We have had 28 students or staff test positive although a number of these are beginning to return to school after their isolation period ends. By Monday, half of this number will be back at school.

We are also seeing an increasing number of students who are needing to isolate due to being a household contact of a positive case. I wish to thank all families who have let us know and to express my admiration for the way all have approached this challenging time in such a calm and positive manner. We wish all those affected a speedy recovery.

We expect our case numbers to rise over the coming weeks and are preparing for a number of scenarios to unfold, including the likelihood that at some stage, we may be unable to fully staff the school. I will break our response into 3 stages and summarise these possible stages in the diagram attached. An important point to understand is that if we do get to the point that we need to roster year groups home,   the year group affected will not have work set for them, nor will staff be available to provide feedback on this day. This is because the teachers will be covering other classes that do not have a teacher available. Students will however, have some work to carry on with independently through Google Classroom.

It is also important to know that this plan may change depending on the situation so steps may not proceed as per the diagram. I am unsure that COVID necessarily operates in a way that we can always follow a pre prepared plan.

We are, of course, hoping that this planning is all for nothing.

Here is a link to the Southern District Health Board’s latest update which includes some useful information.

https://mailchi.mp/southerndhb/covid-update-10-march-2022?e=b00211bbd1