Government Announcement – Wednesday 10 November 2021

Wednesday 10 November 2021

Government Announcement

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Just to let you know, we find out about the school opening at the same time as you do. We all listen carefully to the news for what the government announces for schools. Today at 1:00 pm, the government announced that it is safe for students to return to school on a part-time basis under Alert Level 3 from next Wednesday 17 November 2021.

The Sunnybrae Plan

We are currently working through the structure and detail of our return to ensure the safety of our students and staff as we follow Ministry of Education guidelines. A consideration will be to manage the total number of students attending each day in order to keep everyone as safe as possible. By the end of this week, I will share with all of you the guidelines for Sunnybrae’s reopening. This will allow our parents/caregivers to make an informed decision about whether or not to send their children back to school.

What does Part-Time School Look Like?

• Year 4, 5 and 6 students must wear masks
• Limited number of students and staff on-site each day
• Onsite students in separate bubbles
• Classrooms well ventilated
• Socially distanced

Benefits of Returning to School

We know that learning while face to face with their teacher is beneficial for our students. It’s important for our young people to connect with their friends and teachers. Time at school helps their social, physical and emotional wellbeing.

Distance Learning Programme

The Distance Learning Programme will continue for the days children will not be onsite. Therefore, your children will learn part-time onsite at school and part-time at home (following the Distance Learning Programme).

Bubble School Remains Open

If your child is currently attending Bubble School, they will continue to be onsite every day and remain in their assigned bubble. The onsite Bubble School will continue to be staffed Monday to Friday.

Waiting for Ministry Guidelines

Following on from today’s announcement by Minister Hipkins, we are in the midst of receiving the finer details from the Ministry of Education. Once I receive all of the guidelines, I can confirm our plan for the opening of our school. We understand you will be eager to know which days your child/ren will be able to attend school so you can organise work commitments.

Staff Vaccination Status

All staff onsite at schools in New Zealand would have had at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccination or two doses of the Covid-19 vaccination as per the Education Vaccination mandate. All staff onsite at schools would have provided the Principal with proof of a Covid-19 negative test before returning to school. Staff who have had only one dose will be required to have a weekly negative Covid-19 test.

More Information to Follow

We will send an update by the end of this week with our new plan. At this point, we understand that the new plan will remain in place from 17 November to 16 December. 

We look forward to our lovely Sunnybrae students coming back on site. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your patience and support.

Kind regards,

Lorene Hurd

Principal