Kia ora whānau

Each day the situation in our city and our country is changing during these unsettling times of this global pandemic.
Many of our families have associations with Logan Park High School hence the situation is even closer to home than it was 48 - 72 hours ago. If it should be that close contacts are established within our mutual school environments, then we will update you promptly and take direction from the Ministry of Health.

In addition, a few families who have recently returned from overseas are in isolation, and many of you are choosing isolation for now.

These are definitely challenging times and gauging the level of risk is truly an extraordinarily difficult task. We have changed the way some things work 'here at school' as practical steps which hopefully are not alarming your children - e.g. no close partner activities during learning time; staggered recess breaks so that there are fewer children in areas at any given time, the management of particular activities is different, hand washing is directed more specifically and supervised in some classes; tables and handrails are cleaned more frequently. The potency of cleaning products used by our cleaning contractor increased several weeks ago.

Adding on from earlier messages, again here are some key points to help you through the immediate days ahead and beyond:

3 key messages (as you support children):

Reduce your children's exposure to media and information about the virus/pandemic. For the most part, you need to be the source of information for your children. Offer reassurance with brief factual information - use the Ministry of Health guide sheets rather than a general google search.

Model resilience - What can we do?  We can make sure that we wash our hands after we have used the toilet, before we have food and when we return home after being out. Make this the routine way your family functions...... and be a little pragmatic if you notice excessive hand-washing occurring, then gently reassure that more hand-washing isn't necessary. If necessary, take an angle that might divert the excessiveness e.g. Using the liquid soap sensibly for now. I am sure you can think of some practical ideas.
Give the children a challenge to make up a bit of a jingle, a rap, a poem to sing or 'play in their head' if you don't want to risk reducing the recommended 'Happy Birthday'  option to overplay mode!......... and of course, keep up good coughing and sneezing etiquette.

Reassure - Provide the reassurance that 'most people are going to be okay'.... and help focus your children (and yourselves) towards something positive - to something you all enjoy doing. 
When necessary you can also briefly add that family members and teachers are here to keep "you as safe as possible".

A link to Nathan Wallis' Facebook page where he offers you these key messages in his usual, very accessible 'Nathan' way   https://www.facebook.com/nathanwallisxfactoreducation/


A couple of additional messages for you......

If you are finding this situation overwhelming and would like some reassurance, a listening ear or some support, please give a call or talk to me, Tania Henderson, Carolyn Bayne (as team leaders), or a trusted friend. Helen Zonneveld, our Office Manager is another good person to talk with.
principal@opoho.school.nz
thenderson@opoho.school.nz
cbayne@opoho.school.nz
office@opoho.school.nz

Share your worry with an adult out of earshot of your children (and remember their 'radar' is exceptional when we don't think they are listening, or until we are asking them to do something tedious like tidy their room or help with the dishes :-) :-)

Keep as much as possible to your usual routines and family structure. 

And lastly from the Principal's Soapbox...... even if you want to stay informed via media sources, I strongly encourage you to resist what might be your usual routines of watching scheduled news bulletins at family times. 
Record news items to watch at another time when children are not around, and only access news feeds when children are elsewhere or asleep.