Welcome to Homai School

1 April 2020

Kia Ora Homai Whanau

If anyone is struggling during this uncertain time and require Kai, I have listed the following places that can support you and your families during this time.

Auckland City Mission Foodbank – If you need a food parcel call ACM 09 303 9266and speak to the Crisis Care team. You will then be given a time to collect from ACM distribution centre at 15 Auburn Street, off Boston road in Grafton. Everyone must take ID with them.

Salvation army food parcels – Contact the Mt Wellington Salvation Army Community Ministry 09 379 7615 – or their local Salvation Army Community Ministry (ring 0800 53 00 00 to find your local ministry). You will be given a time to collect your food parcel.

Presbyterian Support Northern – Call 09 309 2054 to arrange a pick up at 8 Madeira Lane, Grafton. Strictly no walk-ins and collections are strictly between 11-12am Mon-Fri.

St Vincent De Paul in Newton Branch – Call 09 815 6122 or email – Auckland@stvinnies.co.nz and they can deliver a food parcel.

Nga Whare Waatea Marae – Open Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm. Head to the Marae at 31 Calthorp Close, Mangere with ID. Wait in car and staff will get to each person one at a time, asking relevant questions as needed.

Papakura Marae Foodbank – Open Mon-Fri 10am-2.30pm, 09 297 2036. Please phone to request a food parcel, someone will ring you back to do a phone interview, then food will be delivered. Only deliveries to Papakura and Manurewa areas currently.

Orakei Foodbank – Call 521 5712 and leave message on voicemail with details of how many in family etc. Parcels are only delivered on Tuesdays and Fridays to Orakei, Kohi and Mission Bay.

St Marks Church in Pakuranga are still open but only focusing on those in Pakuranga . You can contact them directly via their contact page on their website or emailing stmarks@xtra.co.nz

Hills Church on Hillsborough Road can be emailed at office@hillschurch.nz Please provide details on your needs and they will do their best to provide a food parcel. Hills Church has also offered to go shopping for those that cannot leave home due to self-isolation if needed.

Please stay strong stay safe and most importantly stay stay healthy.

Much Aroha

Rosina Wikaira

Homai School

Principal

30 March 2020

Dear Parents / Caregivers / Whānau of Homai School

I pray that this message finds you all well and safe in your bubbles. To those of you who are essential workers our love and prayers go out to you at this time of uncertainty.

I want to keep our families up to date with how we are progressing as a nation in terms of education but I am sure you are also keeping abreast with what is happening.

Today is the official start of our school holidays which will last for 2 weeks. On Wednesday 15th April all schools will be starting with distance learning. More information will be given before we start this new journey together.

What is important is for all our families to hoard us with your emails / numbers / addresses etc so we know how to contact you. A survey had been uploaded to our website and facebook page for those who did not complete the survey before school closed. Please it is important that you do this.

Lastly continue to look after yourselves and your whānau, stay safe stay well and stay connected

Much Aroha
Rosina Wikaira
Homai School
Principal

27 March 2020

Home Online Learning Survey/Poll

Please help us to figure out the best way to help your child’s home learning. If you didn’t get a chance to fill out the form that was sent home with your child please fill out this electronic version. We appreciate your responses and your time very much. Hope everyone is keeping safe.

Please click on the link here

26 March 2020

Here is an important announcement for you to pass on to all of your Pacific networks.

Please tune in today at 4:30pm on TV One for COVID-19 updates in various Pacific Languages.

Love an prayers for your family.

A Message from the Ministry of Education

Today we have launched Learning from home and Ki te Ao Mārama, two new websites to support teachers, learners, parents and whānau so that learning for children and young people can continue.

The websites include resources for parents and whānau, teachers and leaders. Resources span the learning pathway from early learning through to senior secondary, and more resources will be added as they’re developed.

The information and resources are available at https://www.learningfromhome.govt.nz/ and https://www.kauwhatareo.govt.nz/ki-te-ao-marama/

23 March 2020 5:15pm

Dear Parents / Caregivers / Whanau

This message is the latest, as of 5.15pm today, I have been instructed to inform all our parents that TODAY was the last day of school for all our learners.

All home learning packs will be dropped off tomorrow to your homes. Please IGNORE all other messages as they have now become obsolete.

Once again this message is to inform you that school will be CLOSED as of midnight TONIGHT for all students and only staff will be at school tomorrow to finalise programmes, then school will be fully closed until further notice.

Please stay up to date and informed as information has changed rapidly

Thank you for your support and understanding

Rosina Wikaira

Principal Homai School

President Manurewa Principals Association

23 March 2020 2:15pm

Kia Ora whānau

The Prime Minister has just addressed the country and has moved the alert level to 3 today and level 4 from Wednesday.

This means that school will close early for the holidays. Tomorrow will be our last day.

All students will be given a home learning pack either today or tomorrow which contains 4 weeks of home learning.

If your child is absent from school their teacher will be in touch so that packs can be dropped off.

We will keep in touch via Facebook and our Website when the need arises.

Please stay safe and stay home.

Rosina Wikaira

Principal

23 March 2020

Dear Whanau

We want to update you as to our planning for closure if the need arises due to possible Covid 19.

A number of our staff fit into the alert level 2 reduced contact bracket and have been asked to stay home and continue to support school curriculum from home.

What this means is that home learning packs and online learning will be provided to your child should your child’s class need to close temporarily due to lack of teaching staff.

School is still open for learning however things may look different throughout the week. We are ensuring that both your child’s health and the health of our staff are being well catered for.

Please keep an eye on our facebook page and website. We will continue to post regular updates there.

Thank you for your understanding of this evolving situation. We can’t predict how long this will last but we will be in regular contact.

Rosina Wikaira

Principal

Kia ora again parents and whānau,

It is really important to keep your child/children home if they have ANY flu-like symptoms. Thank you all for your support in these trying times.

Stay safe whānau.🙂

Dear parents and whānau,

Please read through this updated information to keep you informed and know that we at Homai School are doing everything possible to keep your child / children and staff safe by adhering to these safety precautions.

It is important to notify us if your child is unwell and keep them at home. Leaders are preparing home learning packs and online learning platforms in preparation of schools being told to close.

However at this stage we are opened as per usual until such notice.

Keep checking our online communications and notices sent home as we keep you informed.

Finally know that we care for you all and know these are trying times, but as we work together to keep our tamariki safe we will overcome these obstacles.

Nga Mihi Nui

Rosina Wikaira

Principal – Homai Primary School

President – Manurewa Principals Association

COVID-19 update

21 March

With the announcement that New Zealand has moved to Alert Level 2 – Reduce Contact for COVID-19, people over 70 years of age and those with compromised immunity and certain existing medical conditions are asked to remain at home as much as they can from now on and avoid any non-essential travel.

Staff, children and young people in schools and early learning services are therefore asked to follow this advice.

Where possible, please encourage your staff at home to continue to support school curriculum or other school activities for example providing pastoral care by phone, marking, and lesson planning.

High risk individuals
While the majority of people who are confirmed with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate symptoms, some individuals are at risk of more severe symptoms.

Older people, particularly those with pre-existing health problems are more likely to get severe illness and are therefore considered at risk. High risk individuals also include people with underlying medical conditions, such as:

a compromised immune system
liver disease
cancer
kidney disease
heart disease
diabetes mellitus

Further information is available at:

https://covid19.govt.nz/help-and-advice/for-everyone/vulnerable-people/

https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-novel-coronavirus-health-advice-general-public/covid-19-novel-coronavirus-questions-and-answers

Supporting learning at home
Please implement your usual processes to support these children and young people to continue their learning at home.

Staffing provisions advice updated
Staff who are asked to remain at home under these conditions will continue to be paid for this time. This is an honesty based system – we trust that your staff will tell you the truth about their health. We also want to avoid overloading medical practices with requests for medical certificates.

We have updated our advice for schools in regard to staffing provisions as a result of this announcement – http://education.govt.nz/school/health-safety-and-wellbeing/student-and-staff-health/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov/information-for-staffing-provisions

School transport
We have a number of school bus drivers over 70 years of age and we are working with the bus companies to assess the impacts on school transport. We have asked the bus companies to contact affected schools tomorrow if they have been unable to find replacement drivers.

Ngā mihi

Homai School

March 18th 2020

Kia Ora Whānau

I am writing to update you with regard to the COVID-19 Coronavirus. As you will be aware the situation is changing rapidly.

Following the weekend’s announcement to require all people travelling to New Zealand to self-isolate, the Prime Minister has announced a ban of gatherings of more than 500 people in a bid to head off the worst of the coronavirus outbreak. The Government has said that it will make further announcements about mass gatherings, including smaller gatherings later this week. We will update you as we know more. She also confirmed that New Zealand’s schools will remain open for the time being.

As a result of this, the school has made the following decisions:

School Trips and Events

We will consider these on a case by case basis and in accordance with current Ministry of Education advice. All Sporting and Cultural Festivals have been cancelled this term.

Health & Safety Measures

School will continue as per usual with constant updates and changes from MoE ( Ministry of Education). We are practising ‘physical distancing’ so please forgive us for a lack of handshake, hongi, kiss or hug if you visit school. If your child is unwell please keep them home.

Self-Isolation

Current health guidelines are that people suspected of having Covid-19, or who have been in direct close contact, are required to self-isolate. Close contact is defined as anyone who has been in face to face contact with the person suspected of Covid-19 or has been within two metres of the person for longer than 15 minutes.

People returning to NZ from overseas are also required to self-isolate for 14 days. The only exception to this is people returning from the Pacific Islands. Learners returning from the Pacific Islands should return to school.

Some parents have contacted the school to advise that they have chosen to self-isolate their children (who are not ill and haven’t been in close contact with someone who has Covid-19) as an extra precaution. We are required to record this as an explained but unjustified absence.

We are currently gathering information on the community’s capacity to access online learning. Existing online resources such as Google Classroom, Google Drive, and school email will continue to be available 24/7.

Finally, if your child is showing signs of illness such as coughs and colds, please keep them at home as normal. Colds and flus are common in schools and by staying away, seeking medical attention and practising good hygiene, we can all keep any spread of illness to a minimum.

If you have any specific concerns about COVID-19, contact your GP or the 24-hour COVID-19 Healthline number – 0800 358 5453. You can also visit the COVID-19 page at https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

I appreciate your support

Rosina Wikaira

Principal

Homai School

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