News from the Principal

Nau Mai Haere Mai

 7 September 2021 - Update for Parents

Kia ora,

You’ll be aware that all of New Zealand (with the exception of Auckland) is moving to Alert Level 2 from midnight tonight. Our thoughts and positive wishes are with everyone in Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland.

We are really looking forward to welcoming everyone back onsite on Thursday morning. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will be continuing to support the ākonga who have been onsite at Alert Level 3 while we prepare for re-opening to all on Thursday.

At Alert Level 2 there is low risk of community transmission and it provides us with a lot more opportunities to engage and connect with others. However, there are still a number of public health requirements we all need to follow. Please do continue to monitor your health and do not send your children to school if they are not well (and please seek advice about getting a COVID test).

For us, all the required safety precautions for Alert Level 2 will be in place which include following all the recommendations from the public health experts. This means we will regularly clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces, encourage everyone to frequently wash their hands and cough and sneeze into their elbow.

While physical distancing is not a requirement in schools, we will be doing our best to keep students from congregating in very large numbers and keeping spaces well-ventilated.

Face coverings are not required to be worn in school. The decision to wear a face covering is up to you and your whānau, whatever your decision it will be respected.

If you are not sure what all the rules are for alert level 2 when you are out and about, then the following information may be useful to you:

Unfortunately, due to the lockdown we have had to cancel the annual Open Night once again. Other events will be looked at as they arise subject to the level we are at and the health and safety requirements for that level.

Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s kaiako or me if there is something you need assistance with. We look forward to welcoming the children back to school on Thursday!

Ngā mihi
Andrew Basher - Principal

30 August, Regions moving to Alert Level 3 – Ministry Bulletin

Kia ora

The Government has confidence that we are safe to move to Alert Level 3 on Wednesday.

At Alert Level 3, you legally must stay within your household bubble unless for essential personal movement including going to work and going to school. As the Prime Minister noted on Friday, schools are essentially closed at Alert Level 3 with the exception of those few children whose parents and carers must go to work at Alert Level 3, and there is no appropriate caregiver at home.

Year 11 – 13 students are legally required to stay learning from home.

So, we will be open on Wednesday, for a small number of children who need to attend. As you imagine it will not be school as we know it under Alert Level 2 or 1. All our usual safety precautions for Alert Level 3 will be in place which include following all the recommendations from the public health experts. This means we will regularly clean and disinfect high touch surfaces, encourage everyone to frequently wash their hands and cover their coughs and sneezes, and keep everyone physically distanced from others as much as possible (1 metre inside and two metres outside). We will also keep school bubbles to no more than 10 students. These bubbles will not mix with other bubbles.

Our contact tracing systems will be in place, which includes our attendance register and visitor register, and we will be limiting staff onsite with the majority of our team working from home.

You can also assist everyone’s safety by keeping your child at home if they are feeling unwell and please do contact your GP or Healthline, to seek advice about getting tested.

We will continue to support all children who remain learning from home, through our distance learning programme.

While we know how difficult it is trying to work from home as well as support your child’s learning, please keep your child at home if there is an appropriate carer available. For those of you with no other option, we will look forward to seeing your child at school next week. Please email me on andrew.basher@buller.ac.nz if your child does need to return to school on Wednesday 1 September.

As you have been doing, please continue to follow all the alert level requirements at Level 4 and stay at home. It is the best tool we have to keep our community safe.

Ngā mihi

Andrew Basher - Principal

27 August 2021 - Update for Parents
Kia ora,
Todays announcement regarding Levels means that for our students next week will mean a continuation of the online learning. At Level 3, which at this stage begins on Wednesday 1 September, Year 9-10 students are able to come to school if they are unable to remain learning at home. All students arriving will be put in bubbles for supervision by teachers. They will continue with their online programme for the week.

We will continue to deliver resources to homes on Mon-Wed-Fri next week where necessary and I want to thank our Kaiāwhina for making these deliveries.
On Tuesday next week I will send an update of the conditions for schools at Level 3 for students on site.
Some parents have had trouble accessing the EDGE Portal. I have attached instructions for doing this from our newsletter. If you are still having trouble please contact us.
Have a great weekend. Stay safe - Kia Kaha

Andrew Basher - Principal

26 August 2021 - Update for Parents

Kia ora,
Yesterdays announcement by the government that NCEA exams were to be postponed for two weeks were not really a surprise but may take some pressure off students. The exams now start on 22 November. Portfolio subjects have now also been delayed by the same two weeks.
The Prime Minister will announce what will happen next week for the country and our school. We will keep you updated with any news or school information as it comes to hand.
If your child/ren is having any concerns with aspects of their schoolwork, in the first instance, contact the subject teacher. If the concerns are more general then you are welcome to contact the house teacher or dean.
The overall responsibility for the care of students is Ms Karen Wells (junior students) and Mr Bryan Forsyth (senior students). They too are available if you have any questions or concerns.
Take care
Andrew Basher - Principal
25 August 2021 - Update for Parents
Kia ora koutou,
I hope you are all well and coping with the latest lockdown. The Alert Level will be reviewed on Friday afternoon, but for now Alert Level 4 will remain in place until 11:59pm Friday 27 August.

And so our distance learning programme will continue.

Resources for home

Our Kaiāwhina (Teacher aides) have called almost all parents of students on our roll. If you haven’t had contact, please check your messages or email me directly if you need support.
They will be making deliveries of resources for students on A Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11.30am until students are back on site.
Over 30 devices have been delivered to students who indicated that they needed them for learning
Learning/hard copy resources have been delivered to students who:
- Do not have access to the internet
- Have been provided this work by their teacher over the lockdown
The Kaiāwhina have covered over 400km in the last two days
Teachers will be in contact with their classes to provide work and support the learning

Please note: It is only in very limited circumstances that students, parents or caregivers are allowed to come to the school grounds. So please do not come to school unless you have been individually contacted by us to do so.

School Events
Unfortunately, once again some school events have been affected by this latest lockdown. They include:

Senior School Ball (Postponed until a later date – to be advised)
Open Night (Postponed until a later date – to be advised)
Winter Tournament Week (Cancelled)
Senior Alpine Trip (Cancelled)

When we return to the school site, we will re-evaluate what and when events will happen at that point.

There is a lot we can all do to protect our whānau and community from COVID-19 including:

Everyone must continue to stay home in their bubble
Do not mix with other household bubbles – if they have COVID-19, it can easily spread to your household, and every other household they and you are connecting with
As new cases are identified, new locations of interest are added to the Ministry of Health website – please keep checking this. You can search by your location and they are sorted by date, so you only need to check the locations which have been added when you last checked
Wash your hands regularly, especially when you have been out in public
Stay home if you are feeling unwell and seek advice about whether you need to get a test
You MUST wear a face covering in any businesses or services which are open at Alert Level 4 (unless you have specifically been exempted from doing so, which includes anyone aged under 12)
Keep a two-metre distance from people outside your household bubble
Check in using the NZ COVID Tracer App wherever you go or keep a manual record (a reminder the App only stores information on your own phone – no one else will know who it is that checked in, or when)

You can go to the COVID19.govt.nz website if you would like more information on Alert Level 4 requirements.

Finally, we know some families in our community may be finding it difficult to access food and essential items such as medicine. This information about how to access to food or essential items summarises the supports that are available, including financial help to buy food.

Please do take care and let us know how we can best support you and your whānau.

Kia kaha!

Andrew Basher - Principal

22 August 2021 - Update for Parents
Kia ora

It was confirmed on Friday by the Prime Minister that we will remain at Alert Level 4 until 11.59pm on 24 August. We will learn more on Tuesday about what will happen next.

I want to reassure you that our school staff and board will continue to be available to support your child’s learning and wellbeing in the coming days.

On Saturday we sent an email to our staff and your children. Our teachers will be contacting students and providing learning material for the whole of next week. This will include at least one contact lesson using some online means. If your child does not have a device, please contact the school and we will try to provide one to support learning. If the teacher creates hard copy resources for students, we will organise delivery of these resources.

You will receive a phone call over the next two days. The reason for this phone call is to:

Check that you are okay, given that many are suffering from both the flooding and lockdown
Ask whether your child needs a device (laptop) whilst learning from home
Find out if you have internet access. If not. we will endeavour to deliver hard copy resources to your child by the end of Tuesday. Note: we will deliver them to your address where possible.
Ask if you will be sending your child to school if we move to Level 3 next week (at Level 3 children are to stay at home unless parents are essential workers and need to send them to school)

As the Mental Health Foundation of NZ says, “it’s all right to feel a range of emotions right now. Going into a Level 4 lockdown is a big deal and it brings all sorts of different feelings to the surface, including frustration, worry and even gratitude. However, you are feeling, know that you’re not alone – we’re all going through this together.”

If you need to talk, check in with a friend or whānau member, or free call/text 1737 to chat with a trained counsellor. It's free and confidential. There are also a lot of other supports available to you, your whānau and your community if needed.

You will also understand the importance of routine for your family. If your routine has been shaken up, it’s good to structure your time. Routines are reassuring and promote health and physical wellbeing.

For our Pacific families, if you are not aware the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ has been working to ensure useful information is available to Pacific peoples in nine different languages.

As always, please let us know if there is anything you need to support you and your tamariki during this time.

Ngā mihi

Andrew Basher
Principal

28 February 2021 - Update for Parents
Kia ora,
last evening the Prime Minister announced that NZ outside Auckland would be moving back into Alert Level 2 for the next 7 days. For our school, this means that we can continue to operate as normal, ensuring that our health and hygiene practices remain a priority. A summary of the requirements for a school at Alert level 2 is below:

MOE and MOH information 28 February 2021
Alert Level 2 - All of New Zealand excluding Auckland region
Alert Level 2 began at 6am this morning, 28 February for a period of seven days.

1. Schools are open to everyone, and all children must attend.
At Alert Level 2 the disease is contained but there is still risk of community transmission. It is safe for children and staff to attend school and for school hostels to be operating as there will be appropriate measures in place, including for children and staff vulnerable to severe illness.

2. Learning will be onsite with distance learning offered in some circumstances.
Distance learning should be provided for those required to self-isolate, those individuals who health authorities have asked to stay away while waiting for a test result, or those choosing to remain at home because they are vulnerable to illness.

3. Schools are not classified as gatherings and a range of events and activities can go ahead.
For most day to day activities at schools, the rules for gatherings do not apply. Under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Order, schools are exempted from physical distancing requirements when people are there to receive, provide, or support education services.
However as soon as your event or activity brings people onsite who are not there for education purposes, including students, parents and caregivers, then the rules for gatherings do apply. This would include performances such as school plays, cultural events and sporting activities.

4. Schools will close for cleaning and contact tracing if there is a confirmed case who was infectious when at school.
Your Director of Education will work closely with you and health authorities should this occur. Please contact your Ministry regional office if you hear of a confirmed case in your school community but haven’t been advised about it by health officials.

5. Face coverings are not required at school or on any school transport.
This includes charter buses hired by the school to transport students and staff. Anyone who chooses to wear a face covering in any setting should be supported to do so.

6. Sick people must stay at home.
They should seek medical advice if they have COVID-like symptoms and get tested if advised to do so. If that person displays relevant symptoms of COVID-19, tests positive for COVID-19, or has been in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19, they must self-isolate.

7. Schools must have a contact tracing system in place.
This includes displaying QR code posters at the entrances and visitor register.

8. Fundamental public health measures continue to apply at every alert level:

Physical distancing (not touching and not breathing on each other at Alert Level 2)
Hand hygiene
Cough and sneeze etiquette
Regularly cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces.

9. Think and plan carefully before you go ahead with any activity that brings a large number of students together and/or spectators are involved.
Some events may need to be cancelled or postponed when we are at Alert Level 2. Inter-regional travel is possible but only where you are confident the appropriate measures will be in place at the host venue, including requirements for gatherings.

Commons questions at Alert Level 2

Can schools run activities and events at Alert Level 2?
Yes. Under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Order, schools are exempted from physical distancing requirements when people are there to receive, provide, or support education services. For most day to day activities at schools, the rules for gatherings will therefore not apply.

Other health measures must however be in place including appropriate physical distancing (at Alert Level 2 for students – not touching each other and giving some breathing space; for adults 1 metre from other adults when practicable), hand washing, staying away if sick, contact tracing systems and regularly cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces.

However as soon as your event or activity brings people onsite who are not there for education purposes, including students, parents and caregivers, then the rules for gatherings do apply. This would include performances such as school plays, cultural events and sporting activities.

Can schools still go to camp in an alert level 2 region?
Yes. Field trips and school camps can potentially go ahead but will need careful planning.

Along with the usual risk management approach they will need to consider:

symptoms of COVID-19 (which may be similar to other illnesses in the early stages).
the importance of protecting those vulnerable to respiratory illness – do you know who on your staff, in your volunteers and in your student population may be at greater risk?
if someone were to become ill with a serious illness, are you able to respond to that, including the ability to isolate that person while you seek advice from a medical professional?
do you have appropriate personal protective equipment and the ability to clean hard surfaces if someone were to become ill with flu, gastro bug, COVID-19 etc?
work closely with the venue to ensure that any requirements for COVID are understood and can be met. This could include numbers for gatherings.

Can the school hold parent-teacher interviews?
Yes. However as soon as the event or activity brings people onsite who are not there for education purposes, including students, parents and caregivers, then the rules for gatherings do apply. This would include parent-teacher interviews. For Alert Level 2 they are:

Event facilities can have up to 100 people within any defined space. They also need to assess how many people can safely be inside the premises and still maintain 1 metre physical distancing. This could mean the facility needs to have fewer than 100 people in a defined space.
People attending must keep 1 metre physical distance from people they don’t know, where possible — if they can't, they should consider wearing a face covering.

As always - if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school.
Regards
Andrew Basher - Principal

15 February 2021 - Update for Parents
Dear Parents/Caregivers,
For the next 72 hours the country outside of Auckland is at the Alert Level 2. This is being reviewed daily.

What does this mean for our school?
All schools can continue as normal. However it is important to emphasis the good health practices that will remain in place at every alert level.
The barbeque scheduled for this Wednesday evening to welcome our new students and their parents has been postponed. We will let you know when the new date has been decided.
Important reminders

If your child is unwell, please keep them at home and contact the school as per normal.
Please encourage:

- Regular handwashing
- Coughing into elbows
- Use of the sanitiser that is available around the school.

Please contact the school if you have any questions or concerns.
Regards
Andrew Basher - Principal
24 August 2020 - Update for Parents
Kia ora koutou

Following the announcement from the Prime Minister we will remain at Alert Level 2.

Just a reminder that while everyone is onsite at Alert Level 2, we must adhere to key health measures including:

Good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette
Staying away if sick
Keeping the appropriate physical distance from others

We know all these things will help to keep our students and community as safe as possible. Because of these measures, your child does not need to wear a face covering while at school. We will of course support them should they choose to do so.

For those of you who might be finding things more difficult than usual, a reminder that there is a large range of support available for businesses and the community. We encourage you to go to the covid19.govt.nz for more information, or get in touch and we will help you to find the information and support you need.

Ngā mihi
Andrew Basher - Principal
16 August 2020 - Parent Information
Kia ora koutou

The announcement on Friday evening (14 August) by the Prime Minister has clarified the situation for our school for the next 12 days. We will, like most of New Zealand remain at alert level 2. What does this mean for our students?
Firstly and most importantly, school remains open and students are expected to attend, unless they are unwell.

Secondly, we need to continue to emphasise the importance of:

Good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette
Staying away if sick
Keeping the appropriate physical distance from others where possible

We know all these things will help to keep our school community as safe as possible. Because of these measures being in place, your child does not need to wear a face covering while at school.
We will continue to keep you informed if and when the situation changes.

Thank you for your continued support for all we are doing to keep our students and school community safe.

Ngā mihi
Andrew Basher - Principal

Our Plan for Level 2 at Buller High School 12 August 2020

We move to Level 2 at midday today, until midnight on Friday 14 August 2020.
Today, we have had a school assembly with all staff and students to advise them of our plans as we move to Level 2. We have communicated the following plan with our students:

It is safe for students to be at school.
If a student or a member of the household are self-isolating, waiting for a COVID19 test result, or ill, they must stay home.

Hygiene

Washing and drying hands is our most important defence.
Hand sanitiser will be at the entry to classrooms and shared spaces like the Gym and Hall.
Soap, water and paper towels are in all bathrooms.
Students are encouraged to bring drink bottles from home.
Students should not share their drink bottle, phone, or other personal items.

Social Distancing at School
Students should be far enough away from each other so that they are not breathing on, or touching each other. Management of some classes might operate differently, for example, in Physical Education or Drama.

Contact Tracing
Keep a record of who you are in contact with and where you have been.
Lunch passes for all students are suspended on Thursday and Friday. All students should bring their lunch on these two days. The canteen will be open.

Masks
Masks are not required to be worn at schools at Alert Levels 2 and 3.
However, families are encouraged to include masks in their home emergency kits. This is a precautionary measure issued by the Ministry of Health.

Buller High School will follow the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. As more information is received we will share it with our community.

   9 June 2020 - Parent Information
The school is moving to Level 1
Kia ora
I am sure you were as pleased as I was to hear the Prime Minister’s announcement about moving to Alert Level 1. For us, there will be no major changes to what we are doing. We have a good cleaning routine in place, people who are sick are staying at home and we continue to encourage good hygiene practices:

If people are sick, they should stay home
Wash and dry hands
sneeze and cough into elbow

Town students are now once again able to go home for lunch, school and community sport, cultural events and performances are now able to proceed again. We are also planning to resume field trips and other excursions as they fit into the curriculum. I am looking forward to having a full school assembly for the first time in 2 months next week.
In Term 3, we will be investigating through our Sports Coordinator, opportunities for events against other West Coast schools. The Motueka exchange, this year will be held in Murchison during week 9 of the term. Other events will be announced as they are organised.
Thank you for all your support during this time. We look forward to building these relationships with parents and caregivers further to support our students in the future.

Ngā mihi
Andrew Basher - Principal

5 June 2020 - Parent Information
2020 NCEA changes due to COVID19

Dear parents/caregivers,

I hope you and your family are well. NZQA has made some changes to NCEA for the 2020 year. These will assist them in achieving their goals for this year.
We know some of our students - and their families - are worried that they might not be able to attain NCEA or UE this year, because of the disruption caused by COVID-19.
To help address this and support students, the following changes are being made to NCEA and University Entrance (UE) requirements for this year:

Students working towards an NCEA can gain additional credits, based on the number of credits they achieve during the 2020 school year. These additional credits will be known as Learning Recognition credits. For every 5 credits a student achieves towards their NCEA either through internal or external assessment, they are entitled to an additional 1 credit. Students at NCEA Level 1 are eligible for up to a maximum of 10 additional credits while those at Levels 2 and 3 are eligible for up to a maximum of 8 additional credits.
Students will be awarded a certificate endorsement if they achieve 46 credits at Merit or Excellence level, rather than the usual 50. Students achieving 12 credits at Merit or Excellence level in a course – rather than 14 – will be awarded a course endorsement.
Current UE requirements have been reduced from 14 to 12 credits in three UE-approved subjects. Students still need to attain NCEA Level 3 and meet literacy and numeracy requirements to be awarded University Entrance.
External NCEA examinations and NZ Scholarship examinations will now take place from 16 November 2020 to 9 December 2020. This will provide extra time for teaching, learning and assessment in Term 4.
The submission date for subjects which require students to submit a portfolio (for example, Design and Visual Communications) has been extended to 12 November 2020, to give students more time to complete their portfolios.

These changes have been designed to encourage students to continue working towards their NCEA and to ensure that the NCEA attained by our students this school year is just as valid as those earned in previous years.

If you have any queries about the changes, please contact your child’s house teacher, Dean or Mr Forsyth.

Ngā mihi,
Andrew Basher - Principal

20 May 2020 - Parent Information
Students to stay on site during breaks
Good morning,
Now that we have reopened the school gates, we have reflected on the processes that we are using to ensure that we can track and trace our students/your children throughout the school day. To support this process we have decided, along with many other school's to require students to remain on the school grounds all day from Monday 25 May until further notice.
What does this mean?

Students will not be able to leave the school to go home for lunch, this includes our senior students. This is because we can't track their movement over this time and the contacts that they may have.
Students will need to bring food to school or use the school canteen. For those students needing food, the Breakfast Club team are making food packages each day as well (The Breakfast Club is not operating for breakfast at this time).
Students with appointments can still attend these. These students sign out and back in at our office.

We will review this new requirement following Ministry of Education/Health advice.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Kia kaha
Andrew Basher - Principal

  12 May 2020 - Parent Letter

Dear parents/caregivers,

   BHS welcomes all students back on Monday 18 May

Yesterday, the Prime Minister provided a timeline for the full opening of schools. From Thursday 14 May the country will move to Level 2. This means that all staff and students will be able to return to school next week.
On Monday 18 May, we would encourage students to arrive at school from 8.15am onwards. They will be directed to their house class where a safety presentation will be given. The timetable for this day will be normal as we begin teaching and learning on site again. The Ritchies bus service will resume for all students.
At level 2 to support the health and safety of students and staff the following strategies to minimise risk are:

Anyone who is unwell must stay home
Anyone who presents as unwell during the day will be sent home
Physical distancing will be encouraged where possible: give people 'breathing' space
There will be no school assemblies for the time being
Students must bring their own drink bottles and food
Students must come to school prepared for learning, including bringing their own digital device (not phone) if possible
Students are not to share personal equipment (eg. phones, bottles)
Staff and students will follow the school's health and safety plan
More stringent measures will be in place for EOTC event

Uniform: Students will arrive in school uniform as per usual
Throughout this epidemic, the constant message and most effective intervention has been good hygiene practice: handwashing/sanitising, sneeze and cough into the elbow. All these practices minimise any virus being transferred from hands that touch other surfaces.
We have a clear message: all students should be at school, where it is safe to be, learning with their teachers and peers. Students not at school will be followed up using our usual process. Please contact the school if your child is unwell as per normal.
For many, it will feel like 'starting again'. This has not been a holiday for either students or staff as we have all experienced disruption, discomfort and uncertainty. We will provide any and all support needed to respond to the needs of our students, both in terms of their wellbeing and their academic progress.
The connections we have made and strengthened with the many families over this time will continue to be an invaluable tool as we restart the education journey for our students, your children. I want to thank you all for the work and encouragement you have provided for your children over this time.
As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Kia kaha
Andrew Basher - Principal
andrew.basher@buller.ac.nz

3 May 2020 - Parent Letter (MOE)

Kia ora koutou

I wanted to give you a quick update on how we are doing under Alert Level 3.

Our distance learning is working well, albeit with some teething problems as could be expected. While it will certainly have challenges for you at home balancing work and care for your children, we are getting a lot of positive feedback too. It is exciting to see the innovation that has been happening and some great feedback coming through of what our students, families and whānau have been up to at home.

I want to thank our teachers for developing and providing hard copy work for over 60 students, who are still without ministry laptops or hard materials. Unfortunately, due to the national demand, they have been unable to deliver on the promised for all at this stage. Also, a big thank you to the staff that delivered these packs to you.

We were excited to be able to reopen our premises for staff and students onsite on Wednesday last week and look forward to welcoming more of your children in person very soon. We also just wanted to provide some reassurance that our school is a safe place for your child to be and safe for our staff too.

We have closely followed the public health measures that have been put in place for Alert Level 3. These were set by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to minimise spread in the unlikely event that someone in our community is confirmed with COVID-19.

This means our small school bubble is in place, our staff and students are staying 1 metre apart inside and 2 metres outside, our cleaning programme fully aligns with Health guidance, only essential visitors are coming into school and we have systems in place similar to supermarkets and dairies, to prevent those people from congregating. Of course, we ALL need to lead in ensuring that others remember the physical distancing requirements put in place for their safety. Health and Safety are everyone’s responsibility, support and education are the best measures to maintain a safe environment for all.

We have hand sanitiser in classrooms and lots of reminders (signage, markings, messages) to students and staff to undertake good hygiene practices such as good cough and sneeze etiquette and washing hands frequently.

Just to remind you also that COVID-19 is not an illness that impacts heavily on children and young people. An article by Dr Gary Payinda in the NZ Herald highlights this:

The young are less likely to get infected, less likely to get seriously ill, and less likely to spread the infection to others.
When kids are affected, the illness is almost always mild. Luckily, unlike flu or many other infectious diseases, children with Covid are not super-spreaders.
Covid's not measles or chickenpox; it doesn't hang in the air for hours waiting to infect passers-by. It travels on invisible drops of spit. You don't have to cross the street to avoid anyone. Just avoid getting in their 'moist breath' zone.
Make hand hygiene a habit - more than being scared of runners passing by, touching groceries, or standing in queues at the supermarket, we should be afraid of our own hands.

You will also be interested to know there have been no confirmed instances of a person with COVID-19 who never developed symptoms spreading the virus. For more information on how COVID-19 is spread go to the Ministry of Health website.

Staying home if sick, physical distancing, good hand hygiene, not touching your face, good cough/sneeze etiquette and regular cleaning of high-touch surfaces minimises any potential spread of the virus, if we were to have a case in our community. Our school’s health and safety system is all set up to ensure this happens.

Please get in touch if you have any questions, including about our health and safety management for children, staff and visitors coming onsite.

We will continue to keep you informed as risk levels change and what this will mean for your children and their education.

Ngā mihi
Andrew Basher
Principal

27 April 2020 - Parents/caregivers Information

Dear parents/caregivers,
Tomorrow sees New Zealand move back to Risk Level 3. This means that for some businesses and all schools their sites reopen for work. Buller High School will be open for year 9 and 10 students from Wednesday 29th April. It is important to note however that the message remains "if you can work from home, you are to continue to do so" and not send your children to school.
For those needing to send their children to school I want to assure you that all of the health and safety precautions will be undertaken as advised from the Minstry of Health. This is important for both students and staff. Following on from the safety plan sent on Friday, just a couple fo reminders:

All chidren are to arrive in uniform
All children are to be dropped off at the main entrance, bus students will be collected on arrival by a Senior Leadership Team member
All children where possible are to bring a device to work on. They will be continuing with an online programme at this time
All chidren must bring their own food and drink
No children will be permitted to leave the school during the day
All chidren are to be collected from the main entrance at 3pm each day

Any changes to these precautions will be provided to you. This is a fluid situation and we will continue to communicate with you to ensure that you are well informed.
Take care
Kia kaha

24 April 2020 - Parents Letter

Dear parents and caregivers,

Kia ora koutou

We hope that Term 2 and our distance learning programme has been a success for you so far. We know there will have been a number of challenges for you to deal with, but we have been getting some great feedback about the learning that is happening and thank you for all your support.
On Monday the Government decided that we will move into Alert Level 3 on 28 April. That means we will be open to receive year 9 and 10 students from 29 April. We have started to prepare our site for their return.

Any year 9 or 10 students returning on the 29th will need to attend each day in uniform as usual. If possible, they should bring their own device and will be continuing with their online programme. There will be no formal teaching, just supervision over this time. Students will need to bring their own food and drink and the canteen will be closed and water fountains turned off. All students must remain on site for the whole day within their designated bubble. Our staff are required to maintain the same standards of hygiene and physical distancing as the students.

The key message for you is that if you can, you should keep your child at home. You should only physically send your child to school if you need to. If your child has a health condition that means they are at a greater risk of a severe illness, you must keep them at home. If your child is sick, please also ensure you keep them at home.
In order to ensure the safety of those children and our staff who do come to school, we will be operating with strict enforcement of health and safety measures.

Please read our attached BHS Safety Plan (bottom of the page) which advises you of the expectations for all students that will be attending from 29 April.

I want to assure you that we will continue to support your child’s learning at home.

The Ministry of Education has advised that they are working closely with the Ministry of Health to develop clear guidance that will support schools to safely re-open their premises to students and staff. This will help us work through the public health requirements that we all need to meet. As you will be doing, we want to be sure that what we do will keep our community as safe as possible.
We will remain in touch with more information as it arrives. As you have been doing, please keep connecting with your teachers with any questions you might have.

Take care

Andrew Basher
Principal

14 April 2020
Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff and Students

Next Wednesday 15 April will signal the start of Term 2 2020. For our students (and you as parents) this term will start like no other in our history. Students and teachers will be asked to remain home at this time and the delivery will be via distance and online methods.

For students, providing some regularity in their school day is important, so perhaps utilising the normal school times could be a way of retaining some of this normality. School begins at 8.45am and finishes each day at 3.10pm. By scheduling the learning within these times (of course with regular breaks to support wellbeing), the transition back to onsite learning will be easier for students.

For juniors, studies have indicated that a minimum of two hours per day is a reasonable expectation and for senior students three hours of dedicated schoolwork time. It is a great time to work with your children to develop a study plan until the school site reopens.

For our senior students, NCEA no doubt is the focus and I am sure there is some nervousness about how this can continue. Teachers can still provide the learning, resources and assessment opportunities over this time. I would encourage students to regularly check the online platforms that they are using (Education Perfect, Google Classroom, Teams, Classnote, emails etc).Teachers will be in regular contact with their students via email, phone or zoom and you too can contact them at their school email address if you have any concerns or questions, (email: firstname.lastname@buller.ac.nz).

The Ministry of Education has provided some guidance too for parents during this time. It can be viewed at: https://learningfromhome.govt.nz/getting-ready/advice-for-parents-and-whanau and a website with additional resources to support parents and students at home.

We as a school are dedicated to working with you to support the learning and wellbeing of your children. If you have any suggestions that we could use to better support you please feel free to contact me (Andrew.basher@buller.ac.nz) anytime.

Kia kaha

Message to parents 13 April 2020

The key focus is the health and wellbeing of all those in your bubble. The country remains in lockdown and that means we cannot enter the school site. You and your family are safe at home; by limiting our interactions with others we are breaking the chain of infection. Thank you for playing your part.

Term 2
School begins again for students on Wednesday 15 April. Teachers have been preparing work for students over the break. Some students already have that work and others will receive work and instructions from their teachers by Wednesday.
Teachers will make contact with all students and parents prior to the start of the term explaining the work that has been set. For NCEA students, this may be a stressful time with assessment work and the requirements of NCEA. Teachers will work with these students to ensure that the programme continues in some form to support their learning and achievement. Please remember that students can also initiate the contact with their teachers via email (firstname.lastname@buller.ac.nz) or using a platform that is used by that class.

Below are some guidelines that you could reinforce with your children working from home. I have referred to these in an email that I also sent to students.

Expectations for students
Routines

Create and stick to a routine each day. Learning will be done differently during this time. Good work habits are essential
Check emails daily
Check the platforms that your teacher has placed work in
Make a plan for your learning so that you don’t get overwhelmed
Find a space without distractions that you can work in
Turn off your phone when you are in work mode

Wellbeing

Commit to 30-40 minute chunks
Take regular breaks, fresh air, food, exercise
Include variety in your day
Have some device-free time
Check on friends. They too may be struggling or have questions. You can share information and downtime

Assessment

We understand that this is important and will continue to provide information to you. Your teachers will give some instruction around this
Focus on the things you can do for now
For NCEA, planning is already in place to support a range of different assessment options

Getting help from teachers
Your teachers will be using a range of technologies to contact you. They will be available during a school day to support you with your learning. However, do not expect them to reply immediately.
We would expect a reply to any query within 24 hours. Remember there is only one of them per class. For general concerns you can also contact your House Teacher to support you.
We have been told to expect that the school site will reopen from Wednesday 29 April for some students initially. This of course depends on the Government lifting the current lockdown, which in itself is dependent on the COVID situation at the time. We will keep in contact regarding this.

A few things to remember
Distance learning is NOT home schooling so do not try to copy school at home. Most parents are not teachers; they are happy to support and help you, but will have their own work to continue with. I am sure they will be happy once school opens again!
You are learning in a different way. Take time to reflect on what is working and not working for you in this environment. What are the keys to keeping you engaged in learning?
If your children are not having as much contact with their teachers as they would like, not completing as much work as they had hoped to and/or struggling to use the platforms that the work is posted on ….. we understand. This is new for all of us and together we will grow from it.

Most of all, take care of yourself and others.

Kia kaha

Andrew Basher
Principal

Buller High School Pandemic Plan

2020_pandemic_plan.doc
File Size:	285 kb
File Type:	doc

Download File

Buller High School - Safety Plan 28 April 2020

BHS_Safety_Plan_Level3
File Size:	29 kb
File Type:	docx

Download File

Latest Ministry Information regarding distance learning

The ministry of Education outlined what support will be available for students, parents, whanau and teachers when Term 2 begins on Wednesday 15 April. Please see the link below.

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/covid19-government-moving-quickly-roll-out-learning-home

For information regarding COVID19 please refer to the government website:

https://covid19.govt.nz/

Hints to support parents and students at home

home_study_hints.docx
File Size:	25 kb
File Type:	docx

Download File