Kia ora, Talofa Lava, Greetings, Malo e Lelei, Kia Orana, Bonjour, Nǐ hǎo, Hallo, Hola, Kon'nichiwa, Namaste, As-salāmu ʿalaykum
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Kia ora Muritai Whānau,
This week we have had our first Covid-19 cases at Muritai School. Firstly, I’d like to say a big thanks to our entire Muritai whānau for keeping their children away from school when unwell, and for getting unwell children and household members tested…that's how we can slow the spread, by identifying cases and isolating. Secondly, I’d also like to say that our thoughts are with the families who have advised us that their children are unwell with Covid-19, and we hope that the road ahead is a smooth one for you all.
Thank you to our wider community for the lovely messages of support and well wishes sent, they’ve been so appreciated by us all.
Our Covid-19 cases will continue to slowly grow each day. These gradual growth trends are to be expected, and we know that numbers will eventually climb. This can be concerning for us all so I’d like to go over two things that may go some way to alleviate some of your concerns:
1. The measures in place at Muritai School. We have really tight systems at school…right from the moment children enter the grounds. They sanitise their hands, they head to their class which is supervised each day from 8:30am. Classes don’t mix beyond their classroom members indoors, all staff are vaccinated, staff and year 4-8 students are all mask wearing and our classrooms have wonderful ventilation. All classrooms at Muritai School have CO2 monitors and this is important…the higher the CO2 the higher the chance of transmission. And speaking of transmission…evidence from both New Zealand and Australia shows that transmission inside schools can be lower than outside of schools. School is as safe as any other place, and that face-to-face teaching can’t be beaten. Thanks to the generous donation from Kurt Renner and Bronwyn Barringon half of our classrooms now also have air purifiers. Our Home and School team have agreed to match this donation, and soon every class in our school will have air purifiers in them! Thanks again to Kurt, Bronwyn and of course our Home and School team for this additional layer of defence against Covid-19.
2. The virus affects people in different ways, but in general it is mild in children. We certainly do not intend to downplay Covid-19, but the vast majority of children affected show little or mild symptoms. This video from Starship Hospital explains it well, and gives some great suggestions for parents to help care for children who do contract the virus. https://youtu.be/2lmxecRzH-s
Some of you may have wondered ‘Why doesn’t the newsletter say which class/syndicate the cases are in?’ Under Phase 3, schools are not required to contact trace, as close contacts are deemed to be only those in the household setting as the person/s with Covid-19.
We will not single out class numbers or identify syndicates as there is a real risk of not being able to maintain privacy of those who are currently living with Covid-19, and have privately shared this with us. Another key reason not to focus on which classes may have active Covid-19 cases is that this may play a part in creating a false sense of security, unintentionally prompting parents and all of us to let our guard down. e.g. ``We can relax, it’s not in my/my child’s class''. Case numbers throughout the country will continue to rise, so unfortunately it is likely that every class within every school will have some connection to a case or cases in the coming weeks. Some students may even come to school asymptomatic or unaware that they have Covid-19; fortunately recent studies have revealed the actual spread within schools is low (around 4%) due to good hygiene measures and high compliance. The bulk of the spread (approx. 96%), is occurring outside of schools, where rule compliance may waver or drop off. Furthermore I am mindful that we will not necessarily be notified of every single case of Covid-19 in our school community/environment, which further rules out the effectiveness of room identification.
The key to Phase 3 is for us to be calm yet vigilant. Covid-19 is in our school environment, so we are asking all parents to be on the lookout for Covid-19 symptoms, regardless of which class or syndicate your child is in. Keep sending your year 4-8 children to school with a mask (and perhaps a spare), keep your child home if they are sick and get them tested if you are worried that they might have Covid-19. Take the health precautions you deem necessary. We will also of course send home any staff members who are unwell, or are showing covid-19 symptoms.
Over the past few days I have been grateful for the questions I’ve received from parents and staff, and we have used these to begin a Frequently Asked Questions part of our school website. This will continue to grow and evolve, so if there is anything you’d like to know, please feel free to connect with me. Your question might be useful for others too! Also remember to check out our FAQ COVID-19 Website link, which will have our most up to date Covid-19 information. https://www.muritai.school.nz/covid-19
A reminder of the symptoms to look out for - I’ve been surprised when chatting to families this week who have let me know of Covid-19 in their household, as to what symptoms they are seeing in their family members. The key response I’ve had is that everyone can show slightly different symptoms, even within a household! Some children have had a high temperature, some a sore tummy, or vomiting, some a runny nose, some a cough, and some a headache, some with no appetite, and some pale and tired - not one has been exactly the same and not one has had all of these symptoms. This makes all of our jobs of spotting unwell children so much more difficult, and we are relying on you as parents to keep a careful eye on your children. Please let us know if your child tests positive for Covid-19.
We are here to support you in any way we can, please don't hesitate to connect with us if you need some support.
Best wishes for a lovely weekend to all.
Ngā mihi
Bec Power
Principal
FROM THE SCHOOL
Home & School
The Home and School Committee met recently and we are very pleased to inform you all that Gen Packer is now the new Chair of Home and School which is very exciting. Gen has a background in design and has lots of great ideas for the coming year. If you are interested in joining the Home and School, please contact the school and we will share your contact information with Gen.
One of the fundraisers that H&S are still working on this year is the Entertainment Books. H&S are looking for someone to take on the role of liaison for the Entertainment membership. The contact person will liaise with the Entertainment company and pass on promotions from them to the school community via the school newsletter and the facebook page. It is a very small role requiring very little time but contribute to the H&S fundraising effort each year. Please contact Virginia Saunderson if you are interested in helping the H&S with this. You can contact her on totsandandrew@gmail.com or 021 854 128.
COMMUNITY NOTICES - Please Note the following notices have been requested to be published and are not necessarily endorsed by us as a school. In the spirit of community we include these digitally for you to peruse.
Come and join your local family club for a season of soccer!! Register your children to play for Eastbourne Football Club
The EFC Club Committee is excited to announce that registrations for the fast-approaching 2022 soccer season are open!
Junior Season Dates are: 7 May – 10 Sept 2022
For more information about how to sign up, please email Morag (Houston) at info@efc.org.nz or T. 021 150 7997.
For more EFC Club information, see: http://efc.org.nz/; or www.facebook.com/eastbournefootballclub.
For Junior enquiries, contact Jeremy Field or Morag Houston.
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