Ko te Tamaiti te Pūtake o te Kaupapa

Nau mai, haere mai,

Welcome to 2022 with us at Papatoetoe South School. We are excitedly awaiting our reopening on Tuesday 1st February and cannot wait to see all of our amazing tamariki!

As you will know, with Aotearoa / New Zealand currently operating at the Red Traffic Light setting, there are some specific requirements we will be undertaking to ensure that we can open as safely as possible. Health and wellbeing remain our highest priority as we open up so that our students can have the best start possible to the new year of learning and discovery.

Attached you will find a poster we have created to highlight some of the measures that we will have in place to meet our health requirements.

These include:

• All staff and students who are Years 4, 5 and 6 MUST wear masks at school

• Parents are encouraged to drop off and pick up their children from the school gates but are not able to enter the school grounds. (Note that some exceptions can be made for our younger New Entrant children who are starting school and may require support with settling into their new environment).

• The four school gates at Milan Road, Murdoch Park, Chestnut Road and Kenderdine Road will be open for drop off and pick up. You may use any of these gates that you wish, but we do ask that you avoid areas that are highly crowded. The gates will open at 8:30 and there will be staff members at each place to welcome and greet you. Ensure your children know which gate you want them to meet you at after school.

• Hygiene practices such as handwashing, using sanitiser, maintaining social distancing and wearing masks will be explained and reinforced regularly.

• If children are sick, or present flu-like symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing, coughing, or a high temperature will need to stay home. If students present with these symptoms at school, parents will be asked to pick them up. They will need to have a negative COVID-19 test result before they are able to return to school.

• Classrooms will be ventilated with windows and doors open to ensure airflow. Outdoor learning areas will also be used as often as possible.

• Assemblies will only be taking place using digital means such as Zoom.

• School lunches will be available and start on the first day of school. Children should bring their own drinking bottle with their name clearly labelled.

The change to Red Alert level is different to how we were able to open under Level 3 last year. Children will be with their own teacher and in their own classes. Please talk with your children at home about what to expect when returning to school and about social distancing and hygiene practices.

This is not the ideal way that we would have wanted to start our year but we are confident that we can work together to make the return a positive and exciting time.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Phone: 09 278 5231

Email: [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you all soon,

Papatoetoe South School

It is an absolute pleasure and privilege to serve our Papatoetoe community as Tumuaki of Papatoetoe South School. We pride ourselves on being a caring and inclusive school that focuses on encouraging students to achieve their potential academically, physically, socially and emotionally, whilst standing strong as who they are.

Our school whakatauki “Ko te Tamaiti te Pūtake o te Kaupapa / The Child the Heart of the Matter” highlights our intention to have our students at the centre of every decision we make. We have a strong commitment to nurturing and supporting our students to be the best learners, leaders and citizens they can be. We are a diverse school and work hard to offer a curriculum that celebrates our diversity, and honours whānau as the first teachers of our tamariki. We know we cannot do our job successfully without working together in partnership, and warmly welcome you to our school website and through our school doors.

Our Strategic Objectives