Kia ora Koutou e te whānau

October Holiday Break – begins Thursday 30 September 

Holidays begin this Thursday 30 September at 3.00 pm as we have a Teacher Only Day on Friday 1 October. Students will be at home on Friday 1 October and are not due back for two weeks. School resumes for Term 4 on Monday 18 October at 8.50 am.

Covid-19 Alert Level 2

We appreciate all of the support and understanding from everyone since our Alert Level 2 return to school. Our students and staff have expressed pleasure at being back on-site and we have had a relatively smooth transition. Attendance back at school has been high and this has been really pleasing to note.

Vaccinations Update

As previously shared, The RAS Board of Trustees will not vaccinate students onsite without parental permission. There are other sites available for whānau who wish to have their children vaccinated if they are aged 12 years and over. There is a lot of information online for whānau who wish to take this option. Poihakena Marae and the Raglan Medical Centre are also able to help with this. We have encouraged our students to be kind and respectful in their friendship groups as there are definitely opposing points of view being openly shared.  A lot of on the spot learning is being done by us all.

NCEA Support for Years 11-13 Students

We will do our best to work alongside our students to minimise anxiety levels for our students. Senior secondary school students will be eligible for support even if they haven’t spent the full 20 days away from the classroom, the Ministry of Education and New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has confirmed earlier this month. “I can confirm those students will be eligible to earn Learning Recognition Credits at a rate of 1 LRC per 5 credits achieved through assessment, up to a cap of 8 LRCs at NCEA Level 1, and 6 LRCs and Levels 2 and 3,” says NZQA Chief Executive, Grant Klinikum

“Although students in Auckland continue to do the hard mahi in lockdown, those who returned to Alert Level 2 this week have also been significantly impacted by the loss of 16 days of classroom learning time.” The lower cap reflects the shorter amount of time spent away from school.” “As well as LRCs and the flexibility schools have in delivering NCEA, students will also benefit from the two-week delay to end of year examinations and most portfolio submission dates. This provides students with additional time for learning and assessment, which will help them earn their full entitlement of LRCs,” Grant Klinikum says.

Property Update

We have three property projects currently underway that are planned to be completed for the start of the 2022 school year.

  1. The classroom building block at the front roadside entrance is currently being completely gutted and refurbished. When complete, the building will provide an up to date teaching and learning space for our Kura Teina students. We appreciate the care that students and their whānau are taking to keep outside the external barrier fencing that has been erected to keep everyone safe.
  2. We have constructed a new outside shed/classroom space at the southern end of our school adjacent to the Peninsula where an old shed used to be. This space will be used as an outdoor education teaching and learning space. We are very excited to have this space available to support further the implementation of our Outdoor Education programmes in Kura Tuakana.
  3. We have begun to seek contractors to undertake the third project that will enable our Kura Tuakana outdoor court area to be covered. This will enable the space to be used by many – even when it is wet,

Term 4 Camps

At this stage, we intend to continue with our camps for years 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 scheduled for the month of November. Whānau with children in these year groups are asked to complete and return their camp permission paperwork as soon as possible. We will keep you fully informed of the progress being made.

Term 4 Dates

Term 4 is planned to be as busy as ever and we are all hoping for a speedy return to  Alert Level 1 on Monday 18 October. Regardless, we will keep you informed at the beginning of next term about the key dates that may be of interest to you.

Your ideas and opinions are always welcome.

Ngā mihi nui – Whaea Louisa

Louisa Barham (Tumuaki / Principal)