Dear Students, Parents and Caregivers,
I hope that you have had a good break during the school holidays and feel refreshed and ready for the term ahead. Term 3 is always a busy term, especially for students’ learning, with most internal assessments being finished and Senior Exam Week in Week 4 and 5. This term also includes Winter Sports Tournament Week, the School Show, Pathways Planning / subject option choices, Open Evening and enrolments. Students need to plan their time well!
COVID-19 and Mask Wearing
With increasing cases of COVID-19 and winter flus across Auckland, we will be following Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education advice and ask that all students and staff wear masks whilst indoors. In addition, masks continue to be mandated on public transport and school transport. Masks will not need to be worn while eating and drinking, playing certain musical instruments, playing indoor sport or during singing/drama performance on stage, and during PE.
If your child is not able to wear a mask, please ensure that they have a mask exemption card from a doctor. We will also continue with other methods to limit viral transmission, such as limiting large gatherings, making hand sanitiser available and maintaining classroom ventilation.
Attendance at School
It is very important that students attend school every day that they possibly can, as absences from school mean that they are missing important teaching and learning. Students should be at school by 8.50am each morning and may not leave school during the day.
Students should not attend school if they are unwell, or for 7 days after they test positive for COVID-19. If a student becomes unwell during the school day they must go to our Health Centre, and our nurses may ask a family member to collect them from school if required. If there is another justified reason for a student to be collected from school during the day then they must bring a note from home and sign out at our Attendance Office.
Rostering home is not in place for the start of Term 3 – all students should attend every day. Rostering will only be introduced as a last resort, and we will prioritise the continuation of all senior classes throughout the term.
Catching up with missed work
We realise that for justified health reasons, some students have missed a considerable amount of school over the first half of the year. Teachers are providing opportunities for students to catch up on missed work in class, and learning materials are also available through Teams for students to be able to do extra work at home if needed. In addition, there are study centres, tutorials and additional supports available across the school at lunchtimes and after school.
The best way for students to keep up with their learning or to catch up with learning, is to be in class every day and focused on their work. If your child needs help or support to catch up on missed learning or assessments, please contact their class teacher or the Director of the relevant department.
I look forward to seeing students back in school this week, and wish you all the best for the term ahead.
Yours sincerely Lyndy Watkinson PRINCIPAL T 09 828 7024 Victor Street, Avondale, Auckland 1026, New Zealand W avcol.school.nz
