Please accept our apologies,

These dates differ from the email sent to students December 2021. Email office@tangaroa.school.nz or phone (09) 274 5764 if you have any questions.

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!