Nau Mai Haere Mai

                                                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
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                                                                         27 April 2020 - Parents/caregivers Information                                                      
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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 ​

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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
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Buller High School - Safety Plan 28 April 2020

BHS_Safety_Plan_Level3
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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

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