COVID-19 Updates
Tuesday 30 November 2021
COVID-19 Protection Framework
Monday 18 October
Ruawai College’s move to Alert Level 2
Friday 15 October
Ruawai College COVID-19 Update
Thursday 14 October
Ruawai College COVID-19 Update
Friday 8 October 2021
Change to COVID-19 Alert Levels – Northland
Monday 20 September 2021
Continuation of Alert Level 2
Monday 13 September 2021
Continuation of Alert Level 2
Tuesday 7 September 2021
Moving to Alert Level 2

Thursday 2 September 2021
Moving to Alert Level 3
- Keeping everyone physically distanced from others as much as possible (1 metre inside and 2 metres outside)
- We will also keep school bubbles to no more than 10 students. These bubbles will not mix with other bubbles
- Students in a class will receive exactly the same work as those working online
Wednesday 1 September 2021
Planning and Preparing for Alert Level 3
Monday 30 August 2021
Extension of COVID-19 Alert Level 4
Friday 27 August 2021
Extension of COVID-19 Alert Level 4
Monday 23 August 2021
Extension of COVID-19 Alert Level 4
Sunday 22 August 2021
Extension of COVID-19 Alert Level 4
- Physical distancing
- Hand hygiene
- Cough and sneeze etiquette
- Regularly cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces
Wednesday 18 August 2021
Ruawai College Message re: COVID-19 Alert Level 4
Tena Koutou Katoa,
You will be aware that a confirmed case of COVID-19 has been identified in the community in Auckland.
As a result, and because of the much greater risk associated with the possibility of the Delta variant, New Zealand moved to Alert Level 4 at 11:59pm last night. Auckland and the Coromandel can expect to be at Alert Level 4 for seven days. The Alert Level 4 setting for the rest of New Zealand will be reviewed in 72 hours.
Face coverings are to be worn when travelling and when outside the home.
While the resurgence of COVID-19 is the last news anyone wanted, it is unfortunately what was anticipated. This extremely short and sharp shift in Alert Level settings will support us to prevent widespread infection in the community.
Acting with extreme caution has served us well in New Zealand and we will do so again. We all know what we need to do to help keep our communities as safe as possible.
Please contact / check in with your teachers if you have any concerns / issues over the next three days around your classwork (in particular Senior students). It would be useful to use these days for revision in anticipation of the Derived Grade Examinations next week. Following the Prime Minister’s 1:00pm announcement today, we should hopefully have some more clarity around where to next.
For our Junior students, ‘reading’ forms part of the school’s Strategic Plan, so take this opportunity to read to your heart’s content. As Dr Seuss said….
Over these next three days, below are sites that you can also access for Distance Learning.
- Curriculum teaching and learning resources (with guidance for parents) can be found online here for English medium and here for Māori medium.
- Home Learning TV can be accessed on demand here or via the TVNZ App on a device (mobile phone, smart tv or tablet)
- Mauri Reo, Mauri Ora can be accessed on demand from Māori TV for primary-aged tamariki here and here for secondary school rangatahi.
Tuesday 17 August 2021
Alert Level 4
Sunday 7 March 2021
Alert Level 1
Kia ora koutou,
The Prime Minister has announced the drop in Alert Levels. Auckland will move to Alert Level 2 on Sunday 7 March 2021, 6:00am. The rest of New Zealand will move to Alert Level 1 at the same time. This will be the case for a week and the Prime Minister announced the Government would look to review before the start of the weekend.
10 things you need to know about Alert Level 1:
1) Schools are open
At Alert Level 1 the virus is contained in New Zealand but not overseas.
2) There are no restrictions on personal movement at Alert Level 1 – all children should be at school
The only people who will need to stay away are:
- those required to self-isolate
- individuals who health authorities have asked to stay away while waiting for a test result (most people will be able to go back to school/work while waiting for a result)
- students who are unwell
3) Testing remains a crucial component in preventing an outbreak
If a student is sick, they should stay home. If they have cold or flu symptoms they should call their doctor or Healthline on 0800 358 5453 for advice about getting tested. If recommended to get tested, they should do so.
4) Schools will close for cleaning and contact tracing if there is a confirmed case of someone who was infectious when at school
The Director of Education will work closely with us and health authorities should this occur.
5) Contact tracing through the display of QR Code posters and our visitor register, attendance register continues
If a new case does appear in our community, our contact tracing processes will support the speedy identification of close contacts of the confirmed case. Please check-in using the NZ COVID Tracer app / visitor register whenever you enter the school grounds.
6) There are no restrictions on numbers at gatherings
Physical activities including cultural and sporting activities, practices and events can go ahead.
7) Fundamental public health measures continue to apply
- Physical distancing – keep a safe distance from people you don’t know while out and about
- Hand hygiene
- Cough and sneeze etiquette
- Regularly cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces.
8) There are no restrictions on domestic travel
People should avoid using mass transport if sick, awaiting a result from a COVID-19 test or if required/recommended to self-isolate.
9) Face coverings continue not to be required when in school
This includes school transport and charter buses hired by the school to transport students and staff to and from school. Anyone who chooses to wear a face-covering in any setting will be supported to do so.
10) Our Ministry of Education regional office team is available to provide support
We are in regular contact with the Ministry of Education who continue to advise and update us around COVID-19.
Sunday 28 February 2021
The School Day at Alert Level 2
Effective from Sunday 28 February 2021, 6:00am – Auckland is at Alert Level 3 and the rest of New Zealand is at Alert Level 2. These Alert Levels will be in place for the next 7 days.
The school day at Alert Level 2:
- The school office is open. All visitors must scan in / sign the visitors register in reception on arrival and sign out when leaving. Visitors will observe the 1m distancing protocol and use hand sanitiser as they enter the reception foyer.
- Bus services will be running. Transport services will be taking extra measures to ensure student safety. Physical distancing may not be practical on school buses, however, it is a controlled environment where contact tracing can take place if required. Hand sanitiser is being made available for students and drivers to use on every journey. Buses will be cleaned after each morning and afternoon run.
- All large gatherings (100 people or more) are postponed.
- Please ensure that you are here on time for the start of the school day – 8:45am. Children arriving late to school must come to the school office to sign in before going to class.
- Hand sanitiser and disinfectant is provided for classrooms and around the school. It is encouraged that staff and students maintain high hygiene practices during the school day.
- At pick-up / drop off time, please maintain a 1m distance and return directly back to your vehicle when collecting your child. Do not come onto the school grounds please.
- Students cannot attend school if they or someone in their home has been in contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 21 days. No student can attend school if they are unwell, especially if they show signs of headaches, runny nose, sore throat or a cough. Call Healthline 0800 611 116 and follow advice given. Any child who is presenting as being sick will need to go home. Parents will be contacted to collect them. You will be contacted if your child becomes unwell during the day and they must be collected from the school – so you will be required to have an emergency contact.
- Students are to bring their own device to school.
- It is expected that everyone maintains high hygiene practices by washing their hands, being mindful of distancing, disinfecting workspaces where practical, sneezing into their elbow and not sharing food, water bottles and stationary.
- Sport equipment will be provided by the school for break times and will be cleaned after being used. Students are not to bring their own sport equipment to school e.g. basketballs, handballs.
- There will be a high level of hygiene practices, as outlined by the Ministry of Health (personal and environmental) so that your child will be as safe as possible at school.
Thursday 18 February 2021
Moving to COVID-19 Alert Level 1
Monday 15 February 2021
The School Day at COVID-19 Alert Level 2
Tena koutou,
Please see below the kaupapa that we are following as part of being at Alert Level 2. We thank you all in advance for your support and understanding during this time.
Please ensure your contact details are up to date! Phone the office on 09 439 2216 or email [email protected] if there have been any changes.
THE SCHOOL DAY AT ALERT LEVEL 2
- The school office is open. All visitors must scan in / sign the visitors register in reception on arrival and sign out when leaving. Visitors will observe the 1m distancing protocol and use hand sanitiser as they enter the reception foyer.
- Bus services will be running. Transport services will be taking extra measures to ensure student safety. Physical distancing may not be practical on school buses, however, it is a controlled environment where contact tracing can take place if required. Hand sanitiser is being made available for students and drivers to use on every journey. Buses will be cleaned after each morning and afternoon run.
- All large gatherings (100 people or more) are postponed.
- Please ensure that you are here on time for the start of the school day – 8:45am. Children arriving late to school must come to the school office to sign in before going to class.
- Hand sanitiser and disinfectant is provided for classrooms and around the school. It is encouraged that staff and students maintain high hygiene practices during the school day.
- At pick-up / drop off time, please maintain a 1m distance and return directly back to your vehicle when collecting your child. Do not come onto the school grounds please.
- Students cannot attend school if they or someone in their home has been in contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 21 days.
No student can attend school if they are unwell, especially if they show signs of headaches, runny nose, sore throat or a cough. Call Healthline 0800 611 116 and follow advice given.
Any child who is presenting as being sick will need to go home. Parents will be contacted to collect them.
You will be contacted if your child becomes unwell during the day and they must be collected from the school – so you will be required to have an emergency contact - Students are to bring their own device to school.
- It is expected that everyone maintains high hygiene practices by washing their hands, being mindful of distancing, disinfecting workspaces where practical, sneezing into their elbow and not sharing food, water bottles and stationary
- Sport equipment will be provided by the school for break times and will be cleaned after being used. Students are not to bring their own sport equipment to school e.g. basketballs, handballs.
- There will be a high level of hygiene practices, as outlined by the Ministry of Health (personal and environmental) so that your child will be as safe as possible at school.
Nga mihi,
Raeleen Harre
Tumuaki / Principal
Sunday 14 February 2021
Alert Level 2
- Physical distancing (not touching and not breathing on each other at Alert Level 2)
- Hand hygiene
- Cough and sneeze etiquette
- Regularly cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces
Tuesday 22 September 2020
Alert Level 1
Kia ora koutou,
Wednesday 12 August 2020
Alert Level 2 Information
Kia ora koutou,
Thursday 11 June 2020
Alert Level 1 Letter
Kia ora koutou,
Please find the letter outlining Ruawai College’s movement to Alert Level 1 here.
Thursday 14 May 2020
Alert Level 2 Letter
Kia ora koutou,
Please find the letter outlining Ruawai College’s movement to Alert Level 2 here. School is open for instruction Monday 18 May 2020.
Wednesday 13 May 2020
COVID-19 – Moving to Alert Level 2
Kia ora koutou,
The Prime Minister has announced that New Zealand will move into Alert Level 2 from 11:59pm Wednesday 13 May 2020 (tonight). That means from Thursday 14 May 2020, Alert Level 2 criteria apply.
From Monday 18 May 2020 we look forward to receiving ALL students back on site. Moving from Level 3 to Level 2 is a big shift and we are working very hard to ensure that Alert Level 2 measures will be in place by Monday 18 May 2020.
We know that many students will be excited about getting back to school to see friends / teachers and to their regular studies, while some understandably may be anxious. We are also very excited to see the return to school of our students.
Tomorrow I intend to set out to whanau what the school day will look like at Ruawai College and the measures we are putting in place to ensure a safe return for everyone. Until then, we thank you ALL for your continued support of the online / distance learning that is in place whilst we prepare to go from Alert level 3 to Alert Level 2.
Regards,
Raeleen Harré, Principal
Friday 8 May 2020
COVID-19 Update
Please find here a message from our Principal:
https://www.ruawaicollege.school.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/COVID-19-Update-Friday-8-May.pdf
Thursday 7 May 2020
Northland Region COVID-19 Update
Kia ora,
The link below will take you through to the Northland District Health Board website to give you an overview of what is happening across Northland:
Monday 4 May 2020
Alert Level 3 Update
Thank you for the ongoing support you continue to provide enabling online learning / distance learning to continue at home. At this time we have no students registered to come into school to continue their learning. We know that our students will be at different stages of their learning when they return to Ruawai College and planning is underway to support them.
As you will be aware, on Monday 11 May 2020 the Prime Minister will announce what is happening with our alert levels. Should a decision be made to move to Alert Level 2, from the past movement of levels, we were given time (48 hours) to prepare. At this stage we are waiting for more guidance to come through from the Ministry of Education as to what Alert Level 2 may look like in our schools. However, the following considerations are helping us in our planning to Alert Level 2:
- Physical distancing of 1 metre outside the home (including on public transport)
- Gatherings of up to 100 people indoors and 500 outdoors allowed while maintaining physical distancing and contact tracing requirements
- Sport and recreation activities are allowed if conditions on gatherings are met, physical distancing is followed and travel is local
- Schools and Early Childhood Education centres open, with distance learning available for those unable to attend school, such as people self-isolating
- People advised to avoid non-essential inter-regional travel
- People at high risk of severe illness (older people and those with existing medical conditions) are encouraged to stay at home where possible, and take additional precautions when leaving home. They may choose to work
These restrictions place significant challenges on the schooling environment as we know it. Currently we are considering how we can operate under Alert Level 2 with discussion on different year levels attending on different days, staggered start / finish times, interval / lunch times, continuation of online learning with supervision of those on site and limits on availability of bus transport. These considerations form part of the korero going forward.
In a very short space of time you have all taken up the challenge (wero) of online learning / distance learning, in fact this has been exceeded. I now ask you to take up the next wero and that is when we return to school that we are fully digital, we need the school to be 1:1 devices upon our physical return to school. This request is not new to you I know as I have regularly talked about the importance of BYOD and why.
What does that mean for Ruawai College?
- Bring your device in every day, charged and ready to go – we have started putting posters up throughout the school to remind our rangatahi
- Every student will have a device. This provides the opportunity to continue our planning using Google Classroom and to use the tools we have used already with the students
- This also means that students are able to access their Google Classrooms which is one of the main learning platforms we use. This will contribute towards a smooth transition between the work / learning they have been doing at home and at school when we return
We will discuss with you the devices aspect, in particular, following up on the devices sent out by the Ministry and the loan items from the schoolI look forward to receiving clarity from the Ministry of Education during the week to enable us to plan accordingly for the possibility of a greater number of our students returning to the college, and generally how schooling will look under Alert Level 2.
Meanwhile, I thank you again for your support, cooperation and understanding at this challenging time.
Nga mihi,
Raeleen Harré, Principal
Wednesday 29 April 2020
School at Alert Level 3
We have made contact with all the families of our students from Years 7 – 10 to confirm numbers of those students who are returning to school Wednesday April 29.
This is important as it informs our planning in terms of staffing for the school during Alert Level 3 to ensure that all Health & Safety measures are in place to protect staff and students. At this stage no students are returning to school.
HOWEVER, it is extremely important that if at any stage during ALert Level 3 your circumstances change where you need to send your child/ren to school, you MUST contact the school immediately. We can only have children on site who have been registered from the phone correspondence that has taken place between the school and families.
The school office will remain closed. Please call (09) 439 2216 or email [email protected], if you have any questions.
We absolutely appreciate your support in this matter.
MoE information to support parents:
The Ministry’s parent website has Alert Level 3 information here: https://parents.education.govt.nz/…/information-to-help-wit… and a parents’ checklist here: https://parents.education.govt.nz/…/information-to-help-wit…
At our Teacher Only Day yesterday, the majority of staff connected online via Zoom from their various locations. Teachers engaged in learning to use a number of new tools and strategies in this new online space so expect to see them using these new learnings over the next while.
I wish to thank the students, the staff and the community for your ongoing support, engagement in this new online space. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions / queries.
Nga mihi
Thursday 23 April 2020
Senior Students, Year 11 – 13
Thank you for the way you have embraced this new way of learning. It presents many new challenges for you and I wish to acknowledge your hard work and effort during this time. Learning is and looks different for you all but please be reassured that your teachers and school are there alongside you.
PLEASE continue to engage and touch base with your teachers – reach out for support and help.
Tuesday 21 April 2020
Moving Alert Levels
Please follow this link for the message from the Principal regarding Moving to Alert Level 3.
Saturday 11 April 2020
Online Learning Update from Principal
Tena koutou katoa,
As we all make our way through these challenging times, I would like to thank you for the commitment you have been making towards minimising the spread of COVID-19.
Following the Easter break, ONLINE LEARNING WILL COMMENCE WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL.
Our connection with you during the online space is important and I would appreciate you looking at the steps below to make this transition to another way of learning for many of you happen positively.
For the moment learning will happen during the students normal timetabled sessions starting at 8:45 am – 3:00pm.
APRIL 2020
Saturday 11 April: Easter
Sunday 12 April: Easter Sunday
Monday 13 April: Easter Holiday
Tuesday 14 April: Easter Holiday
Wednesday 15 April: Term 2 Starts. Online Learning – Students to check school emails and any Google Classrooms for updates of work for each subject. (Follow your usual timetable for that day)
Thursday 16 April: Online Learning – Students to check school emails and any Google Classrooms for updates of work for each subject. (Follow your usual timetable for that day)
Friday 17 April: Online Learning – Students to check school emails and any Google Classrooms for updates of work for each subject. (Follow your usual timetable for that day)
Any queries please email your classroom teacher or your Dean. All teacher emails can be found here: https://www.ruawaicollege.school.nz/contact-us/
Junior Dean: Kirsty Batters, [email protected]
Senior Dean: Jenny Dallison, [email protected]
We continue to work alongside the Ministry of Education who are keeping us updated about the availability of resources for learning. Please continue to monitor the various sites i.e. Facebook, Skool Loop and the Ruawai College website to keep updated around what will be happening beyond Friday 17 April.
STAY home, STAY safe, SAVE lives
Ministry of Education Learning Resource can be found here: https://learningfromhome.govt.nz/