Tēnā koutou katoa,
Before Term 2 starts the Board of Trustees wanted to update the community regarding a number of health and safety issues. Our intention is to support the day-to-day management of the school and to ensure transparency in communication with our community.
The purpose of this email is to identify:
- how the school will run under COVID ORANGE (we have attched our risk assessment document)
- changes to pick ups and drop offs at the start and end of the school day
- that we no longer allow dogs on site.
School operations at COVID ORANGE:
In consultation with staff and parents of vulnerable students we have developed a risk assessment document to ensure a consistent approach to our on-site response within the COVID Protection Framework. The board has acted on instructions from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and WorkSafe NZ. The front page of the risk assessment document will give you an understanding of relevant information we sourced, and definitions we have used.
At Orange we:
- expect staff, visitors, and volunteers interacting with students and staff to wear masks when indoors (except when eating and drinking)
- strongly encourage masks to be worn by students in Class 3 (Years 4) and above, when indoors
- require all visitors and volunteers to comply with the school mask requirements in place at the time of their visit.
Any large in-door hui, such as parent meetings with the class teacher, will take place in the school hall to allow for responsible distancing and ventilation. Please no drinks, kai or shared plates at these meetings as this necessitates the need to remove masks and increases the risk of infection, for all.
Along with masks, good ventilation is key to preventing the spread of COVID. Please ensure your child wears layers to school as all classrooms will have windows and doors open, even when it is cold or raining outside.
The school community has the opportunity to provide feedback on the risk assessment by Friday 6 May, 2022.
Any feedback on this matter can be sent to: feedback@ch.steiner.school.nz
Please ensure the subject line indicates the issue you are commenting on.
Start and end of school day – pick ups and drop offs:
Under COVID ORANGE parents are free to be on site but we ask that you take into consideration the restrictions we are still working under. We ask that you avoid visiting classes and make appointments in advance to meet with teachers.
Start of day: we request that as in Term 1, only parents of KG and Class 1 children come on site. Children in all other classes are to be dropped off at the school gate.
End of day: parents are free to be on site to meet children (no earlier than 2.55 pm) on the hard court in front of the fort. Class 1, 2 and 3 teachers will walk children to this point.
Once your child has been delivered to you we ask that parents move swifty off site and do not visit classrooms, unless an appointment has been made in advance with the teacher.
Any feedback on this matter can be sent to: feedback@ch.steiner.school.nz
Please ensure the subject line indicates the issue you are commenting on.
No dogs on site:
From now onwards we ask that you refrain from bringing your dogs on site or leaving your dogs directly ouside school entrances. The only exception to this will be made for guide dogs, dogs used during an educational programme run by the school, or when the board and tumuaki have given permission. Any stray dogs will be reported to CCC dog control, so there is no danger to our students. Our school policies will be updated to reflect this change and to ensure that safe practices are adhered to through a robust health and safety policy.
Any feedback on this matter can be sent to: feedback@ch.steiner.school.nz
Please ensure the subject line indicates the issue you are commenting on.
Thank you all in advance for your cooperation.
Ngā mihi kia koutou kaoa,
Stephen Conway
On behalf of the School Board