars.
• Students catching buses/arriving by foot enter the property via the school driveway and the entry by the office block.
• Parents who normally collect their children at the Lake House Café please collect your children at the school drop off/pick up zone.
• Drop off – 8.15 am to 9 am Pick up – 2.30 pm to 3.15 pm.
• Parents picking up students from Rosmini and St Joseph’s please do so after 3 pm
• Students will walk directly to their Home Group when dropped off in the morning.
• All students will be on the courts in their homegroups 2.30 – 3pm awaiting collection
• The courts will be closed for cars.
• Rosmini and Taharoto Rd Bus students will be accompanied by the duty teacher to the bus at 2.50 pm from the courts.
• sKids staff will collect their students from the courts at 2.50pm.
• Parents of St Joseph’s and Rosmini students are to park in the top Parish car park once they have collected their St Joseph’s students and wait in their cars for their Rosmini student.
• Rosmini students being collected by parents access the car park via the Dominion Street entrance.
• The school grounds/playgrounds are not accessible before or after school

Bus

• If your child normally travels to/from school by bus please could you complete the bus survey
• Please complete email on receipt of this letter

Health and Safety Measures

• Hand sanitiser at entry to learning spaces and soap, water and drying facilities in bathrooms. 
• Where safe to, doors will be latched/wedged open.
• All used work surfaces, door handles and toilets will be disinfected and cleaned regularly.
• In an emergency, normal evacuation procedures will be followed.

Student Injury / Illness

• Parents will be contacted and will need to arrange to have their child collected within thirty minutes.
• Parents will be asked to park in the pick up zone, not get out of the car, and the child will be guided by a staff member from their bubble to their parents car.
• Parents are to contact Healthline/family GP that day and to email principal@school.co.nz as to what advice they were given in regard to their child’s illness.

Student Wellbeing

• Student wellbeing will be monitored throughout the day by the teachers.
• If teachers have any concerns they will contact parents.

Student Equipment

• Food: please pack your child snack sized food in their lunch boxes. Students have become used to grazing through the day at home so there will be a number of food breaks through the day.
• Water: Please ensure students have a bottle of water as they will not have access to the drinking fountains.
• Students bring their devices if they normally do.
• Students can bring sports equipment.
• All students bring back the books/stationery they took home on their final day.

Gatherings

• There will be no school/team prayers/liturgies/masses/gatherings.

• There will be no choir, kapa haka, cultural group etc.
• There will be no in school organised sport activities.
• Out of school sport activities will be determined by individual out of school sport organisations.

sKids

• The Government has determined there can be Before/After School Care in Alert Level 2.
• sKids will contact parents who use their service.

Re-emergence of COVID-19 (MOE)

• If a COVID-19 case is identified at a school or kura during Alert Level 2, affected sites will be closed for cleaning and close contact tracing.
• Instruction should revert back to the distance learning model until the school or kura is cleared to open. 

We appreciate that this is an extensive range of measures. They are designed to ensure that both students and staff are safe and are based on information we have received to date from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health.

Take care. Stay safe.

Ka manaakitia koutou e te Atua

Alister Bridgman

Principal