Tēnā koe 
 
Thank you school community, for everything you are doing to keep transmission of COVID-19 to a minimum. Your efforts in encouraging our community to get vaccinated, wear masks, stay home when sick, and improving ventilation at your school or kura – have made a difference.
 
Outlined below are the changes which take effect from 11.59pm tonight (12 September):

• household contacts of COVID-19 cases will no longer need to isolate, but instead should undertake a RAT test every day for 5 days. This change will help to alleviate some of the pressure I know you are feeling on teaching and staff numbers. It will also mean that children and young people who are asymptomatic household contacts of confirmed cases will be able to attend school in person, including for assessments and national end of year exams.
• Mask wearing is no longer strongly recommended.

 
I know that the last two and a half years have been a challenging time for schools and kura, with everyone working incredibly hard to keep tamariki, ākonga and kaiako as safe as possible from COVID-19.
 
Please continue to follow the public health advice which is now so familiar to us all. The combined layers of protection are vital in reducing transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious illnesses and therefore helping to protect our communities.
 
Nāku noa, nā 
 
Jan Tinetti
Associate Minister of Education

Masking up for the start of Term 3

In previous years we have found there is an increase in winter illnesses in schools at the start of Term 3 as students bring back infections after travelling and socialising during the holidays. This year cases of COVID-19 are increasing in most parts of the country, and we are also seeing high numbers of other winter illnesses.

For the start of Term 3, 2022, the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health strongly recommend that all schools and kura amend their mask policy for the first four weeks of term to require mask wearing in all indoor settings (where it will not have a significant impact on teaching and learning – see below) for students in Years 4 and above.

This recommendation does not include any situation where mask wearing might not be practicable, such as while eating and drinking, playing certain musical instruments, indoor sport, where it will have a significant impact on teaching and learning (for example, students with particular learning needs), certain activities such as singing or drama performance on stage, and PE. In these situations, particular attention should be paid to ensuring there is good ventilation during the activity, and physical distancing where practicable.
Wearing masks can reduce new cases of the virus by as much as 53%. It works alongside other measures including vaccination, good ventilation, staying home when sick, and handwashing and other hygiene measures, to protect our students and staff.

Keep up healthy habits – Unite Against COVID-19
Adult-sized masks can generally be adjusted to fit older children by tying knots in the ear loops. Unite Against COVID-19 shows how to do this:

How to wear a face mask safely – Unite Against COVID-19
We know that that some of our tamariki/ākonga are exempt from wearing a mask. If they have an exemption card or a letter from their health provider, or we have agreed that mask wearing is not practicable for them, we will support them to not wear a mask.

Apply for a face mask exemption pass – Unite Against COVID-19
Please make sure that tamariki/ākonga come to school ready to wear masks. Students should bring masks from home, alternatively the school has a large supply and are able to provide your child with a mask.
Thank you for your support in protecting our school community.

Noho ora mai,
Whaea Lanea

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​A full review will be taken for our Covid 19 policy and
procedures since the mandates have been dropped.
Our current policy and procedures are on our school
website found HERE.
● E.2 - Health and Safety
● E.5 - Vaccination Statement
● E.1.7.1 - Pandemic Plan - Omicron
● E.1.7.2 - Covid-19 Safety Plan
Mask wearing remains compulsory for all students in the
Senior Tuakana class. If you have an exemption for your
child and haven’t already, please send us an email with
the exemption attached.

Kia ora all,
As you know by now, there are a rising number of people returning positive Covid-19 test results across NZ and in all schools in Rotorua. We anticipate that there will be more in the coming days.
Some anxiety around this is understandable and I would like to reassure you that we are doing everything at Rotorua SDA School that we can to mitigate the risks to provide a safe environment for your children to learn in. Parents will be notified if there is a confirmed case in the class when/if it happens.
-We have 2 known positive student cases who are isolating at home.
- We have 9 household contacts of a positive case who are isolating at home. Many thanks to the parents who are keeping us informed about this. Please continue to do so.
Please notify us if you are choosing to keep your children at home so that we can record them appropriately on the attendance system and so that we can check in with you if need be.
It is the Ministry of Education’s expectation that students who do not have Covid are to be at school. (Children must still come to school if they are well.)
We are as usual doing our utmost best to keep our students and teachers safe while at school but we need your help too...
- Please do not send your child to school if they have any symptoms.
- Masks and the correct wearing of them by all Year 4 - 6 teachers and students are mandatory and teachers (and students) in Y1-3 are also encouraged to do so. Masks do not need to be worn whilst outside.
- All staff and parents are reminded regularly to follow the public health guidelines.
- Cleaning procedures are in place.
-Ventilation procedures are in place
-Regularly getting outside, as preferable once every hour.
Hybrid Learning
Students who are confirmed cases and their household contacts will have access to online activities. Teachers will communicate this to you and please email them if you are unsure about where to access this.
Once again, if you have any concerns about sending your child to school, please do get in touch. We are here to help.
Once your child has completed 10 days isolation there is no requirement from the school to view any test results. All students are welcome back to school after the 10 day isolation period and we look forward to having them back onsite with us.
Kind regards
Whaea Lanea Strickland
Principal

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Kia ora whanau,
Please follow this flowchart for your tamariki in terms of whether your child needs to isolate at home. There is online learning available for those who are at home on our school website and in your child's school emails.
If your child does need to isolate please contact the school office so we can update our records.
Blessings, Whaea Lanea

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Kia ora koutou katoa, here are the key items from the School Board meeting this week::

• The board is confident that our kura is prepared for whatever COVID-19 may bring in 2022 through the Rotorua SDA School COVID-19 Safety Plan presented by the Principal. The board also approved the Rotorua SDA Pandemic Action Plan (Omicron) for publication on the school website.
• Unfortunately our community hui originally scheduled for this week was unable to proceed safely within the Red COVID Protection Framework.
• Our Proprietors will be replacing the back fence withing the next few weeks and are finalising plans for a front fence to replace the temporary fencing soon after. This will look much smarter when it is installed.
• We are pleased to report that since the temporary fencing went up, there have been no further security incidents. If you do see anything suspicious around the school neighbourhood, please report it to the police immediately and notify the school.
• We have been offered an awesome playground from one of our Auckland sister schools! This will require some work including disassembling, transportation and reassembly and may require health & safety and council input. The principal will be convening a committee to assist with this exciting project.
• Please respond to the survey sent out by the Principal regarding the Health Curriculum. It is a government requirement to consult with our community regarding health topics and delivery.
• The triennial School Board Elections will be held in line with the requirements of the Education & Training Act 2020 in September 2022. Please consider standing as a parent representative for the next 3 years.

We wish you and your whanau safety and God's protection over the next few weeks as Aotearoa navigates through the Omicron outbreak. This will be a challenging time for many of us so continue to keep our school community in your prayers. Please remember to keep your tamariki home if they are sick.

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