Kia ora parents, family, whānau and aiga.

Our goal is to continue to remain open for learning for our rangitahi.

However, we are currently experiencing a wave of flu and covid symptoms passing through the staff in the College. It is inconsistent but managing classes with relievers and staff covering is proving difficult and disruptive.

To reduce this ongoing negative impact on our teaching and learning we will be running a Monday and Friday period 1 - 4 programme until the end of this Term. 

What does this look like for students:

• Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will run periods 1 - 5 timetable as normal.
• Mondays & Fridays the day is shortened to periods 1 - 4. School finishes at 1:35 pm.
• There is no Period 5 on a Monday or Friday. Periods 1- 4 occur as normal with classes being taught by their teachers
  or supervised.
• The ISC will also run on this schedule.
• Students needing to be supervised in the afternoon can report to the ‘bubble’ where a staff member will direct them
  to a class.
• The Canteen will be open before school and interval each day.
• Buses will run as per the normal timetable.
• After-school events shift to 1:35 pm if they are still staffed. 

This plan allows us to continue teaching and learning and to keep as many of the routines of the College running as possible, such as extra tuition, coaching, and other engagements on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays but with minimal disruption on a Monday and a Friday.

The intention is that this will continue for the next 3 weeks up to and including Friday 8/7/22. However, we continue to have a flexible attitude to this current wave of flu and Covid surge and may need to pivot as the situation requires.

Once again, I would like to thank our staff for their continued energy and enthusiasm. They are continuing to make a positive difference for their students in all the planning and teaching they are doing at this time. Providing this certainty is greatly appreciated.

I would like to thank our students, who have been attending well and responding positively to all the prevention protocols in place to keep us safe and reduce any spread. And of course, our parents and whānau, who have been ensuring their healthy students are attending College, or who are managing health issues in their home at the moment.

While this change is disruptive, we feel it will allow us to keep the best of the routines of the College in place and keep our students engaged while this wave goes through our teaching community.

Ngā mihi

Mark P Shanahan