Principal's News

COVID: I am pleased to see that our total number of active cases has been coming down this week. We currently have 54 students and staff isolating at home and I expect this number to continue to decline over the coming weeks. Please note that if you are a household contact of a positive case them you must follow the following steps:

Self-isolate from the day that the first person in your household receives their positive test result, until they complete their 7 days of self-isolation and are released.
When the first case in your house gets to days 3 and 7 of their isolation, you need to get tested using a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).
If symptoms develop at any stage, you need to get tested using a RAT.
Avoid or minimise contact with the person with COVID-19 as much as possible during your isolation period.
You can end your self-isolation on the same day as the first ‘case’ in the household, provided you have no new or worsening symptoms and your tests were negative.
Your isolation does not restart if additional members of your household are identified as cases during the first case’s isolation period.
After the initial isolation period ends there is a 10-day window during which no Household Contacts of the original case can be re-classified as Household Contacts. You only need to begin isolation again during these 10 days if you test positive yourself.
10 days after the original isolation period ends the usual rules apply. If a new household member (not the original case) tests positive, they and all other Household Contacts (who have not yet become cases themselves) must isolate for 7 days

From next week visitors to school will no longer be expected to scan in using the COVID QR scanner, and from the 5th April the vaccine mandate for the education sector will no longer apply. This is welcome news and means all staff, volunteers and coaches etc who work with our students will no longer be asked to provide evidence of their vaccination status.  Mask wearing when indoors is still required so please remind your children to continue wearing their masks when on the school buses, and when indoors at school.

DOE and Kapa Haka cancelled: Due to heightened volcanic unrest at Ruapehu the gold Duke of Edinburgh trip planned for this weekend has, for safety reasons, been cancelled. The planned kapa haka noho scheduled for this weekend has also been cancelled with COVID still so prevalent in our communities. 

Staff Only Day: On Wednesday staff had their first staff only day of the year, and this was a very productive day. Teachers worked on developing the school's Quality Practice Template, an important document that creates an aspirational interpretation of the Standards for the Teaching Profession, setting the bar high for what is expected of teachers at Otamatea High School in meeting these standards. Teachers also contributed to the development of the school's strategic plan, which sets the direction of the school for the next three years. Departments also spent time on developing curriculum units and resources. 

Fitness Centre: From the 5th April, fitness centre members will no longer be required to have a vaccine pass when signing up. Anyone wishing to join our well resourced fitness centre should contact Kay at kay.robinson@otamatea.school.nz for further information.

Relay for Life: Our year 13s and prefects have been working hard recently in getting their fundraising initiatives for Relay for Life off the ground. All funds raised go to the Cancer Society, so please support our students who may approach you for a donation towards this worthy cause. With the Relay for Life event in Whangarei having been cancelled this year, our students are planning our own fun-filled Relay for Life day here at school on Friday the 8th April. It has been great seeing our student leaders step up and take the initiative in coming up with this idea themselves.

OHS Food Bank: From its humble beginnings last year when we went into lockdown, the OHS Food Bank continues to grow and attract new sponsors. A huge thank you to the amazing Taira Phillips, our Kaiawhina, who manages the Food Bank, attracts new sponsors, and sources and packages the grocery items so as to provide much needed parcels for whānau and families who are finding it tough to make ends meet at the moment. Ka pai!

Ngā mihi
Dirk Smyth