This message was emailed to all students on Friday 18 February, and is reposted here in case you missed it:
Kia ora koutou,
We’re really looking forward to the new academic year and connecting with you, either onsite at Carey’s Auckland campus or online wherever you’re located.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Carey has sought to operate with the utmost concern for the health of our students, staff, and broader communities. With the recent transition to the Government's Covid Protection Framework and the surge of Omicron cases, we have been prayerfully considering how to best care for one another as we begin the academic year. In this email I want to outline for you Carey's plan for academic and community life for the start of semester one in the Red setting.
In response to recent student feedback strongly endorsing a return to campus with appropriate measures, we are open for onsite learning with Orientation to proceed on Tuesday, 1 March and classes to begin Monday, 7 March. Please note that not all classes are able to be offered online (see below). We have also put in place measures to maintain health and safety standards as set forth by the Ministry of Health, including the following:
Vaccinations
- Under the Red setting of the Framework, by the Government, everyone on campus must be fully vaccinated and have a COVID-19 Vaccination Certification pass, My Vaccine Pass. Information on obtaining a My Vaccine Pass is on the Unite Against COVID-19 website, and details about exceptions for those with medical exemptions can be obtained from the Ministry of Health.
- You will be required to register your vaccine pass when you arrive on campus either at Orientation or the start of classes.
- If you are not vaccinated, please contact us so alternative learning arrangements can be discussed.
Masks, Sign-ins, and Distancing
- Mask-wearing in teaching spaces is required, and strongly encouraged in confined/public spaces.
- Sign-ins on the Visitab tablets at Reception and use of the NZ COVID Tracer app are necessary for contact tracing purposes.
- Arrangements for one-metre distancing have been made wherever possible, including classrooms and other campus buildings.
Sickness
- If you are unwell, or showing any symptoms of COVID-19, please do not come to campus.
- If you test positive for COVID-19 and have been on campus while infectious, please contact Chris Berry so contract tracing can begin.
Classes and Community Life
- Not all classes are onsite. The following classes will be fully online for semester one:
- MM561 Introduction to Pastoral Care
- MB632/732 Pentateuch
- Lecturers will remain available for office hours, however these will be 15-minute sessions and by appointment, so as to mitigate the risk of transmission across the Carey community.
- Community lunch will only take place on Mondays, and you will need to register for a boxed lunch each week.
- Chapel will take place on Tuesdays in groups and online.
We will continue to review our position on these matters and keep you updated appropriately as changes are made. Full details on Carey's response to COVID-19 are available on our website. Further details for community lunches, chapels, and more will be communicated closer to the start of classes. If you have any concerns or would like to talk, please reach out to your lecturer or another staff member.
While these changes present a disruption to our normal way of doing things at Carey, we think we have struck the right balance between our commitment to relationship and connection, and to the safety of one another and the wider community.
The Carey staff team and I have been praying for you this week. We're praying that the Lord will pour out his blessing on you and your studies this year, that you might grow in your love for him, his word, his church, his gospel, and his mission in this world.
Ngā mihi nui,