Schools CLOSED

24/3/2020

Morena and good morning everybody

First things first, I would like to extend aroha to all of you as you make sense of what the coming weeks hold. The bold decision made by the government will put a stop to COVID-19. It is the shock to the system that things will have to change for the short term that is being felt the most. I feel certain that we will come back stronger than ever once we get through this, and it will certainly alter our perceptions on things. Good luck to all. Make it work, make it fun, change is good.

Below are some updates on how things will be looking for your children and their learning over the coming weeks.

• School holidays are being brought forward so that they are completed within the 4 week period. Holidays will now begin next Monday the 30th March to Tuesday 14 April. So there will be no instruction provided during those times as it is term break. Don't forget to keep the little ones reading from time to time over the break (online link below).

This is where it gets a bit complicated so please take note

• At the end of the school holidays, schools will be open for distance learning but not physically open for staff to work at the schools. So your child will be learning from home until further notice.
• Term 2 starts on Tuesday 15th of April.

So what do we do for the rest of this week?

• Mum and or dad do not stress about the learning side of things yet. Your energy and time is better spent on organising yourselves and getting some loose idea on how you will do things during lockdown.
• If you are super organised and you wish to keep your kids engaged in learning then please follow this link Home Learning Support to get year level appropriate learning support.
• Standby for an initial communication from your childs classroom teacher regarding how distance learning will look in Term 2 (starting the 15th of April). The junior syndicate will be utilising the seesaw platform and the senior syndicate will be using the Google Classroom platform to provide online learning.
• Organise a laptop or PC to be made available for online learning as soon as practicable and certainly before the start of Term 2 (15th of April). If you have any issues with sourcing a PC or laptop we may be able to loan a device, if you fall into this category can you please email admin@patumahoe.school.nz as soon as possible.

This update will be one of many I would imagine, so please standby for more over the coming weeks. The website will be regulalry updated too.

Once again I thank you all for your support during this challenging and unknown time, your kind words and emails are appreciated . I know the teachers and staff will feel the same, but I will miss seeing the children's faces, but we will get through this (only a few weeks) and when we do get back to school it will be the coolest day ever, I can promise you that. Remember: Make it work, make it fun, change is good.

Kotahitanga

Jade Tawhiti

Additional home support: https://www.learningfromhome. govt.nz/