Covid-19 Update 2

Dear Parents and Caregivers

As many of you will be aware, the country has moved to Alert Level 3 and is preparing for Alert Level 4. This is to manage the Covid 19 pandemic as best as possible. Unfortunately, there was no time to address and inform students appropriately.

What does this mean for the LAC school community?

1. Tuesday and Wednesday 24 and 25 March: School is only open to those students whose parents are in essential services. Normal classes will not run, but we will provide supervision and organise appropriate activities as best we can. These students should report to our library by 9 am.

• All students coming into school need to sign in at the front office.
• Some students may need to collect items such as art packs only or clear lockers. They may do so by signing in at the front office and they will be assisted to get the items that they need.
• Parents/Caregivers are encouraged, if coming in, to report to the front office.

2. From Thursday 26 March the school is closed for the remainder of the term. Online learning will begin on April 15. Refer below.

3. Monday, March 30 to April 14 – School holidays. (Please note the change of dates for school holidays). Teachers will use this time to prepare an on-line digital platform for students to learn from when school commences next term. Staff will consider reorganising the calendar to fit with the change of dates. This means that deadlines for assessments will move accordingly.

4. April 15 – April 29 (TBC) commencement of Term 2 with ‘at-home’ online learning. We will continue to work from home and all will be engaged in learning using online tools.

Please be patient as teachers prepare this work. Teachers will communicate to students and parents via email/google classroom of changes. We ask students to be considerate if they feel the need to contact their teachers in the meantime.

5. May 1 – wait for the government review of Alert Level 4 to see whether learning will continue at home or back in the classroom.

6. It is our intention to maintain the school timetable while teaching online. This is to give both students and teachers a clearer expectation of what they are meant to be doing at any given time.

We recognize these are worrying times and encourage students to review their notes, workbooks and engage in the school’s google platform when possible. If you have difficulties accessing a device let us know as we may be able to issue a school device.

Other important points:

1. Please be aware we need to follow the government’s instructions and students need to self-isolate; not mingle in public places and not socialize in person. Let’s demonstrate the LAC values of respect, integrity and resilience as we work through the next 4 weeks.
2. Check our Facebook page and website for updates.
3. Check the Portal for student notices, calendar items and real-time reporting.

He Waka Eke Noa. We are in this together and if we follow guidelines we can stay ahead of Covid 19.

Brendan van Oostveen, Principal