DPS COVID-19: LEVEL 2 Notice

Kia ora whānau,

Monday is the day! We are excited to be welcoming you all back to school and look forward to this next step in the return to normality. School will be very similar to how it was prior to lockdown… just with a lot more hand washing and cleaning involved!

The Prime Minister advised that in Alert Level 2, schools are safe environments for children, young people and staff, and that additional public health control measures are in place to prevent the spread of disease and to support contact tracing. I want you to feel comfortable and safe in the fact that as a school we have plans and processes in place to keep us all safe.

It is reassuring to hear how well our country has done at minimising the impacts of COVID-19. Alert Levels 4 and 3 have not been easy and I thank you for your ongoing support for the work we are doing. I’ve loved seeing the work, the creativity, and the happy faces of our DPS Kids over this period, and as whānau you’ve all done an amazing job. We are aware of the pressures of being in lockdown, to help with learning in the home, and the financial impact COVID-19 is having on our community, so hats off to all of you.

The key message for Level 2 is ‘Play it Safe’ and here are some of the new systems that we will all have to adhere to in order to Play it Safe at Douglas Park School.

General:

• Physical distancing is a good precaution to prevent the spread of disease. For staff, we will be maintaining a 1m distance from each other. For all parents and visitors to the school, this is the standard 2m distance. For students there are no space requirements other than not being close enough to ‘smell someone's breath’, and no touching of anyone.
• Hygiene and, in particular, hand cleaning, is paramount at the moment. This includes staff and students coughing into their elbows, handwashing and drying and regular cleaning of commonly touched surfaces. We are well prepared with product and children/staff will be washing their hands an awful lot under Alert Level 2.
• Our intensive cleaning will carry on, particularly high/tough use surfaces such as door handles and table tops. Our playground is safe to use and will be sanitised daily.
• We ask that children do not arrive at school until at least 8.15am each day and that they head to their classes. They will be able to go out to play, but no wheels before school.

For whānau/caregivers:

• Drop off and pickup will be different. While we welcome parents back into school to be with their children at drop off, we are required to keep a register of ALL people who enter our grounds. This will mean that in the morning as you walk in with your child, a staff member will note down your name, and the teaching team/s you are going to. This will be the same at pickup time. At the same time, we will be sanitising the hands of both children and adults. Adults & children will only be able to enter the school through our main driveway gates, and exit via the Hall gate and the smaller driveway gate.
• Children can also enter via the Kummer Cres gate, but not adults. Signage will be out. Access to school for drop off time is from 8.15am and pickup from 2.45pm.
• The Office will be open, but will operate similar to supermarkets. We will have sanitiser for people to use and marks on the ground to show where to stand. If you can call or email that would be better, but if you have to come in, physical distancing and hand hygiene are needed. We know this will be an inconvenience, but a familiar one by now, to us all.

For children:

• Under Alert Level 2, we advise any students and staff to stay at home if they are sick and we will send anyone home immediately if they show any symptoms. As we start back we will be confirming your contact and emergency contact details. Please, keep your children home if unwell.
• As we have been, we will be pushing good hygiene. All children (and adults) will sanitise their hands as they come into school. Each classroom has sanitiser and children will use this as they enter/exit classes. Teachers will also be getting children to wash hands during learning time and have disinfectant spray to use regularly on classroom surfaces.
• We will not be using our water fountains at school, so each child will need a named water bottle

Our school has safe and sensible practices to maintain the health and safety of everyone on the school site. As described by Dr Payinda in his NZ Herald article, “Covid's not measles or chickenpox, it doesn't hang in the air for hours waiting to infect passers-by. It travels on invisible drops of spit. You don't have to cross the street to avoid anyone. Just avoid getting in their 'moist breath' zone”. We all just need to remember to have some breathing space at Alert Level 2!

It’s important however, that not just at school but at home, safe hygiene habits are practised by everyone, as this is essential to minimise the risk that someone gets infected with Covid-19.

For more information about the public health measures at Alert Level 2, you can visit the official COVID-19 website: https://covid19.govt.nz/

If you have any questions about our health and safety plan, or have a child who might be vulnerable to serious illness and would like to discuss a plan for them, please contact me.

Thanks,

Gareth Sinton

Principal

Douglas Park School

principal@douglaspark.school.nz