**SCHOOL CLOSED REST OF THE WEEK**

Kia ora, Poukawa Whānau, and I really do hope that everyone is safe out there and managing to get by,

I appreciate the communication at the moment is seriously difficult but I would like to give you all as much notice as possible. Due to the intermittent communication lines, could you also please reach out to other school families / community members to spread this message.

In consultation with other local Principals and MoE, Poukawa School will remain closed for the rest of this week. At this stage we have staff, whānau and community members whose priorities are their own families at the moment, especially given the exceptional circumstances. I acknowledge this may cause inconvenience and I apologise to you for this.

Please do look out for each other and I absolutely know we will ge through this and back to normal before we know it. I will endeavour to keep you informed of when we are likely to open back up again.

Kia Kaha Koutou and do please let our students know that our thoughts are with them

Cyclone Gabrielle update **Tue 14th Feb 1:20pm**

Kia ora, Whānau, and I hope you are all staying safe,

Quick message while the power is back on. No school on Wednesday the 15th of February as per direction from the MoE.

I hope you are all ok and please don't hesitate to contact me should you need anything.

I will continue to inform you, whenever this is possible.

Stay safe whānau

Whanau Pānui , Thursday the 26th of January

Kia ora, ano, Poukawa Whānau, 

This is just a reminder that school commences again for all of our tamariki this Monday the 30th of January.

We will be welcoming our new staff and students with a mihi whakatau (a more informal powhiri) to our wonderful school.

Returning students and staff will be welcoming on new students and staff. If you are new to Poukawa School, we kindly ask that students (and accompanying whānau) wait by our school gates, to be welcomed in to Poukawa School on our first morning. This includes our New Entrant students. This will be followed by kai and a cup of tea, and whānau are welcome to join us for a cup of tea afterwards.

We all look forward to seeing you again very shortly!

***COVID Orange Traffic Light Setting Information - 13th April***

Kia ora koutou,

You’ll be aware that Minister of Education Chris Hipkins has announced the move to Orange at 11:59pm tonight. This is fantastic news for us!

The decision to move to Orange has been made on public health advice and reflects that we are moving past the peak of cases and our health system is able to cope. We are seeing that cases are declining due to high levels of vaccination and natural immunity after infection. 

I wanted to give you an update on what the move to Orange means for our school.  Please make sure you read this information carefully as there are a few subtle details to be aware of.

At Orange, face masks are no longer required at school. However public health advice is that masks continue to be strongly encouraged when indoors.  For students that are choosing to continue to wear masks indoors they will be fully supported in this choice. Wearing a mask is a key health measure that slows the spread of COVID-19 in indoor settings. For that reason, we ask that visitors to the school, including parents and whānau, wear a mask whenever they are indoors on school grounds, however you may choose to not wear a mask when entering our school grounds.

We also ask that your child (if they are Year 4+) continues to bring a mask to school every day. There may be times that we’ll ask them to wear a mask, too – for example, when we are having an assembly in the hall. If there are a high number of cases at school or in the community, we may ask that masks are worn in classrooms for a time.

At Orange, students aged 12 and above are still required to wear a face mask on school or public transport.

We will continue to keep all the other health measures in place at school that we know slow the spread of COVID-19. These include ensuring our indoor spaces are well-ventilated, maintaining good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette, appropriate physical distancing whenever we can and, most importantly, staying home if we are sick. 

We are looking forward to a few less restrictions and returning to school life that is a bit closer to normal.

Ngā mihi,

Mike

*** Teacher Only Day reminder***

Kia ora, Poukawa Whānau,

This is a reminder that Poukawa School has a TEACHER-ONLY DAY on Friday the 25th of February.

School will not be open for instruction on this day as staff are attending PLD on Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori offsite.

Please make sure that you have made alternative arrangements for your child/ren for this day.

Term 1, Week 2 Panui