Newsletter 26th May 2022

Newsletter Date:  26 May 2022

Issue: 7/22

KIA ORA TEAM BAYVIEW

The weather is certainly changeable at the moment. Thank you to the many parents who are ensuring their children are wearing the correct school uniform including their polar fleece on some of these colder mornings. As I have explained earlier we have a duty of care for your children and for our staff to ensure that classrooms are ventilated sufficiently to stop the spread of Covid-19 and other respiratory diseases such as influenza. During these colder months this means that classrooms may be a bit cooler than normal (but not cold!). You are welcome to send your child to school wearing a beanie, scarf and gloves during these cooler times to ensure they stay warm. Windows will be open up to 5cm to ensure the correct ventilation.

We have also had a slight increase in covid numbers this term with us recording 14 positive learner cases and 3 staff cases two weeks ago and then 20 positive learner cases and 3 further staff cases last week. Up until Wednesday this week we only had 4 cases in children that we know about and no new staff infections. These are the cases we know about and I would like to thank those families that let us know their child had tested positive. This has been important in identifying classes that had high numbers so we could communicate this with affected families.

Bayview School continues to strongly encourage the use of masks for all staff and learners in year 4 and up. Correct mask wearing has been proven to reduce the chances of catching covid. If our numbers increase exponentially our Board of Trustees may consider reintroducing the mask mandate for the safety of everyone.

Please continue to wear a mask when you enter the school grounds. We thank you for supporting us with this. Please also keep communicating with us if your child is away due to being ill with covid or isolating due to a family member being positive. You can do this by leaving a message on our phone or through the website portal.

ROAD SAFETY

Each morning both Shelley and myself are at the gates welcoming the children as they arrive at school. During this time we have noticed an increasing number of adults crossing their children over the road above or below the pedestrian crossing. This teaches the children that they do not have to use any crossing when they want to cross a road. This in turn increases their chances of being hit by a vehicle! What we as adults role model for our children, will be what they continue to do.

Can I please ask that you cross your children at the pedestrian crossing so they learn that this is the correct way to cross a road. Please be a good role model for all the children and use the crossing yourself so they can see that you value safety over convenience. 

At the crossing, if the patrols are on duty:

1. Please wait behind the sign.
2. The patrols people will say “signs out, check, clear, cross now”
3. Please only cross once they have said “Cross now” as this means it is safe to do so.

We recognise this takes a bit more time but a few minutes of your time is better than an injured child.

Please also do not park on the broken yellow lines as this obscures the patrols crossing and is unsafe for our learners.

COVERED OUTDOOR LEARNING AREA

Great news, this work is underway! Novoshades are onsite laying the foundations for the COLA. Once this is completed, the foundations will require around 4 weeks to cure properly in which time there will be no work happening on site. Once the foundations are ready the actual COLA will be constructed. We should be able to start using the COLA from the beginning of term 3!

Please be aware that there may be trucks and heavy machinery moving past the hall and in the carpark area during this time. Trucks and equipment will not move while our children are coming to and from school nor during break times.

PINK SHIRT DAY

A huge congratulations to Genevieve Anderson for organising our 2022 Pink Shirt Day! The weather didn’t co-operate particularly well for the chalk messages activity but it was still a huge success with most of our staff, learners and others joining in! Thank you for supporting such a worthy cause.

PARENTS OF YEAR 6 LEARNERS                         

If your child is in Year 6 this year it is now time to start considering which intermediate school they will be attending in 2023. All our surrounding intermediates now have a zone in place. Most of our Bayview learners are in zone for Glenfield Intermediate. We recognise this is a big decision as does Mark Whitford, Principal of Glenfield Intermediate (GIS). Mr Whitford would like to give parents as much information as they need to help them make this decision. On Thursday 9th June, Mr Whitford will be at Bayview School in our staffroom to meet with any parents who would like to know more about what GIS offers and to give parents the chance to ask any questions they may have. We request that you please wear a mask when you are inside our staffroom.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

In September this year we are holding our triennial Board of Trustees elections. This week Shannon has sent home a contact sheet so we can ensure we have your correct details on file. Please take the time to fill this in. We have a Board meeting on Thursday 2nd June at 6pm, if you are interested in attending as a guest feel free to send me an email [email protected] so I can send you the Zoom link.

NEW LEARNERS JOINING BAYVIEW SCHOOL

A huge welcome to the following learners who have started at Bayview School!

Keira Chen, Abby legason, Alexa Legason, Sarayah Wilson-Moke

We look forward to developing our connections with you over this year and to give every child at Bayview the best learning opportunities. We are stronger when we work together. 

Di and Team Bayview Staff