Dear Parents and Caregivers

The Prime Minister advised last night that Auckland would move to Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country to Alert Level 2 from 6.00am this morning. This will apply for 7 days and is to be reviewed regularly by the government. Our thoughts are again with everyone in the Auckland region as their lives continue to be highly disrupted by Covid-19 cases in the community. 

As we did two weeks ago, we have initiated our Alert Level 2 protocols at the College to keep students and staff safe while they are at school. I wish to advise that Sunday Chapel is cancelled tonight, due to the challenges of contact tracing members of the congregation who would be outside our regular student and staff community. We will not be changing our daily finishing times from our regular weekly timetable, as we recognise that this can be disruptive for caregivers and students.

We wish to remind you it is the government’s expectation that all children attend school at Alert Level 2. It is safe for children and staff to attend school and for school hostels to be operating, as there are appropriate health measures in place, including for the children and staff who may be immune compromised. The only exceptions to this are students who are sick and have any COVID-19 symptoms, are in isolation, are awaiting the result of a test, or those who have compromised health and are choosing to stay home. 

If students or their close contacts have visited Auckland over the past week, please check the Ministry of Health’s “locations of interest” section on their web site using the following link:

COVID-19: Contact tracing locations of interest | Ministry of Health NZ

Please follow all instructions on the web site to ensure you are keeping your family and other members of the community safe.

Schools are not classified as large gatherings and a range of events and activities can go ahead. For most day-to-day activities at schools, the rules for gatherings do not apply. Under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Order, schools are exempted from physical distancing requirements when people are there to receive, provide, or support education services. Face coverings are not required at school or on any school transport.

I will be sending a message later today to all caregivers of students involved in the Rathkeale College exchange, explaining the protocols that will be in place to allow the exchange to continue.

I want to assure you that we have strong public health control measures in place at Lindisfarne College, including students and staff staying home if they are sick, the ability to contact trace, and increased hygiene requirements such as:

-          Physical distancing (where practicable)

-          Hand hygiene

-          Cough and sneeze etiquette

-          Regularly cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces.

For more information about the public health measures at Alert Level 2, you can visit the covid19.govt.nz website: www.covid19.govt.nz

We also have a COVID-19 updates page on our College website where any new information directly concerning the College can be found. Any urgent updates will be sent via the school app.  

Thank you for your continued support of the College and your son/s as we work together to navigate movements between Alert Levels.

Warm regards

Stuart Hakeney

Rector

Article added: Sunday 28 February 2021