Newsletters 01/12/2021

December 2021 Newsletter

In today’s newsletter we have the following:

● News from the Principal and DP’s
● Covid Framework
● 2021 Arrangement & Final Days
● 2022 Arrangements
● Merry Christmas
● Trip & Activity Payments

NEWS from the PRINCIPAL and DPs

Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Tēnā koutou i ngā whānau o te kura.

As this is the last newsletter for the year, the staff and SLT would like to express our thanks and appreciation for your support in what have been challenging times for us all. Looking back as the year unfolded, who would have thought that on 17 August we would be preparing for two terms of online learning but here we are coming out the other end with our heads held high and still smiling.

Staffing
I am pleased to say we are fully staffed for 2022 and have appointed some exceptional teachers to join our dynamic team. An updated staff list will be distributed in the new year. To the staff who will move on this year we wish you well and thank you for your contributions to ANI.

Thank you’s A big thanks to all parents and community members who have assisted us this year. Your support and dedication toward our school programmes is very much appreciated. The SLT would like to also take a moment to acknowledge the staff at ANI as they have worked incredibly hard this year under trying circumstances at times. They have juggled their own families, their classes, their students and their careers. Kia kaha – your energy and continued focus on what is best for our tamariki is enriching and energising.

To the Board of Trustees, a huge thanks for your support and encouragement. In particular, to our chair Brett Bishop, thank you for the motivation you bring and your time and guidance.

To the PTA, especially our chair, Julie Rope– what an awesome job you’ve done raising funds during very trying circumstances. You never lost sight of the reason we are all here and that to get the very best for our young people, your work is very much appreciated.

COVID-19

On Friday 3 December the new COVID-19 Protection Framework (CPF) will be introduced and take effect from that date. A traffic light system (red, orange, green) will operate across the country and Tāmaki Makaurau will move into Red this Friday 3rd December.
We have been advised by the Ministry of Education that schools in Auckland will retain the current public health measures and other requirements that are in place at Alert Level 3, Step 2 for the remainder of the school year.

In summary- nothing changes to our current organisation: Monday both year groups are online learning from home, Tuesday/Wednesday are year 7 days and Thursday/Friday are year 8 days. All Auckland schools stay within the existing COVID-19 settings and the CPF will come into effect for us on 1 January 2022.

As mentioned in our comms on Monday via SchoolApps, here is the brief explanation on how schools will align with the CPF.

2021 Arrangements and Final Days

This year school finishes at 12 noon on Tuesday 14th December. Here are school organisation details leading up to this date.

1. Graduation
This will take place via a pre-recorded ZOOM presentation by our Year 8 teachers and the Senior Leadership Team. The recording links to both Rimu and Matai teams will be sent home via a school app notice within the next week.

2. Prize giving
This will take place via ZOOM at 10am on Friday 10 December 2021. All award recipients will be notified via email within the next week. Here is the ZOOM link: to Join ZOOM Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81050891874

3. Mufti day
We have a day planned for our Year 8 students who are on site as a small gesture to acknowledge the end of their primary schooling and to celebrate their graduation. This mufti day will take place on Friday 10 December and will apply to the Year 8 students who are working on site on this day. Thanks to Maia Shahab, one of our Year 8 students for this awesome suggestion.

4. Arrangements for the last day for Year 7
The final day of ONSITE learning for our Year 7 students will be Wednesday 8 December and the last day for ONLINE learning is Friday 10 December 2021.

5. Arrangements for the last day for Year 8
The final day of learning for our Year 8 students will be ONSITE on Friday 10 December 2021 (staggered finish times from 2.30pm).

6. What’s happening on Monday 13th December

Year 7 Students may come to school in the morning anytime between 9am and 12 noon to collect reports, certificates and work left in their classes. Upon arrival they are to go straight to the classroom where the teacher will be waiting to let them in observing social distancing. All students who do not wish to collect their reports and certificates will have them posted.

Year 8 Students may come to school in the afternoon anytime between 12pm and 3pm to collect reports, certificates and work left in their classes.Upon arrival they are to go straight to the classroom where the teacher will be waiting to let them in observing social distancing. All students who do not wish to collect their reports and certificates will have them posted.

7. What’s happening on Tuesday 14th December
This day has been set aside as a moving day for our teachers who need to move classes to cater for the new building project which is taking place. As you can see we have a number of precast concrete slabs arriving this week with more due on the 14th. We ask pupils NOT to COME to school on that day as have been advised to limit numbers on site due to health and safety. Thank you for keeping your young person home on the 14th.

2022 Arrangements - 1 February

We are very excited to welcome our Year 8’s back next year in addition to the new Year 7’s joining us and beginning their intermediate career. The plans below are COVID traffic light dependent. Should plans change, parents will be notified immediately via SchoolApps.

The plan for Year 7’s:

At 9am on Tuesday 1 February all Year 7’s to meet in the University Barn
Students will be asked to sit down with their bag and all the other Year 7 students
Jill Farquharson (Principal) will begin with an opening address and then each Year 7 teacher will stand up and read their class list.
Students will be asked to stand and move with their teacher to their classrooms.
Parents will then be asked to vacate the site and meet their students at the end of the day

The plan for Year 8’s:

Please note these arrangements are different from previous years
All Year 8 students will be notified of their teacher and room number at 8am on 28 January 2022.
They will also be sent a google form that same day to book a time for a one-on-one interview with the teacher.
Parents are all asked to please check their emails at 8am on 28 January 2022.
On 1 February 2022, Year 8 students will come to school with their parents/whanau at the allocated time for a one-on-one interview and will then return home.
All year 8 students will officially start back at school at 9am on Wednesday 2 February 2022.

Top tips for the new year

We know that as we come closer to the end of the school holidays many of our young people stress about starting a new school or moving into a new class. A top UK child psychologist Dr Linda Papadopolous suggests that confidence when facing new situations comes from doing the things you thought were difficult. You don’t always have to be afraid of stress, it can actually be helpful.

Three quick reference points to help you start the 2022 school year:

1. Explain to them that there’s stress that is productive. This type of stress should make them look at their work and say: “I’m worried about this. Right, what am I going to do? I’m going to speak to my teacher, I’m going to study more.” This is the stress that works for us, not against us.

2. Some teenagers have retreated over the past few months and are unwilling to socialise. Encourage them to reconnect with friends outside school as well as in the classroom. Putting ourselves in an uncomfortable situation actually decreases the discomfort because we’re facing the reality rather than the fear.

3. Your child may have been vaccinated, some of their friends won’t. To ensure this doesn’t become a bone of contention, emphasise to your child that there are some things that are so entrenched they don’t necessarily benefit from a deep conversation. You want your child and their friends to feel connected in spite of differing views.

And finally,

A very Merry Christmas to you all, have a safe and happy holiday and see you in 2022 if you are returning as one of our Year 8 students. If you are moving on to high school and not returning to ANI please remember you are always welcome back anytime. Drop by to say hello and update us on how you have been doing. We look forward to those visits.

Kia ngatahi ai te tu
E pakari ai te tuara
Together we are Strong

From the Senior Leadership Team: Jill, Shane and Bryce

Trip and activity payments

At the start of the year you may remember paying in advance for school trips and activities. At the end of each school year we provide you with a balance of how this money was spent throughout the year. It includes visiting speakers, trips, the year book, ANI Olympics, Exhibition for Year 8’s, and small events each team may have organised. The amount you paid at the start of the year was $85.
Because we were locked down in terms 3 & 4, the number of trips and events undertaken in 2021 were limited and not all funds were spent.

We are offering a number of options:
You could donate this amount to the school 😊
You could have the funds are rolled onto your school account for 2022 😀
We can offer a refund. 😞

The team balances are as follows:
Kauri-$30
Totara-$0 (nil balance is due to the final trip to Weta workshop in Term 3)
Rimu- $20
Matai- $20

Please email jfeng@ani.school.nz if you would like number 3, a refund. As you can imagine this is an enormous job for the school and we will process these options as soon as we can in the new year.