Dear Parents, Caregivers and Whanau,
Please read this email carefully as it contains IMPORTANT information for you and your household.
IF YOU, OR A MEMBER OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, PLEASE CONTINUE TO CONTACT MIDDLETON GRANGE SCHOOL ASAP (including students already working from home) AT: Email covidpositive@middleton.school.nz
As a school we continue to maintain our priorities, namely
- First and foremost, to honour and trust in God, especially during these challenging times.
- Our next priority is student and staff wellbeing, whilst maintaining the necessary health and safety measures required by Public Health.
- Last, but by no means least, we continue to ensure that we maintain the integrity of our academic programmes during remote/online learning.
Thank you for your support and prayers as we partner with you in educating your children.
For parents who have children in Senior College (Years 11 – 13) at Middleton Grange, I hope this first week of ‘Remote Learning’ at home has gone well. Please encourage your child/ren to stay engaged with their learning and to attend ALL their ‘Live’ TEAMS lessons. It is important students keep up to date with their learning and to stay ‘connected’ with their teachers and academic programmes. Please contact your child’s teacher or Dean if you have any concerns. We will keep in contact with you regarding a possible return for Year 11 – 13 students to school and on-site learning, but we do not anticipate this occurring for at least another 2 weeks.
We are continuing to closely monitor the number of students who are Covid-19 positive cases and / or household contacts, and we are still seeing these numbers steadily increasing across the school. However, at this stage we DO NOT intend to move our Middle School or Primary School to remote learning at home, even though some classes have large numbers of students absent. If required, Year 10 students would be the next cohort to move to remote learning at home, as the vast majority of these students are 14 years of age or older and do not require parental supervision at home, but we will keep you informed about this should the need arise. Please remind your children, that they can access their learning on-line via TEAMS for each subject, especially for those in Years 7-13.
Students or Whanau/Caregivers can email the counselling team to request booking for an online session. These sessions will be held through zoom, google meets or TEAMS within school hours that works best for the student and counsellor. Students will need a device, earphones, and a safe place where no one can hear them to feel free and comfortable to talk.
All online counselling sessions will honour the code of confidentiality in the same way it is within school.
Trained & Registered Counsellors at Middleton are:
Wendy Bowen Graham Anne Aiken
Head of Wairoa/Wellbeing & Counselling Counsellor
W.bowengraham@middleton.school.nz a.aiken@middleton@middleton.school.nz
Please note that Whanau and Caregivers are responsible for their child safety while they are learning at home. If for any reason you feel your child is at risk to themselves or others, you can call the helplines below. In an emergency, then please call the police on 111.
Call 0800 LIFELINE (0800 543 354) or send a text to HELP (4357) for free, 24/7, confidential support – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Or Youthline Free call 0800 376 633 or text 234.
SOME KEY INFORMATION AND REMINDERS FOR PARENTS AND STUDENTS:
From 11.59pm tonight, Friday 11 March, all cases and household contacts who are currently isolating can end their period of isolation after Day 7. Those currently in isolation will not have to complete their Days 8, 9 and 10 of isolation.
Please see the information below for changes that will be in effect from Saturday 12 March.
Cases of COVID-19:
Anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will be required to isolate for seven days.
Day 0 is the day symptoms began or the day the test was taken (whichever came first). Cases will isolate for a full seven days and are free to return to normal activities on Day 8, if they are not symptomatic.
Household contacts:
Household contacts are required to isolate for the same seven days as the case.
Refer to the following website for further details:
https://covid19.govt.nz/testing-and-tracing/contact-tracing/household-contacts/
Thank you for your continued support, prayers and understanding during this challenging time.
Philippians 4:7
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Nga mihi nui
Mike Vannoort
Principal / Tumuaki
