Kia ora Parents and Caregivers,

The news this afternoon that the nation-wide lockdown is being extended, will probably come as no surprise. It’s now a waiting game until Monday to find out if the lockdown will be extended further.

I communicated to staff yesterday, encouraging them and reminding them of the successful structures we have in place for remotely teaching and supporting our students. I know it takes a few days to find the rhythm of lockdown – especially when it occurs with very little warning.

I hope your daughter is feeling a bit more settled now that we have reached the end of the first week, and is able to take some time away from her studies this weekend. As with in-class teaching, students learn in different ways, and have different motivations. If your daughter is struggling with any aspect of online learning or lockdown, we are very keen to work with her to ensure she keeps on top of her studies without feeling too over-whelmed.

We know how hard it is to keep motivated and focused working at home, and families are dealing with myriad complicated scenarios that are out of the ordinary. I encourage you to touch base with your daughter’s teachers, deans or our counsellors if you have concerns about her learning, or feel she is not coping with any aspect of her workload or being isolated from friends.

If your daughter has any IT difficulty connecting and participating in remote learning please contact her Dean so that we can see if we can assist.

Today’s announcement confirmed that our Big Sing trip to Christchurch is unlikely to go ahead next week, and Winter Tournament Week the following week is also unlikely. I know this will bring much disappointment and will take some time to process after all the hard work that has gone into preparation.

There are a number of other school events and activities that may also be affected. We will try to reschedule where we can, however this won’t always be possible, as we head into senior exams and a very busy Term 4 with end-of-year events. Students should hear directly from their teachers if they have an event or activity disrupted.

I hope you enjoy the weekend and find some fun activities to do as a family. I will continue to send emails as we have updates or new developments.

Kindest regards

Jane Stanley
Principal