Kia Orana Year 9 and 10 students,

Please don’t forget the new junior online learning timetable begins next week. Contact your Deans if you have any questions.

Kind regards

21st September 2021

Dear Parents / Caregivers

The Government announced yesterday that Auckland will move to Covid-19 Alert Level Three as from 11.59 p.m tonight, the 21st of September.

As Otara is an area of Covid “interest” and Delta is so fast moving and contagious, the Tangaroa College Board of Trustees has made the decision, that for the well being of our students, the school will not open until Monday the 18th of October, the beginning of Term Four – if we are in Level 2. Their decision is supported by the Ministry of Education.

Online learning will continue for all students until Friday the 1st of October which is the end of Term 3 and the beginning of the 2 week school holidays. Please encourage your children to keep participating with online learning.

When we do return to school, I can reassure all parents that it will be safe, we will have clear processes in place, and these will be shared with everyone closer to the start of  term 4.

We will continue to keep in touch with families and will forward any further information as it comes to hand.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school for assistance or if you have queries and, as always, be safe,

DAVIDA SUASUA
PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents and Whanau of Tangaroa College

We are all waiting to hear from the Prime Minister on Tuesday afternoon to see if we change alert levels. This lockdown has not been easy and it comes at a crucial time for our seniors. With NCEA exams around the corner it adds extra stress to our children and teachers. As a school, we are working to help students achieve their NCEA under these trying circumstances.  

We are concerned about the well being of our Tangaroa College community and the added pressures this lockdown has had on us all. We want to work with our community to make sure that everyone is OK. It is important that parents and students stay in contact with the school, either with their Dean, Wa akoranga teacher, and or subject teachers. 

Last week, some devices were delivered to the school by the Ministry of Education and families contacted to collect them from school, however, we still have some devices that have not been picked up and so school will be making contact with these families again to get these devices delivered. 

We have noticed a considerable drop in student engagement in on-line classes over the past week and while we understand that this is sometimes difficult, it is important that students participate, if they can’t, they must inform their teachers. If Parents want to know that their children are engaging online and wish to talk to their teachers, please do so. All staff contact details are on our website and below are the Deans and the Deputy Principals’ emails, or alternatively you can still phone the school and they will forward your message on. 

Be safe and take care of yourselves.

Davida Suasua
PRINCIPAL

Contact emails: PHONE: 2745764  office@tangaroa.school.nz
WEBSITE: https://www.tangaroa.school.nz/.

Year 9 Dean: Marieke Brinkman               email: mariekeb@tangaroa.school.nz
Associate Principal: Christine Pili      email: christinep@tangaroa.school.nz

Year 10 Dean: Rob Downing              email: robd@tangaroa.school.nz
Deputy Principal: Bessie Tuialii   email: bessiet@tangaroa.school.nz

Year 11 Dean: Abigail So’e                          email: abigails@tangaroa.school.nz
Deputy Principal: Imeteta Faumuina             email: Imeletaf@tangaroa.school.nz    

Year 12 Dean: Chris Ashforth              email: chrisa@tangaroa.school.nz
Deputy Principal: Martin Wright      email: martinw@tangaroa.school.nz

Year 13 Dean: Renee Tawhi                          email: reneet@tangaroa.school.nz
Deputy Principal: Grant Langdon                  email: grantl@tangroa.school.nz

Kia ora koutou,

I think we had all anticipated a further extension of Alert Level 4, and the Prime Minister has confirmed this. The Alert Level will be reviewed on Friday afternoon, but for now Alert Level 4 will remain in place until 12:59pm Friday 27 August.

Despite this news, it is really pleasing to see Alert Level 4 is having its impact on the number of confirmed cases, with numbers not dramatically increasing as they would likely have done if we had been at a lower Alert Level.

And so our distance learning programme will continue.

Please note. it is only in very limited circumstances that students, parents or caregivers are allowed to come to the school grounds. So please do not come to school unless you have been individually contacted by us to do so. Otherwise, you will be in breach of the COVID-19 Health Response Order.

You may be wondering how, with so many contacts being identified of confirmed cases, we aren’t seeing bigger case numbers identified. Just like the Delta variant is different, so has been New Zealand’s response. Previously we might have moved to Alert Level 2 or 3 if there was a new COVID-19 case in the community (which happened most recently in Wellington). This time we moved immediately to Alert Level 4, after only one case had been identified.

Health authorities are also casting a MUCH wider net to determine who is a contact of a confirmed case. People who previously might have been considered a casual contact are now being treated as contacts. Where schools may have closed for three days while contact tracing was undertaken, they are now closing for 14 days with staff and students all self-isolating for that time. As a result, there are more than 13,000 close contacts being followed up by health authorities.

There is a lot we can all do to protect our whānau and community from COVID-19 including:

• Everyone must continue to stay home in their bubble
• Do not mix with other household bubbles – if they have COVID-19, it can easily spread to your household, and every other household they and you are connecting with
• As new cases are identified, new locations of interest are added to the Ministry of Health website – please keep checking this. You can search by your location and they are sorted by date, so you only need to check the locations which have been added when you last checked
• Wash your hands regularly, especially when you have been out in public
• Stay home if you are feeling unwell and seek advice about whether you need to get a test
• Wear a face covering when out and about, and you MUST wear a face covering in any businesses or services which are open at Alert Level 4 (unless you have specifically been exempted from doing so, which includes anyone aged under 12)
• Keep a two-metre distance from people outside your household bubble

Check in using the NZ COVID Tracer App wherever you go or keep a manual record (a reminder the App only stores information on your own phone – no one else will know who it is that checked in, or when)

You can go to the COVID19.govt.nz website if you would like more information on Alert Level 4 requirements.

We can also make sure we are passing on good information. There is a very helpful article by Dr Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris in The Spinoff regarding misinformation and disinformation.

Their red flags for how to spot bad information are particularly well-summarised. Bad information will:

• downplay COVID-19 and the pandemic
• focus on survival rate
• ignore long COVID
• emphasis individual freedom
• try to sell you something
• push simple cures/treatments
• make you feel fearful or angry.

“Good information put out to help you make an informed choice won’t make you feel scared or angry. It’ll make you feel empowered.”

Finally, we know some families in our community may be finding it difficult to access food and essential items such as medicine.  This information about how to access to food or essential items summarises the supports that are available, including financial help to buy food.

Please do take care and let us know how we can best support you and your whānau.

Kia kaha!

21 August 2021

Kia ora koutou whanau

Like me you probably looked at the emerging cases from this outbreak and thought that some further time at Alert Level 4 was the best thing for our community, particularly that there has been a confirmed case of students who attend McAuley High School and De la Salle. As we all know these families are a part of our community as well. If you know you have had contact please follow the guidelines. Isolate for 14 days get tested if you have any cold and flu symptoms. For further information please visit https://covid19.govt.nz/.

We extend our support and Aroha to these families. 

I wanted to reassure you that our school staff and board will continue to be available to support your child’s learning and wellbeing in the coming days.

We have distributed over 200 devices already plus learning packs. Some of the devices are new and need to be logged into the school Wi-Fi before they will access your home Wi -Fi. What this means is that students need to come to the school gates login to the school Wi-Fi and they are good to go. We have had many devices being returned yesterday because they have been broken or power cords lost, please parents, make sure your child looks after the device that they are given, it takes a device away from someone else, and they are on loan.

Students will continue to follow their normal timetable. Parents if you have any questions regarding your child’s learning, please do not hesitate to contact their year level deans

Year 9: Marieke Brinkman  email: mariekeb@tangaroa.school.nz
Year 10: Rob Downing        email: robd@tangaroa.school.nz
Year 11: Abigail So’e          email: abigails@tangaroa.school.nz
Year 12: Chris Ashford       email: chrisa@tangaroa.school.nz
Year 13: Renee Tawhi        email: reneet@tangaroa.school.nz

Or alternatively you can still call the school during the following hours of 9am – 2pm our office ladies will answer your calls. We will also be posting messages and information regularly on our school website: https://www.tangaroa.school.nz/.

If you have changed address and or contact details it is important you let us know.

We also hope you are doing OK at the moment – but it is also OK if you aren’t.

As the Mental Health Foundation of NZ says, “it’s all right to feel a range of emotions right now. Going into a Level 4 lockdown is a big deal and it brings all sorts of different feelings to the surface, including frustration, worry and even gratitude. However, what you are feeling, know that you’re not alone – we’re all going through this “together.”

If you need to talk, check in with a friend or whānau member, or free call/text 1737 to chat with a trained counsellor. It’s free and confidential. If you or anyone you know wants some advice or support over this time here are some further options that might be useful.

Support services that remain open:

•       Counselling Free Call or Text 1737
•       Healthline for COVID-19 health advice: 0800 358 5453
•       Youth line 0800 376 633 or free text 234
•       Samaritans 0800 726 666
•       Depression Helpline 0800 111 757
•       Suicide Prevention Helpline 0508 828 865

FOOD BANKS:

?Auckland Council Aucklanders unable to afford groceries or in self–isolation with no access to other support networks can call 0800 22 22 96 between 7am and 7pm, seven days a week. Callers must meet government criteria for assistance.
?Salvation Army Text your name and postcode to 4114 and a rep. will contact you within 48 hours.
?Presbyterian Support Northern – 09 309 2054 Collections between 11am – 12pm, Monday to Friday from 8 Madeira Lane, Grafton.  No walk-ins.
?Foodbank NZ: 022 045 8184         info@foodbank.co.nz  www.foodbank.org.nz
?Auckland City Mission: 09 303 9200 Monday – Friday, 9.00am – 3.00pm

You will also understand the importance of routine for your family. If your routine has been shaken up, it’s good to structure your time. Routines are reassuring and promote health and physical wellbeing. The Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ has been working to ensure useful information is available to Pacific peoples in nine different languages.

A big thank you to all of you for taking the lockdown so seriously – we’ve seen before that staying at home will break the chain of transmission and save lives. Breaking the rules could risk someone close to you and if the rules are not complied with, this could risk the lock down period being extended or could risk the virus being spread to thousands.

Please keep checking the locations of interest and get tested if you were at that location at the specified time, or if you have symptoms which could be COVID-19.  

As always, please let us know if there is anything you need to support you and your tamariki during this time. We will learn more on Monday from the Prime Minister and keep everyone up-dated then.

Take care and God Bless
Davida Suasua