| Thursday 24th March 2022 | Term 1 Week 8  |
Kia ora e te whānau,
I hope this newsletter finds as many of you well as possible? With many students absent, and staff availability on the downturn, at school, we are certainly feeling the impacts of covid. We review our situation daily, but are now firmly working in Stage 2 of our response. In line with the rest of our region (Canterbury and South Canterbury), school attendance was sitting at 70% at the start of this week, dropping to approximately 50% today.
It is for these reasons (attendance, wellness and staff availability) that we have made the tough decision to postpone the M1, M2 and M3 Camps until later this year. M3 were, of course, meant to depart on Wednesday this week, but were unable to do so.
As of today, we will no longer be providing notifications of each single case of covid-19 at school. We will continue to send text notifications for close contacts so that you can continue to monitor for symptoms. Thank you to those parents keeping unwell students at home. There are seasonal colds and flus going around as well as covid, however, as the symptoms are fairly similar, we continue to ask you to remain at home if you are unwell. This helps us to protect our medically vulnerable whānau and keep the school operational for as long as possible. Your ongoing support is greatly appreciated.
As mentioned previously, we have now deployed the Home Learning section of our website for those who need it. Staff may direct you to the resources there as well as individual resources prepared by classroom teachers. There is a Home Learning button on the front page of our website to take you there - or click this link: twizel.school.nz/home-learning.
When hand-delivering resources to whānau earlier this week, we noticed that a few addresses had changed and not been updated with the school. If you have moved recently or changed phone number or email address, please let us know by updating the information online or calling the main office.
Thanks again to the whānau able to provide absence details online - as you will know we have limited staff availability in the main office with one of our administration team working from home, so phoning is not always the most efficient way to get in contact with us. You can still email [email protected] with any questions or information, this is a regularly checked email.
I will be attending a special meeting with the Ministry of Education later today to learn how the recent updates from the government will affect education. I’ll be able to update the community once I have learned more.
He waka eke noa,
Kate Staniford
Tumuaki | Principal
Deputy Head Student Lily Brophy has news about the Teacher Music Match House Competition and the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival.
Omicron came knocking on the Newlands' family door this week, this is their story.
Ākonga in Room 7 have been exploring their creative sides the past week!
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed, no matter how small, to our fundraiser last Friday to help the people of Ukraine. 🇺🇦 Our final total is...
Room 5 students made a primary colour self-portrait. It took them three days to finish, Sophie and Noah explain how they created their art.
Our Athletics Day results, including full House Competition points, can be found here...
There's always plenty going on at Twizel Area School and there are multiple ways to know, and be notified.
The aim of the Home Learning section is to group all the relevant information and support that students, parents and whānau may need. You will find teacher contact details and student learning packs, along with links for resources and support for wellbeing, among other things.
Ākonga in Room 9 have been writing about their river trip to see the Sockeye Salmon. A great experience for students and some awesome writing to boot!
Students from Years 4 - 10 participated this week in an international Computational Thinking Challenge called Bebras. The competition is an initiative aimed at promoting Computer Science and in particular Computational Thinking (CT).
Junior classes at Twizel Area School welcomed Harold and the Life Education bus last week. What they learned has inspired the junior classes this week in their writing and painting!
Please find attached a letter from Hon Jan Tinetti about supporting our children and young people and how to have your say in the Highest Needs Review.
The Sport Twizel Community Sports Grant is open now! 🤽♀️ 🏂 Is your local sporting club looking for funding to support or develop your sport? Do you need to purchase equipment, run an event, or travel to a sporting event?
Read here for information regarding 2022 Junior Miniball registration, including dates and contact info.
If your tamariki tests positive for COVID-19, what happens next and how do you self-isolate for the required amount of time?
The annual LJ Hooker Easter Colouring-in Competition is open for entries. Click on the image above to download or you can collect an entry from the LJ Hooker office.
Entries can be dropped off at the LJ Hooker office, with the winner being drawn on Thursday 14th April.
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