Kia Ora Whanau

Welcome back after what we hope has been a wonderful summer for your whānau. 

Our team is feeling refreshed and ready to go for the 2022 year and can’t wait to welcome everyone back onsite. It’s been since August 17th last year, that all year levels and staff were on site together!  

In regard to COVID-19, we have moved fully into the new traffic light framework for all our school and kura activities and events this year. You will be familiar with all the health measures we will have in place and it is good to know that at Red setting, we are able to support everyone learning onsite. 

Whilst there is potential disruption, our aim is to keep this at a minimum.  

There are two things during this pandemic we can control: our commitment to our faith and Methodist ethos, and our commitment to academic achievement. So, as they say, we will control the controllable and approach everything else by following the guidelines and best practice for our school. Staff, students and the community at Wesley are to be commended on how we have dealt with things so far and we will continue to put our best foot forward. 

Events and activities 

Large hui and gatherings especially when indoors continue to be one of the riskier activities we can undertake. Therefore we are reviewing all our events and activities for the upcoming term to ensure we meet the health guidance for Red. 

Details for our Year 9 Welcome Day and Services of Beginnings will be sent out shortly. 

Already confirmed is that ALL sports, including rugby and CNI 1st XV Rugby, require proof of double vaccination. 

ASB Polyfest will be a double vaccinated event where vaccine certificates and identification will be mandatory to show upon entry into the festival.  

Ventilation 

We have used the Ministry of Education self-assessment tool to review all our ventilation in readiness for the start of the year. Providing good old fashioned fresh air remains the most important thing we can do in our learning spaces to minimise risk for ākonga and kaiako (and the same goes for you at home). We will also be receiving a CO2 monitor in the coming weeks to further support our ventilation plan. 

Face coverings 

Staff and children in Years 4 – 13 must wear face coverings when inside at school when we are at Red.   

Public health advice is that an appropriate face covering will fit snugly and seal well around facial contours. This can include single use, disposable masks (medical masks) and re-usable fabric masks with three layers.  

Managing cases in our school 

We have a good contact tracing system in place so that if there is a confirmed case who has been at school while infectious, we can quickly identify who was a close contact of that person.  We will then quickly advise those contacts of what they need to do. 

Only if the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Education advises to do so, would we consider closing a physical onsite school and moving to distance learning for everyone. At Red we will keep everyone learning onsite for as long as we can.  

Please make sure your contact details we have on file are up to date, so we can get in touch with you if needed.  

Getting ready to return to school 

The Ministry of Education has some helpful information on their Parents and Whānau website to support your tamariki to get back to school. There is also a very important reminder about how you can take care of yourself.   

While this might all feel a little overwhelming at times, we know that all these measures will help our children return to school, reconnect with whānau and friends and do what they enjoy.  

We are also here to help. Please get in touch if you have any concerns or need help in any way. 

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Ngā mihi nui
Dr Brian Evans
ONZM
BA, Dip Tch, MEd, PhD
Principal