Maihiihi School

RED Alert Level Protocols 28/01/22

(subject to being updated as information is shared with us from the MOE)

Red Alert Level On-site Protocols

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Here are our Red Alert Level Safety Protocols. They may be reviewed as we get further updates from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education. The information below is intended to meet health and safety expectations. Please do not take offence to the strict routines and procedures we have developed as we want to ensure all staff, students and families remain safe and healthy. Please keep your child at home if he/she is sick, has a cough or cold, a runny nose or other flu-like symptoms.

I would encourage our school community to read the following guidelines that outline:

Education at Red

Covid-19 Protection Framework for Schools and Kura

Back to school for Parents and Whanau

CPF Guidance Table - Schools and Kura

Staff & Volunteers

All staff and any people - paid or voluntary - working with our students have been fully vaccinated as per the Public Health Order and Ministry of Education requirements.
Staff are to stay home if they feel unwell and get tested or have been identified as a close contact or are required to isolate under the public health exposure guidelines.
Staff working with or around students in Year 4 and up will be required to wear masks.

Visitors

Non-essential visitors NOT allowed on-site.
Learning support services can continue.
Health Services can continue.
Must scan QR code on gates.
Must report to the office as soon as they enter school grounds.
Must record their presence in the contact tracing register kept in the office.

At Pick up and Drop Off

Under Red Alert Level Parents, Caregivers and Visitors will not be allowed on the school site without prior approval from school management. Please keep to the carpark and beyond. Please contact the school by phoning on 07 8732887 or emailing office@maihiihi.school.nz.
We wish to encourage a quick drop off and pick up only approach to restrict the number of adults in the carpark. Where possible there should be one person designated for pick up and drop off.
Teachers will ensure students wash their hands at the start of the day. Students are to keep out of other classrooms and not loiter in the cloak bays or toilet areas.
Staff are to observe students on arrival into school checking for any symptoms of being unwell, any student presenting as unwell will have parents contacted and will be immediately sent home. They will be isolated in the sick-bay with a mask on (if they don’t have one already) and will be supervised by the office and principal until pick-up.

In the Classroom

Staff of or around students in Year 4 and up will be wearing masks when in teaching spaces or in the presence of students.
Students from Year 4 and up will be required to wear a mask when indoors.
To the best of our ability and resources classrooms will be well ventilated as per Ministry of Education guidelines.
Students will be encouraged to maintain a physical distance so that they are not breathing on or touching each other. (There is no minimum distance required).
Staff will ensure that the classrooms, resources and working spaces are disinfected regularly.
Regular hand washing and sanitizing takes place throughout the day. Before school starts, before eating, after toileting, and when entering the classroom from outside.
No singing is to take place inside
Students are seated to eat their morning tea and lunch with their class group as per usual.
Teachers will continue to encourage students to cough/sneeze into their elbows and try to avoid touching their face (if they are sick then they go home).

Managing Attendance

Please let us know if your child is absent. You can do this via phone, Skool Loop, Dojo or email.
Late students: Parents, please ring the office if students are too young to enter school on their own, staff will come out and collect from the carpark. Late students are required to go to the office and get a late card.
If you or your child are feeling unwell, please keep them at home! You can call Healthline on 0800 358 5453. This is free and you can call any time, it is open all day every day. Someone will talk with you about you or your child’s symptoms and arrange for an assessment and test if they think this is needed.

In the Playground

The playground will be open to all students.
Classrooms also have their own designated sports gear and students will not share between classrooms.
Students will be encouraged to practice physical distancing with each other where practical. We would like to stress the point that students must not hug each other.
Hand-washing will be mandatory when they enter from the playground.
Singing can take place outside ensuring students maintain a physical distance of 2m from each other
Students will only exercise outside maintaining distancing where possible.
Water fountains are open however we encourage all students to bring a water bottle.

Movement Around the School

No parents or visitors on site unless pre-arranged with management. Sometimes parents have concerns that require face to face/ over the phone conversations - contact your child’s teacher and this can be arranged.
Students will stay with their own classmates where possible or may work in outside spaces to allow access to fresh-air.
Students will not mingle with students from other classes unless they are working as a cross-grouped cohort i.e Phonics groups etc…
No whole school gatherings

QR Codes

QR codes are up on the school gates and in the office area. These must be scanned in when entering our school site.

Face Coverings - Masks

Mask wearing is compulsory for all adults and students in Year 4 and up (this recently changed from 12 years old and up) unless an exemption has been supplied from an approved source. Mask wearing will be required for adults who have been cleared to come on site.
Your younger children may wear a mask if you would prefer them too but understand that while teachers will encourage them to keep their masks on, this may not always be possible given their ages. Please talk about this with your child’s teacher if you have any concerns.
Parents and caregivers are required to supply masks for their child/ren. We do have spares for students who may forget or lose theirs, but not a large amount. Please let us know if you are having trouble supplying your child with a mask.
Face coverings are required on school buses for students in Year 4 and up.

Office Queries

We will maintain our contact tracing registers and QR signage.
If you need to contact the office or have uniform inquiries please ring Juliette on 07-873-2887 or send her an email at office@maihiihi.school.nz.

Principal or Matters of Concern

If you need to contact the Principal please ring the office or send me an email at principal@maihiihi.school.nz
If it is a classroom issue, as per our complaints procedures please contact your child’s teacher first and if the issue is not resolved please contact me.

Buses

Bus drivers will take the roll as students enter the bus in the morning for contact tracing.
Where the seating configuration on the bus has passenger seats in close proximity to the driver, these seats are not to be used and will be barriered off.
Hand sanitizer is available to students.
Cleaning regimes are to be maintained throughout by the driver.
Schools will ensure transport providers have reliable, up-to-date student bus lists at all times to ensure everyone knows who is being transported each day to enable contact tracing.
Schools are responsible for keeping their families and communities informed with the latest information about the school bus services.
Face coverings are required on school buses for students in Year 4 and up (note this recently changed from 12 years old and up).

In the event of a notification of a positive exposure case at our school

We will work quickly to identify those at risk and inform the Ministry of Health and MOE
All procedures will be followed as outlined by the MOE, including notifying our school community as quickly as possible.
Depending on the risk of exposure and the situation we may decide to:
- Employ relievers to cover classes (if a teacher affected)
- Combine classes
- Designate a class to learn from home via distance learning:
  - Year 0 - Year 4 will have paper packs distributed (Room 1 & 2)
  - Year 5 - Year 8 will have online learning assigned (Room 3 & 4)
- As a last resort, close our school for a short period of time and switch to distance learning for all.