APPA COVID-19 January 2021 Update

Kia ora koutou

When we sent out the newsletter last week we hinted at checking your pandemic planning, alert status procedures and remote learning provision. With the new cases this advice is timely.

The APPA Executive met with Katrina Casey, Isabel Evans and Deidre Alderson from the Ministry of Education to talk about the current situation. We invited Sue Cattell, the current president of the North Shore Principals’ Association, to the meeting due to the location of the 2 cases in the community.

It was clear that there is a great deal of resource put into contact tracing and genomic sequencing. We can feel reassured that there is a significant and decisive response to the current cases in the community. The next 48 to 72 hours will bring more information that will help determine any next steps.

We will have a range of responses from our communities, we will have the highly anxious through to the apathetic and every combination in between. As always we will be the voice of reassurance to our communities. 

The APPA Executive has come up with the following considerations in response to the current situation

• Make reading the Bulletins from the Ministry a priority
• Utilise the form letters to communities from the MoE
• Check on hand sanitiser supplies - remember it can expire, so check your current stock
• Ensure all your QR codes are at all entrance points
• Remind your students and community about hygiene, revisit hand washing and have these measures visible (tissues, posters etc)
• Revisit remote learning provision and make any adjustments from what you learned of 2020
• Remind communities about using the Covid App and turning the bluetooth tracking on

We are acutely aware of the flood of information that comes across our desks in times like this. So, like last year, we will only communicate about Covid-19 if there is something we can add. Know that we have great lines of communication with the MoE and are working in the background on many things, COVID-19 response is just one of them.

Have a great start to the year and if you require any help please contact us

Ngā mihi

Your APPA Executive

Stephen Lethbridge, Steve King, Dr Wendy Kofoed, Kevin Bush, Heath McNeil