Dear Whaanau,

There are many ways in which the last three weeks could be described and I know that you all will have your own adjectives that do just that. What I have noticed even more so this time around is the wide and varied manner in which people adapt, adopt and respond to the situation in front of them. It has definitely been challenging and I know I can comfortably speak on behalf of many in saying that we will be pleased to return to being fully operational as soon as possible, to ensure the well being of our children.

I want to take the time to acknowledge all our children. While it is easy to use some not so savoury global situations to provide them with some perspective during this pandemic, we must acknowledge that the world they know and are growing up in has been disrupted significantly. Providing perspective is really important to a context that makes sense to them, in addition so is listening, having empathy and understanding and acknowledging that they are not always able to make sense of the information being reported to them as you and I are. So my message to our children is well done with the way you have coped. Keep showing courage, care and ask questions when you need to make further sense of something, and of course, welcome back!

On that note, yesterday morning I was fortunate enough to capture a moment between two Year 4 girls that arrived at school at the same time and the delight in their faces when they saw each other. It really summed up the importance of having children return to school as soon as possible. Another reference point I have taken note of is how eager our children were to return to school (it wasn't just the parents). This is a credit to our entire team who give so much of themselves on a daily basis to provide a rich and rewarding learning programme for our tamariki. There was zero hesitation from them when asked to return a day early, this speaks volumes. 

I would also like to acknowledge yourselves as parents and caregivers. We understand the pressure it places on our whaanau trying to work from home, support children with their learning, stop the arguments amongst siblings (a daily occurrence in the Booth house, sometimes multiple), organise meals and possibly not feel like you are doing any of it well. The way our children have returned to school yesterday shows you are all doing and have done a great job, thank you!

We appreciate that the Alert Level 2 restrictions and guidelines can be a bit niggly. Thank you for sticking to them, it means we can stay in our lane and get on with supporting learning, not having to be Security Guards. 

Finally, you will see that many dates and events have been cancelled or postponed. One of the most significant ones being our Spring Fair. Our PTA will discuss this further down in the newsletter. Please do revisit the online calendar and note what is no longer there or has possibly been moved. 

We are all looking forward to finishing this term with our wheels in full motion.

Warm regards,

Geoff