Years 11 to 13 to return to school from 26 October 2021

Minister Hipkins has today confirmed that all our students in Years 11 to 13 are able to return to school on Tuesday 26 October. This is very good news as we know how important face-to-face support and engagement will be for our senior students, so that they can complete their studies and continue to the next level.

Year 9 and 10 students will continue with their on-line learning from home and teachers will continue to post work on their google classroom.

School Buses and Public Transport
Our school bus service will be up and running from Tuesday 26 October.  We have been advised by Coachways that their drivers have been fully vaccinated and have all had negative tests.  Students are required to wear masks on school buses and on public transport. 

Public health experts at the Ministry of Health have reviewed our existing health requirements needed to operate at Alert Level 3. These include:

• Staff and children who are unwell must stay at home, and get tested for COVID-19
• Children at higher risk of severe illness remain home, where possible
• Mandatory mask wearing for staff and students 
• Good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette
• Classrooms to be well ventilated
• High touch surfaces will be cleaned and disinfected each day
• Physical distancing will be adhered to wherever practicable, particularly between adults
• QR code posters for the COVID app will be displayed
• A contact tracing register in place for everyone coming onsite including students and staff, through the attendance register, timetable and visitor register.

To support the return of our senior students, the additional measures that have been agreed by Cabinet to apply at Alert Level 3, based on public health advice are:

• Time outdoors for students and staff will be maximised, including breaks, lunchtime, before and after school (unless the weather does not allow), and rooms will be aired during breaks
• Exercising and singing will take place outdoors
• Groups meeting indoors, including assemblies or staff meetings, will be avoided, and
• exams can go ahead, but physical distancing will be maximised within the space available, with a minimum of 1.5 metres between desks.

This approach is designed to keep children, teachers and our community as safe as possible.  

Vaccination Survey
If you have not completed the Vaccination Questionnaire, please can you do this. It is due by 3.30 this Friday, 22 October. Thank you to all of our whanau who have completed the survey. If your daughter has not yet been vaccinated,  I want to encourage you to do this. It will be reassuring to know that the vaccination rate for our staff is very high.

Senior Reports

Reports were sent home last week for Year 11 - 13 students.  We hope this has given parents confidence that their daughters are on track to achieve this year.

Auckland to stay at Level 3

On Monday 11 October the Prime Minister announced that Auckland will remain at Level 3 for the time being.  This means that students will not return to school in person on 18 October the beginning of Term 4, as previously advised, apart from the small number of students in Year 9 and 10 who need to attend due to their parents being essential workers or if appropriate home care is not available.  Details about this have been sent to parents whose daughters need to attend school.

We will continue to support all students through our on-line learning programme from Monday18 October.

It is now a legal requirement that we hold a Covid 19 vaccination register for all students and staff.  This confidential information will be held by us in accordance with the Privacy Act and will only be shared with public health authorities if necessary.

All students are now required to wear face coverings both at school and on all transport.

Please continue to follow all the alert level requirements including staying at home and getting tested for COVID-19 if you are feeling unwell, and for your own sake and for the health of your whānau, please get vaccinated.

All staff who are on site are tested for Covid-19.

We are proud of how our community has responded to this outbreak and look forward to a time in the near future when we can reconnect in person.

Return to Term 4

Term 4 Health & Safety

We remain optimistic that we will return to school for the start of Term 4 on 18th October. The health and safety of our staff, students and visitors to the school is really important to us all at Auckland Girls’. We have enacted all of the health and safety protocols as advised by the Ministries of Health and Education in readiness for the start of the new term.  

Extended Learning Periods

For the first four weeks of Term 4 we will be making an adjustment to our timetable to allow our students opportunities to spend longer amounts of time in classes reconnecting with their teachers and their learning. The school day will still start and finish at the usual times, but students will have 90 minutes per period rather than the usual 60 minutes. On Monday 18th October, students will go straight to their tutor classes where they will receive their timetable.  

Practice Examinations

Some of our senior students may be wondering about our school practice examinations. Just like we did last year, we will be using our extended learning periods to practise external standards. Attending classes will be really important for building confidence and skills in approaching the work for these exams.  In rare instances of serious illness or bereavement, the grades earned from practice examinations may be used to determine final NCEA grades.

Student Achievement

The Ministry of Education has made several changes to what is required to gain NCEA this year. Learning Recognition Credits provide an additional credit for every 4 credits students gain. In effect this means:

• NCEA Level 1 students now only need to get 64 credits instead of 80 
• NCEA Level 2 and 3 students need only 48 instead of 60 credits. 
• An NCEA Endorsement now needs only 44 Merit or Excellence credits rather than the usual 50.
• University Entrance which usually requires 14 credits in 3 approved subjects now only requires 12 credits.  All of these changes mean that many of our girls have either gained a qualification already or are really close to achieving which is really exciting

Alert Level 3

Auckland will move to Alert Level 3 on Wednesday 22 September.  This decision will be reviewed by Cabinet on Monday 4 October.

This means that the school site will be open from Wednesday 22 September. For most students this will not be a change and they will continue to access their learning off site and online. We do understand that a small number of students may need to come to school because their parents’ work commitments mean that they are unable to be supervised adequately at home. Students who do have to come to school will be supervised in small bubbles by a teacher while they continue with their online learning programme. If you have indicated that your daughter needs to be supervised on the school site detailed information about this will be sent directly to parents and caregivers.

All our other students will continue to learn from home. We are very proud of the resilience demonstrated by our students and the wonderful support they are receiving from their whanau.

Just a reminder that wearing masks on public transport and while at school is mandatory for all students and staff at Level 3.

The Ministry of Education has asked Dr Hinemoa Elder (child adolescent psychiatrist) and Nathan Wallis (neuroscience educator) for some tips and advice for parents who may be anxious about their daughter’s behaviour and routine changes through alert level changes and extended alert level restrictions. There is a link to the information and to the video they have made below.

We are hopeful that we will all be at Level 2 and back to school for face-to-face lessons when Term 4 starts on Monday 18 October.

Stay safe everyone. Kia haumaru to noho. Kia kaha.

Lockdown Information for parents