Posted in Parent Notice - Relevant Information COVID19

Date: 20 March 2020

20/3/2020

Kia ora koutou

This message is to share with you some relevant information about COVID19, and how Onehunga High School is responding to the advice from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health.

1. When is sick, sick?
2. What would happen if we were to have a case of COVID19 in our school community?
3. How we would communicate with you during a school closure.
4. School Sport Trainings
5. School Bus Information - Auckland Transport will not be accepting cash on buses.

 

When is sick, sick?
The messaging remains clear – if you are feeling unwell please stay at home.  However at the tail end of a cold, there will be runny noses and probably some coughing. This might be worrying for some people who are being vigilant about their own and others’ health.
A diagram has been developed by Dr Siouxsie Wiles to assist us when considering symptoms. What it tells us is:

• A dry cough and a high temperature are common to both flu and COVID-19
• Sneezing is not a symptom of COVID-19, however if someone has COVID-19, then sneezing can spread droplets containing the virus

What would happen if we were to have a case of COVID19 in our school community?

With so much information and misinformation swirling around about COVID-19, I want to share with you what will happen if we were to have a case in our school community. We have been planning for this and are in a position to respond quickly. 

• If a case is confirmed in our immediate school community (eg. a student, staff member or member of their household), the Medical Officer of Health and Ministry of Education will inform me about this, and we will work together to get quick and clear messaging out to you 
• If there was a case confirmed of someone in our school, we will likely be asked to close temporarily by the Medical Officer of Health. This will allow time for close contacts to be traced, appropriate testing to be undertaken, and a careful clean of the school to be undertaken. 
• If our school does need to close temporarily, we have a plan in place to support students’ learning. 

 

How we would communicate with you during a school closure:

We have a number of ways that we would communicate with you in the event of a school closure.

• E-mail – We will be e-mailing notices and latest updates to parents.  Please check your Junk Mail as mail from our systems may be incorrectly identified as spam.  Moving emails from the school into your inbox, should ensure they are delivered correctly in the future.
• School App – We encourage people to download our new school app which will allow us to send notifications directly to your device, as well as allowing you to access the latest news and notices.

            

• School Website – www.my.ohs.school.nz
• TXT Message

 

We have had experience with consideration of closures in recent years, with both mumps and measles, and fortunately did not need to action these plans then. We sincerely hope not to do so with COVID-19 either, but want to reassure you that we are prepared, should this be needed.

 

School Sport Trainings:

We have made the call to stop all school sport trainings for the remainder of this term.   This is due to winter competitions being postponed and advice from a majority of codes, through their national bodies, that trials and trainings should not be occurring at this time. 

 

Auckland Transport – Will not be accepting cash on buses:

We have been advised that from Monday 23 March 2020, Auckland Transport will be suspending cash fares on all buses. They are doing this to minimise physical contact between customers, Auckland Transport staff and people who work on buses during Covid-19. Students will be expected to pay their fare using AT HOP cards only.  We have been assured that students who do not have a HOP card will not be refused transport on school buses, and they will be given information about how to get one.

 

We know COVID-19 feels scary and of course people are concerned for the wellbeing of our children. Please be assured that with no case confirmed in our school, your children are safe here.
 
Good hygiene is a priority, and we are reinforcing this regularly with students and staff. We know that practising good hygiene is still the best thing we can all do to prevent illness.
 
We are getting the most up to date advice and guidance so that we can confidently make informed decisions about the safety and wellbeing of our school community.   

Ngā manaakitanga

 

Deidre Shea

Principal