Te Totara Primary School - Growing and Learning Together




PINK SHIRT DAY (MUFTI DAY) - FRIDAY 20TH MAY, 2022

Celebrated annually around the globe, Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 when two students took a stand against bullying, after another student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt.  In Aotearoa, Pink Shirt Day aims to create schools, workplaces and communities where all people feel safe, valued and respected.


Our school will be supporting Pink Shirt Day on Friday next week.  Students are welcome to come to school wearing mufti clothing (not school uniform) wearing something pink e.g. t-shirt, ribbon or something similar to support Pink Shirt Day.  

Please note: There will be NO collection of money for this day.

More information about “Pink Shirt Day” can be found at www.pinkshirtday.org.nz  Pink Shirt Day is led by the Mental Health Foundation.



TT TV


Latest Episode Term 2 Week 2

Featuring Milky Way 19 and Ra 30.  Enjoy!






Orange Setting Guidelines at Te Totara Primary for the start of Term 2 2022:


  • Face masks at Orange setting are still recommended to be worn by our staff and 

Years 3-6 students when inside school buildings as per MOE guidelines. This cannot be mandated but will be promoted on health and safety grounds.  Wearing a mask is a key health measure that slows the spread of COVID-19 in indoor settings. 

  • Masks will still be available in all classes and at reception on request.

  • As discussed last term, we are aware for a number of reasons that some of our students and families will not be able to wear masks. Our staff respond in a compassionate and supportive way to those who are unable to wear a mask. We ask that in terms of the welfare of our staff around adults without masks, that the one metre physical distance guideline is maintained.

  • Our school gates will be open from 8.15am-8.55am and 2.55-3:15pm each day for our students to arrive and leave school. (Students who need to arrive earlier or stay later need to be enrolled in our Before or After School Care programme.)

  • We will be welcoming our families back into the school grounds at the drop-off and pick-up times, however we will be asking you to please wear face masks to protect our learners and staff at this time, with winter viruses and Covid still circulating. Due to our large school student and parent population we need to be very cautious around this.

  • If any family members are unwell with any winter colds or virus, then we ask that you drop off your child at the school gate, until you are well again.

  • Families are welcome to come into your child’s classroom, but we ask that this is for a short visit rather than lingering and chatting inside for a long period of time, as this increases the risks to our staff and more vulnerable students.

  •  Please be aware that all school gates will be locked between 9:05am until 2:50pm to ensure that no one comes onto the school site without going through the school office. This is important in terms of keeping the staff and students safe.

  • We will return to one morning tea break and one lunch break for our staff and students.

  • The use of hand sanitizers as a good hygiene practice will continue.

  • Staff and our cleaners will continue wiping down high touch surfaces such as desks and work surfaces at the end of each day.  High quality sanitation practices will remain.

  • Unwell children need to remain at home until they are fully recovered or in the case of exposure to Covid please continue to follow the Covid isolation guidelines.  

  • It is important that you still let us know through normal absence procedures when any household members or your children have returned a positive COVID test for this reason.

  • We will continue to keep all the other health measures in place at school that we know slow the spread of COVID-19. These include ensuring our indoor spaces are well-ventilated, maintaining good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette, appropriate physical distancing whenever we can and, most importantly, staying home if we are sick.

  • Some community events which will include whanau will be able to occur e. g. Art Exhibition on Thursday 12th May 2022 from 3.15pm-6.30pm and the Te Totara X Challenge in Week 8.

  • Other events will slowly return. School assemblies will begin after Queen's Birthday weekend when we see how everything is going and what protocols we need to put into place.





COVID ISOLATION REQUIREMENTS


From 11:59pm Friday 11 March isolation requirements for positive cases of COVID-19 and their household contacts will be reduced from 10 to 7 days. 


Household Contacts will need to have a rapid antigen test at Day 3 and Day 7 of their isolation period. If they become symptomatic they should also get a test, and if the result is positive, they are required to isolate for seven days from that point.

If a person is isolating and still has symptoms after 7 days, they are advised to stay home until 24 hours after symptoms resolve.

All cases and household contacts who are currently isolating can end their period of isolation after Day 7. Those currently in isolation will not have to complete their Days 8, 9 and 10 of isolation. 

        



Virtual Tour of Te Totara



ERO Report

In November 2017, ERO visited our school. This is the Government agency that reviews all schools to examine the quality of education provided.

Click the link to view the details of the report.

 

ERO REPORT