I am sure the shift in COVID-19 alert levels announced by the Prime Minister on Tuesday night was the last thing any of us wanted to hear since this change came into effect. The boys have been fantastic today and have responded to this latest news in a calm and sensible way.

The Alert Level for Wellington was increased to Level 2 from midday Wednesday 12 August.  At this stage Alert Level 2 is in place until midnight, Friday 14 August, but we will continue to provide updates via our Facebook page as they come to hand.

As a reminder, at Alert Level 2:

• The Ministry of Education advises that it is safe for all students and staff to attend school. There will be appropriate precautions in place.
• Messaging about good hand hygiene (washing and sanitizing) and cough and sneeze etiquette is being reinforced. We have restocked our supplies of hand sanitizer.
• If your son is unwell, he should not come to school; if he has cold or flu-like symptoms, you should consider him having a COVID-19 test and remaining at home until he had a negative test result.
• We will be alert to illness and we ask anyone who is presenting as unwell to go home, or we will ask you to come and collect your son.
• At school, students and staff should be far enough away from each other so that they are not breathing on or touching each other.
• There will be regular cleaning of commonly touched surfaces.
• Physical distancing of 2 metres is recommended for parents and caregivers if they come onto school grounds.  Parents visiting the school must sign in at reception and also use the QR code posters for the NZ COVID Tracer App in the foyer and entrance to the main block.
• Masks are not required, but appropriate masks can be worn by students and staff, if they wish to wear them.

There are some further messages for students who travel to and from school on buses, as shown in the attached document.

In terms of sport, please check the College Sport Wellington website, CSW Facebook page or the CSW App to keep up to date with any changes over the next few days.  A number of events have already been postponed.

Let’s all hope we revert back to Alert Level 1 as soon as possible.

Kevin Carter