Coronavirus Updates
Tuesday 7 September, 2021
Kia ora e te whanau,
We are really looking forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Thursday morning. Tomorrow (Wednesday) our staff will be back onsite preparing, setting up learning spaces and meeting in teams. It will be great having the team back together again and we are really looking forward to seeing the children return to onsite learning after 3 weeks away.
My message today includes very important information that we must share with Parents/Caregivers so you are aware of how school will operate during Level 2 restrictions. I ask that you read this information carefully so you fully know and understand how we intend to keep everyone safe and how you can support us in doing so.
At Alert Level 2 there is low risk of community transmission and it provides us with a lot more opportunities to engage and connect with others. However, there are still a number of public health requirements we all need to follow. Please do continue to monitor your health and do not send your children to school if they are not well (and please seek advice about getting a COVID test).
For us, all the required safety precautions for Alert Level 2 will be in place which includes following all the recommendations from the public health experts. This means we will regularly clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces, encourage everyone to frequently wash their hands and cough and sneeze into their elbow.
While physical distancing is not a requirement in schools, we will be doing our best to keep students from congregating in very large numbers and keeping spaces well-ventilated. Therefore, we will not be holding school assemblies, huis or mihi whakatau while at Level 2.
Face coverings are not required to be worn in school. In saying this, The Director General of Health has recommended that children 12 years+ wear a face covering at school – just as older children are required to wear face coverings in some other places. The decision to wear a face covering is up to you and your whānau, whatever your decision it will be respected.
If you are not sure what all the rules are for alert level 2 when you are out and about, then the following information may be useful to you:
Parents/Caregivers are discouraged from coming onsite. During Alert Level 2, we must try to limit the chance of further transmission, which means we ask that Parents/Caregivers drop off their children at the gate and allow them to make their own way to class. If you need to enter our school premises, you will need to sign in via the COVID QR Code Tracer App. This will be displayed at all entrances for you to scan. As mentioned above, face coverings are not mandatory while at school, but these are strongly encouraged – for the health and safety of everyone.
If you need to visit the office or purchase a hot drink from our cafe, there will be procedures to manage queues – please follow the directions on the signage which will explain this in more detail.
Our drinking fountains will remain closed, so please ensure your child brings a named drink bottle with them to school each day. The good news, however, is that our playgrounds and play equipment will be back open again.
Returning school-owned devices and/or learning materials – if you have a school-owned ipad at home, this will need to be returned along with its charger. We will have staff located outside the office block collecting these, and processing them ready to be used again in learning spaces. If you have school reading books or hard materials, please return these to the office as well, thank you!
Finally – tomorrow, you will be contacted by your child’s HB teacher who will ask if there is anything you would like them to know about or consider for when your child comes back onsite. Please lookout for this communication and don’t hesitate to let them know in confidence. Our staff will do their best to support you and your child as we transition back to school.
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again on Thursday!
Noho ora mai nā (Stay well / take care of yourself)
Rob Rush
Monday 6 September, 2021
Kia ora e te whanau,
Thank you to our awesome community for all that you have done to keep our families and whānau safe in Rolleston by following the Alert Level rules. We know this has been very difficult for many people looking after their children and juggling distance learning while working from home.
Thank you to my staff team for their efforts with distance learning and with on-site bubble school for children whose parents were essential workers working away from home without a suitable person to look after their child/ren. I am so proud of our team and how they have responded. I’m sure you will agree, they have done a magnificent job.
- If you are sick, stay home
- If you have symptoms, get a test
- Wash your hands regularly
- Keep your distance.
There is a long list of health protocols we will need to implement across our school and these will be detailed in an important communication that will be sent home tomorrow – please look out for this.
If you have a school-owned device, this will need to be returned (along with the charger) from Wednesday. More information about getting the device ready to be returned will also be explained in my next communication.
For now, it’s time for our staff to begin the process of preparing to welcome back your child/ren. Home Learning will continue tomorrow but Wednesday will be a day for staff to access the site, meet with each other and get set up in readiness for Thursday. This means that Bubble school will operate for its final day tomorrow (Tuesday) for all children currently in bubbles. School is closed for all learners on Wednesday. Alternative care will need to be arranged for Bubble School children.
Thank you all, once again, for your support and understanding.
Noho ora mai nā (Stay well / take care of yourself)
Rob Rush
Principal / Tumuaki
Monday 31 August, 2021
Kia ora e te whanau!
It’s Week 6 of Term 3 and we are into our 13th day of level 4 restrictions. I hope you are keeping safe and well with your family in your bubbles.
As you know, we are staying in Alert Level 4 until 11:59pm on Tuesday evening, then we are moving to Alert Level 3 for at least 1 week when it will be reviewed. This means that home learning is set to continue again this week. Your child’s teacher will have already been in touch and work sent home as part of the home learning routine.
The major change to this week is that school will re-open at Alert Level 3 for onsite supervision for children whose parents are essential workers and are unable to provide care/supervision at home. Last week, we sent home an important survey for parents/caregivers to complete to let us know if your child will need supervision on site. Many thanks to everyone who completed this. The survey is now closed and today we have been working on forming bubble classes and staffing during Alert Level 3.
If you indicated that your child will be returning to school for onsite supervision during Alert Level 3, today, we will be in direct contact with you to advise of the class/location, supervising teacher and health measures we need to put into place to keep everyone safe. Please look out for this email and read it carefully.
For everyone else, home learning is continuing as normal and if we have any further updates, we will let you know.
On a different note; originally we had scheduled a Teacher Only Day for Friday 10 September, but given the current situation, we have decided to postpone this to a later date either in Term 4 or next year. Also, you may have already seen that the Clearview Fete has been postponed until Sunday 31 October.
We will endeavor to keep you informed of any new information as it comes to light. Look out for our school newsletter on Thursday that will have lots of home learning stories and celebrations to share with you all.
Thanks, enjoy the rest of your week and take care.
Rob Rush
Principal / Tumuaki
Friday 20 August, 2021
Kia ora e te whānau,
What a beautiful couple of days we have had to begin lockdown. A great way to build in some family time and routines. We hope you have had the opportunity to enjoy quality family time and have adjusted well.
We now know that we are still in Level 4 until Tuesday 24th August at 11.59pm. Thank you for your understanding of the week so far. As you can appreciate, with your own households, our staff have also been adjusting to their families being at home. The most important thing is to look after everyone with no pressure or expectations that could cause stress in homes.
The team at Clearview have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that they develop a “Learning from Home” programme that works for all families and their needs. Teams have already made contact via HERO, Google Classroom and Seesaw. Team info / HB home learning will be sent out on Sunday to help you plan your day/week and teachers will be available from Monday morning to support.
School-owned device (iPad) requests are currently being received via this form and we will endeavor to have these delivered on Monday to those who have requested them. We will be in touch directly with those families who have requested a device to confirm delivery times.
It would be expected that any future announcements about alert levels would follow what has previously been done. The government has shown a cautious approach. We can expect that any shift from Level 4 would be to Level 3 so we are expecting supported online learning will continue for a time beyond next Tuesday.
Take care as we wait for any further announcements, look after yourselves and be kind to one another. If you need anything, reach out.
Ngā mihi nui,
Rob Rush
Distance Learning: Alert Level 4
- Curriculum teaching and learning resources (with guidance for parents) can be found online here for English-medium and here for Māori-medium
- Home Learning TV can be accessed on demand here or via the TVNZ App on a device (mobile phone, smart tv or tablet)
- Mauri Reo, Mauri Ora can be accessed on demand from Māori TV for primary-aged tamariki
