Kia ora Whānau,

We were very much looking forward to welcoming your children back to school at the start of term 4, however due to the recent increase in numbers the Government has made the decision that Auckland is to remain at alert level 3, as it currently stands, for another week. This means that schools will not be re-opening - and that distance learning will resume - from Monday 18th October. On-site learning will again be available for those children who need to attend as they do not have appropriate care at home.

On-site Attendance

If you require your child(ren) to attend school onsite from next week, please complete this form by 9am Thursday 14th October. To allow us to plan and manage our bubbles effectively, you will need to indicate which day(s) your child(ren) will be onsite. Please communicate any changes to your requirements to us as soon as possible; we want to ensure that bubble-spaces are utilised as best possible. Your support in working with us is much appreciated.

Mandatory Vaccinations for School Staff
Government also announced the decision to make vaccination for education staff mandatory. School staff - teachers and support staff - will need to be fully vaccinated by the 1st of January 2022, and everyone needs to have had their first dose by 15th November.

Schools will be required to maintain a Covid-19 vaccination register, and we have already started to gather this information for our Stonefields School staff.

All education workforce will be required to provide a negative Covid-19 test before returning to work onsite (once it is possible to do so).

Vaccinations for children aged 12 years or older
The Prime Minister has asked that students who are 12 or older, along with their parents and caregivers, use this week to get vaccinated. The School supports this, and I urge everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible. When we are able to re-open, we need to be able to stay open, and vaccination is the strongest and most effective tool available to help ensure this.

School staff being vaccinated, as well as eligible learners and their families being vaccinated, means both groups doing their bit to provide protection for all.

We have received positive feedback about our distance learning approach, and we are well prepared to seamlessly move between onsite and distance learning.

We are appreciative of the feedback we have received through phone calls and the recent Community Survey to continue to further improve the distance learning experience. Our team has been meeting this week to ensure the learning we have planned for term 4 is engaging and connects with learners needs and interests.

A further series of hardcopy booklets have been curated for year 0-4. We will let you know when they are onsite and ready for contactless pick up next week.