Masks not required

Tuesday, 13th September 2022 at 7:30am

13 September, 2022

Kia ora e te whānau,

You’ll most likely have read in the media that the country will move to a new, long-term approach to COVID-19. These changes have been made based on public health advice and reflect high levels of immunity and declining case numbers across New Zealand.

Household contacts of a person with COVID-19 do not need to isolate, but instead are asked to complete a RAT test each day, for five days. Therefore, ākonga who are household contacts but test negative and do not have COVID-19 symptoms should continue to attend school. It is the best place for them to be so they can be engaged in their learning, and connected with their teachers, classmates, and friends.

Information on how to get RAT kits can be found here: Request a RAT– Ministry of Health

Mask wearing is no longer required at school, however, we will support any students and staff who want to continue wearing them. With the derived grade exams starting this week, we would encourage students to wear a mask if they want to, given that they will be in the same room for an extended period of time. We will have masks available in each exam room for anyone who chooses to wear one.

Students will not need to wear masks on public transport or school transport.

All the other recommended public health measures will stay in place as we know they reduce the spread of infectious illnesses including COVID-19. We will continue to keep our indoor spaces as well-ventilated as possible, encourage everyone to maintain good hand hygiene and to cough or sneeze into elbows. Most importantly, students should stay at home and get tested if they have COVID-19 symptoms.

While the level of COVID-19 across our school community has decreased, there are still plenty of bugs going round. If a student is unwell, they need to stay at home, rest up and get better.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our school. I know the last few months have been really challenging, however, hopefully the move into spring and the warmer weather will really help us all!

Ngā mihi nui,

Fiona Barker Principal