Schools prepare to reopen on Thursday at ‘Delta Level 2’

<h2>Preparation is underway for schools outside Auckland to reopen on Thursday at &&num;8216&semi;Delta Level 2&&num;8217&semi;&comma; with face coverings for over 12s not mandated but &&num;8216&semi;strongly recommended&&num;8217&semi;&period; <&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>With Aotearoa New Zealand moving to Alert Level 2 at 11&colon;59pm on Tuesday&comma; outside of Auckland&comma; schools are readying for the return of staff and pupils and all that this entails under the new &&num;8216&semi;Delta Level 2&&num;8217&semi; restrictions and guidelines&period; <br &sol;>&NewLine; <br &sol;>&NewLine;Under the new alert level settings&comma; face coverings for children aged 12 and over are recommended but not mandatory&period; The New Zealand Post Primary Teachers&&num;8217&semi; Association &sol; Te Wehengarua says&comma; &&num;8220&semi;The PPTA <span data-contrast&equals;"none">strongly recommends that you wear a mask and that there is training in the correct use of masks for staff and students&period; We also recommend that schools provide disposable masks for use by staff and students&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Your school can direct you to wear a face covering if they have reasonable grounds to do so&comma; such as someone in the school community who is at higher risk&period; In this case they must supply you with an appropriate face covering or mask&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>After Monday&&num;8217&semi;s announcement by Prime Minister Ardern at the daily Covid briefing&comma; Secretary for Education Iona Holsted told schools that cleaners&comma; contractors and some staff would be allowed on site from Tuesday to prepare&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>She said&comma; &&num;8220&semi;While many people will be delighted to return to school&comma; some students will be apprehensive and over the next few days we will provide advice and template letters for you to share with wh&amacr;nau if you wish&period;&&num;8221&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine; <br &sol;>&NewLine;Adding&comma; &&num;8220&semi;It is important at this time to remember that the Government makes its decisions with a health-first lens and it makes its decisions very cautiously&period; This decision is a reflection of the success of our collective approaches to date&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;19886" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-19886" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-19886" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;schoolnews&period;co&period;nz&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;06&sol;Iona-Holsted-2021-opt-300x200&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"200" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-19886" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Iona Holsted<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>T&amacr;maki Makaurau Auckland will remain at alert level 4 until September 14&comma; with an announcement on any changes to this alert level due on the 13th&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Holsted said this week&comma; &&num;8220&semi;To all of you in Auckland&comma; I know that the decision to stay in Level 4 was not a surprise&period; I also know that it brings with it many challenges&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For the latest on Delta Level 2 and what it means for schools and kura&comma; go to the Ministry of Education website&colon; www&period;education&period;govt&period;nz&sol;news&sol;covid-19-alert-levels-2&sol;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;schoolnews&period;co&period;nz&sol;latest-print-issue&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank"><strong>Read our new Term 3 issue online today&excl;<&sol;strong><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;