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 

Kia Orana all,

If you have Wi-fi at home and need a Chromebook for study purposes (i.e. you have no device) we will have a limited number of devices available from 12.30pm today.

If you have a faulty school device, bring it up to swap as well. Just a reminder that because of NCEA requirements seniors have first priority here.

For collection, please queue outside the front carpark between 12.30pm – 2.00pm today. Stay inside your vehicle and wait for instructions to approach main gate.

If you are unable to collect and require delivery, please email your deans with your request and your current home address. We will do our best to assist.

Kind regards
Davida Suasua

Kia ora koutou

Being in Alert Level 4 is not new for any of us, this means that our school will not be open until the government announces we are able to do so.

With such short notice we weren’t able to hand out devices or hard packs to students in order to support distance learning. However, our distance on-line learning plan will therefore kick into action tomorrow 19th August 2021. This means that all students have access to their Google classroom, Education Perfect and will be able to contact  teachers online during their timetabled classes. Please note that we have given devices out this year to students who have requested them.

If your child does not have a device or you have any questions please email their deans

Year 9:mariekeb@tangaroa.school.nz
Year 10: robd@tangaroa.school.nz
Year 11:abigails@tangaroa.school.nz
Year 12:chrisa@tangaroa.school.nz
Year 13:reneet@tangaroa.school.nz

Finally, we are acutely aware that lockdowns can be a stressful time for some families and our focus as always will be to support the learning, safety and wellbeing of our rangatahi and tamariki and we continue to be here to support you as well.

Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s dean or me, if there is something you need assistance with.

I will continue to update you all as further information comes to hand.

Ngā mihi

Davida Suasua

Dear Parents and families,

You will most likely be aware of the recent government announcement that New Zealand will move from Alert Level 1 to Alert Level 4, starting at 11.59pm tonight, for a minimum of three days, likely to be for seven days for Auckland and Coromandel.

We’ve been at Level 4 before and here are some key points for our Tangaroa College community.

To enable members of our community to prepare for the transition from school to online, we will commence online learning from Thursday 19th August, students will be able to access their google classrooms. Please note for Wednesday your child will have time to organise their learning but most importantly look after their well being.

All students have access to their Google classroom and Education Perfect and teachers and deans will make contact with your child via email.

Finally, we are acutely aware that lockdowns can be a stressful time for some families. We will be sending out a Pastoral Care update tomorrow to emphasise key support links for your child and practical advice for families during Alert Level 4.

I will continue to update you all as further information comes to hand.

Please be safe and take care. If there are any families that need extra support and help during this time please email me.

Davida Suasua
Email: Davidaw@tangaroa.school.nz 

This will be an opportunity to talk to the Heads of Departments of all subjects, the Careers Department HOD – Alice Va’a & Careers Advisor: Amy Flower. In addition, the Transitioning team: HOD/ Year 13 Dean Renee Tawhi, Terry Nelson: Pathways Development Advisor & Daz SuaSua. The online course enrolment period will be open from the 3rd of August to the 8th of September (the first five weeks of Term 3). We would encourage students and parents to begin research and planning to help identify the subjects they wish to enroll in for 2022.

Teachers have been dressing up as characters to support our Book Day Event on the 31st of March. Last week they dressed as characters from Mario Puzo’s novel ‘The Godfather’ of which Yr 13 English students study the film version. On the 31st of March – our students will hear from people who are writers, poets, cartoonists/ illustrators.  The day will end with each WA class dressing up one of their classmates as a book character for our grand parade!  Reading is so vital for your child’s success in the world of education and Book Event is one of many activities we have planned for the year to inspire our students and whanau to read!

Auckland Schools’ Debating is an organization run by the Auckland University Debating Association.  The competition involves 54 schools and a total of 1500 students debating a wide range of topics from banning cellphones in schools to making New Zealand another state of Australia. Tangaroa has been in this competition since 2007 and we have been hosting the Southern Junior Open Zone since 2008.  We have also entered teams into the Southern Senior Open Zone and the Advanced Open (all zones) for the past 14 years.

A great article featuring our very own DP Imeleta Faumuina.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/the-year-that-literature-died-school-dropped-shakespeare-replaced-him-with-magazines-to-get-students-through-ncea/O7K3KGHS4J63FH3Q7JDZAAZPLM/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=nzh_fb&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1616782800

On Saturday we had 25 TC senior students gain some  volunteer work experience at the Otara Bike Burb. There was 100 bike riders changing the narrative of bike riding in Otara in a safe family oriented environment.