20 April 2020 Newsletter No. 6/2020
Dear Parents, Caregivers & Whānau,
This week we continue to focus on learning from home. You will see on our school website new learning activities for your child. We hope everyone has a good week, we hope that we continue to be safe, and we hope to continue showing positive progress towards the management of Covid19.
Today we will hear whether we remain at level 4, or if we move to level 3. If we move to level 3 we will begin planning and preparations for the reopening of the school.
READING AND MATHS LEARNING ORGANISATION THIS WEEK: Parents please note that teachers will be making contact with you via email regarding specific learning tasks they would like your child, or children to work on this week. You will see that on the school website (www.puhinui.school.nz) in the respective team folders Reading and Maths will have several categories for learning. The teachers will advise you on the appropriate category for your child.
EMAILING TEACHERS: Parents please note if you would like to make contact with your child’s teacher please go to the staff page on our website. You will see your child’s teacher’s name and an email icon. Please click on the icon and write your message and send. They will do their best to reply to you as soon as they are able to.
LEARNING FROM HOME: To access learning designed by our teachers please visit the Puhinui Website https://www.puhinui.school.nz/. Please note the MOE (Ministry of Education) have two websites which also have a range of learning tasks that can be accessed and may be of interest to you and your children https://learningfromhome.govt.nz/ and,
http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Archives/Assessment/Supporting-parents
You do not have to have a device to access all learning tasks. There are learning tasks that only require you to access the website and for students to read and follow the instructions. This can be done through a phone as easily as a computer (reminder all school learning is on the Puhinui School website).
POSTED DEVICES AND LEARNING PACKS: Last week we prepared digital devices and learning packs for a large number of students. These were collected on Friday by a courier company and should be arriving to their recipients within the next few days. Thank you to those families who responded to our text message and to those parents who are already utilising the devices and the learning opportunities you already have at home. It helped us try and provide the appropriate learning to the families that need it most. Please know we have done our best to distribute devices and learning packs as best we can. For families that have received devices from us (the school), can we remind you to please care for these and when we return to school we will send a notice out regarding the return of these devices to school.
A special thank you to all staff members for the contribution made in preparing the learning packs and the devices for home learning.
BACK TO SCHOOL: Today The Prime Minister will address the nation regarding the Covid 19 level we will be moving to. It could be level 3 or it may remain at level 4. If we go to level 3, schools will work under conditions set by the MOE. Our task as a school will be to provide staff and children with a learning environment that will be safe, positive and calm. Learning will look different and we will adjust to this as a school, and as a community. We know parents will make decisions that are the most appropriate for their families, this will mean some children will stay at home and some will attend school. Parents will make the most appropriate decisions for their families, while also considering other people and their families too. As a school we will be supportive of our community either way. As soon as we have confirmation of a start date back at school we will inform all parents through text message and through postings on our website. This will more than likely be posted Wednesday or Thursday this week.
NETSAFE ONLINE: Please see helpful information from Netsafe for parents below:
Our existing ‘Netsafe schools tools and resources’ have been updated to reflect the current learning landscape, and a number of new resources have been created to help schools and kura support their staff, students, families and whānau as together they navigate this uncertain time. These resources have been made available free to all schools and can be found by clicking on our Netsafe Schools website (or, see actual website URL below). As always, the Netsafe team is there to help, whether with bespoke advice or guidance should an online incident occur. In this rapidly changing online world, Netsafe is there to support us.
Thank you parents, we hope your whānau remains well. Staff safe.