School Notifications
Distance Learning Module Delivery for Students
 Given that schools have been instructed to close, Waikato Diocesan School for Girls will move into our Distance Learning model of curriculum delivery, effective Wednesday 15 April until further notice. Nāku iti noa, nā Julie Bain Deputy Principal - Leader of Learning |
Formal Online Learning to Commence 15 April
Important Clarification from Ministry of Education
Important Communication from the Principal
 Dear Dio Whānau Waikato Diocesan School for Girls is CLOSED effective from tomorrow unless your daughter needs to collect any personal belongings. We ask that you adhere to the Ministry of Health guidelines and keep 1.5 metres apart, collect the items, and leave the campus as quickly as possible. Please only come in if an item is of real importance. Boarding parents/students are able to collect belongings this afternoon, between the hours of 5.00 pm and 9.00 pm, and tomorrow between the hours of 8.00 am and 9.00 pm. To assist boarding staff to manage this, please text your daughter’s house parent with an ETA. On arrival, we ask that only one member of the family enter the buildings/dormitories. Staff will be on hand to offer any assistance. The prime minister has said that all essential services would still be open at all alert levels but stressed that when people were visiting essential services, physical distancing should still be practiced. If you are an essential worker as approved by the government and you need to send your daughter to school tomorrow, please email development@wdsg.school.nz as soon as possible. Our interpretation of Minister Hipkin’s guidance is that schools will continue online until the calendared term break. However, should we be notified of a different interpretation by the government, we will make changes accordingly. In order to give our community the time to prepare, online learning will not commence until next week, Monday 30 March. We will then break for two weeks of school holidays on 9 April as per the normal school calendar. We will provide more information and support for online learning tomorrow. We know you have many questions. We will continue to update you as more details are confirmed. Thank you for your patience and support. The best way to tackle this situation is together, as a community, with students, staff, parents, and caregivers all remaining supportive and responsive to an ever-changing situation. Blessings and Aroha Mary Curran PRINCIPAL The Government has set up this website so everything you need to know about COVID-19 is in one place. Click here to get the latest updates and information. |
Important Message from GoBus re Te Awamutu Route
 Hi there My apologies to all. Due to the great loss of school bus drivers and the effect of the Covid-19 we regret to inform you that the Te Awamutu school bus will not be operating until further notice. This is very unfortunate and frustrating for all concerned. Thank you for your time. Cheers, Janine Kerapa Site Supervisor Te Awamutu P 07 871 6373 | | M 021 1063 938 | E Janine.kerapa@gobus.co.nz PO Box 123 Te Awamutu|105 Ohaupo Road | Te Awamutu | New Zealand Check us out www.gobus.co.nz |
Important Message for Students with Compromised Immune Systems
 As a result of the Prime Minister’s address to the nation at midday today (Saturday 21/3) we ask that students who have compromised immune systems stay at home next week. If you will be keeping your daughter away please notify absent@wdsg.school.nz by midday Monday 23 March or call 07 855 2038 extn 1 and leave a message with your daughters name / form class / and clearly state that she will be absent for the week due to compromised immunity. If your daughter is a boarder, please also inform her House Parent or the Dean of Boarding. Teachers will ensure work is set for these students during their absence. School is open as normal from Tuesday 24 March (Monday being a teacher only day) for all other students. I would like to give you the strongest possible assurance that the safety and wellbeing of all our students remains paramount and all other considerations are secondary. The best way to tackle this situation is together, as a community, with students, staff, parents and caregivers all remaining supportive and responsive to an ever-changing situation. We’re all in this together. Blessings, Mary Curran PRINCIPAL The Government has set up this website so everything you need to know about COVID-19 is in one place.Click here to get the latest updates and information. |
Important Information on Co-Curricular Sports and Arts Activities at Dio
 Social distancing and flattening the COVID-19 curve are priorities for us all as a nation and, as a result, we are having to take some significant measures to keep our school students, staff and wider community safe. After a considered review of all Dio's co-curricular sports, arts, and cultural practices and rehearsals, we are implementing the following: Co-curricular SportsAll sports practices and competitions will be suspended immediately with the intention of recommencing on Tuesday 28 April. Registrations for winter sports are currently on hold.Although there are a handful of sports events still going ahead (we suspect this will change), we want to provide equity and consistency across all codes and have implemented a blanket policy. This decision is on the back of recommendations from School Sport NZ and the Waikato Secondary School Sports Association. School Sport NZ will be constantly reviewing the situation and will have further information available on 6 April. We have also made the difficult decision to close the Fitness Centre - effective today Friday 19 March - until such time as it is deemed safe to reopen. For the sake of our students' physical, mental, social and spiritual health, we believe it is important that they continue to remain active, but do so in a socially responsible way. Any type of regular, physical activity can improve your fitness and your health. The most important thing is that you keep moving and stay positive. We encourage our athletes to talk to their coaches/managers about a suitable fitness routine for their sporting code. Co-curricular ArtsCo-curricular Arts activities will continue but within tight Ministry of Health Guidelines for “Prevention and for Protection of Yourselves and Others”.
It is important to note that these are unprecedented times and it is likely that these guidelines could change as we are guided by the medical expertise provided by the government. Any questions regarding the information above should be directed in the first instance to: Mark Cornaga, Director of Sports - mcornaga@wdsg.school.nz Georgina Hewitt, Arts Administrator - ghewitt@wdsg.school.nz Wishing our school community good health and aroha. The Government has set up this website so everything you need to know about COVID-19 is in one place.Click here to get the latest updates and information. |
Teacher Only Day Reminder
 A reminder that as per the school calendar and as communicated in DioNews, Dio has a teacher only day this Monday, 23 March. |
An Important Message for our Dio Community
 As you are well aware, the World Health Organisation has declared COVID-19 a pandemic and the situation continues to evolve quickly with an increasing number of countries having sustained community transmission. As of today, New Zealand has 28 cases, including two in the Waikato. We are working closely with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health to ensure we have access to the latest advice on how to keep our students, staff, and community safe. Schools are a critical service and our advice from health authorities and the Ministry of Education at this time is that schools should remain open. We're aiming to maintain as much of a sense of normality as possible under these challenging circumstances. Social distancing and flattening the COVID-19 curve are current priorities for us all as a nation and we are having to take some drastic measures to keep our school community safe. We have reviewed Dio's co-curricular sports and arts practices and rehearsals and communication regarding these will follow in a separate notification. As instructed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, our challenge is to minimise the number of students and community members coming together in large groups. You will have received the notification from Sport NZ regarding the cancellation and postponement of many regional and national sporting events, including the Summer Tournament. Sport Waikato has also cancelled or postponed many of their local competitions. Please click here to view information about upcoming competitions and events. In addition, the Boards have agreed on the following measures for some of our upcoming major events: Calendar events cancelled:
The Fieldays (supervised Teacher Only Day) has also now been cancelled and this will be a normal school day. Calendar events postponed:
New dates will be communicated as soon as it is possible for us to do so. We will inform you about other events on a case-by-case basis. We will also be changing the way we run Chapel and Assembly with one House attending at a time with students seated 1.5 metres apart. We aim to put chapels and assemblies online so students can continue to participate in these important gatherings. While the cancellation of these events will obviously be disappointing for all who are involved, the health and wellbeing of our students and the wider community must be our first priority. Again our school values of Empathy and Resilience have never been more important. Alongside this, we also have a big focus on hygiene. We are hearing that students are taking those hygiene messages back home too, which is great to hear. I want to thank all our school staff who really are at the frontline, working with students and parents during these unprecedented times. You are doing incredible work at a time when nationally we must all do our bit to help secure the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders. The situation is evolving quickly and we will continue to respond to the advice from the central government as we receive it. In the meantime, our schools provide an important service that enables essential workers in our community to fulfill their roles. Please remember that we rise by lifting others. Be kind to yourself and each other. Look after those who are most vulnerable and continue to make The Dio Difference. Blessings and Aroha to you all. Mary Curran PRINCIPAL The Government has set up this website so everything you need to know about COVID-19 is in one place. Click here to get the latest updates and information. |
Lord of the Flies Production Postponed
 Students involved in the production should be reassured that all of their hard work will not be lost and a timeline towards performance will be put in place and communicated as soon as it is possible for us to do so. For those who have already purchased tickets, a full refund will be available as soon as it can be organised. However tickets can be held over until such time as the performances go ahead. While this is obviously disappointing for all who are involved in the production, the health and wellbeing of our students and the Dio community will always be our first priority. If you have any questions about the Production in the interim, please do not hesitate to contact Arts Administrator, Georgina Hewitt on 07 855 2038 extension 2864 or email ghewitt@wdsg.school.nz
Warm regards,
Lee Armitage Georgina Hewitt Director - Lord of the Flies Producer - Lord of the Flies |
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