COVID 19 Update

21 September 2020

Kia ora Ara students

Our Incident Management Team (IMT) met this afternoon, following confirmation from the Government that Canterbury will move to Alert Level 1 tonight. The IMT will be reconvened if there are any further Government announcements that affect us.

We have confirmed that our Operating Guidelines for Alert Level 1 will apply from tomorrow morning.  The key points to note from these guidelines are:

• The QR codes for the Contract Tracer app will remain in place and we encourage you to continue to use them
• The public will be able to access the Madras Campus Atrium (ALX), Timaru A Block and Woolston’s Student Services facilities. For all other buildings we are continuing to maintain controlled access. Please continue to swipe yourself in individually each time you go through a door into Ara buildings.
• Ara Connect students will receive information shortly about which remote sites will be operating and when they will open.

Please continue to be careful with your own personal health and hygiene; stay home if you are not well and seek medical advice if you need to.

Darren Mitchell

Incident Controller

14 September 2020

Kia ora Ara students,

The Incident Management Team met this afternoon, following the Government confirmation today that Canterbury will remain at Alert Level 2 until at least Monday 21 September 2020.

We continue to prioritise the health and wellbeing of colleagues and learners. Our Operating Guidelines for Alert Level 2 remain in place and no changes have been made.

Access to Ara sites will remain by swipe card and campus access is not permitted for the general public during Alert Level 2. All colleagues and students need to use your ID card to access Ara buildings – please don’t tailgate someone else.

We will provide an update with Alert Level 1 guidelines for Ara later this week and, depending on the Government announcement, hope we will be able to implement these from Tuesday morning.

Please continue to be vigilant with your own personal health and hygiene and stay home if you are not well.

Nāku, me ngā manaakitanga

Tony Gray
Chief Executive

4 September 2020

Kia ora Ara students

Our Incident Management Team met this afternoon, following the Government confirmation today that Canterbury will remain at Alert Level 2 until at least Wednesday 16 September 2020.

We continue to prioritise the health and wellbeing of colleagues and learners. Our Operating Guidelines for Alert Level 2 remain in place and no changes have been made. Within these guidelines access to Ara sites remain by swipe card and campus access is not permitted for the general public.

Based on the timing for further Government announcements we are in the unfortunate position of needing to postpone the upcoming Graduation on Friday 18 September. We recognise that this will be incredibly disappointing for those who graduate, particularly for those already delayed from March. We will be communicating with everyone who was getting ready to graduate and over the next few days looking to review how we might potentially re-visit a Graduation event(s) at some time during the remainder of 2020.

Please continue to be vigilant with your own personal health and hygiene and stay home if you are not well.

Take care and look after yourselves and each other and have a great weekend.

Tony Gray

Chief Executive

24 August 2020

Kia ora Ara students

Our Incident Management Team met this afternoon following Government confirmation that Canterbury will remain at Alert Level 2 until Sunday 6 September.

We will continue to prioritise the health and wellbeing of colleagues and learners. Our Operating Guidelines for Alert Level 2 will remain in place and do not change. Access to Ara sites remain by swipe card and campus access is not permitted for the general public.

Please continue to be vigilant with your own personal health and hygiene and stay home if you are not well.

We have Operating Guidelines for Alert Level 3 in place, should we need to respond to a Government announcement in the future.

At present we intend to proceed with our Graduation ceremonies and celebrations on Friday 18 September as planned. This is subject to any decisions made by the Government in their next review of Alert Levels, scheduled for Thursday 3 September.

Please discuss any questions with your tutors and continue to look after yourselves and each other.

Darren Mitchell

Ara Incident Controller

Friday 14 August

Kia ora Ara students

This evening the Prime Minister has announced that we are remaining at Alert Level 2 in Canterbury for the coming days.

Earlier this week we confirmed our Operating Guidelines for Alert Level 2 and these remain in place.

At Alert Level 2 Ara remains open, and most classes and activity will continue as usual. Our campus locations remain closed to the public and access is with swipe cards.

I encourage all of you to remain vigilant and follow official advice around personal health and hygiene.

Have an enjoyable weekend and please take care of yourselves

Tony

Friday 14 August

Checking your access to technology

Ara are confirming our plan for how we operate at Alert Level 3, if this is required. We know some learners are concerned they may not have the appropriate technology if we move to remote delivery for some of our courses.  Learners have expressed concerns about things like:

• No device
• Sharing a device so you have limited access to a device
• Sketchy internet
• No internet.
• Access to software (e.g CAD)

We want to make sure you have the technology you need to successfully engage with your studies. If you are concerned, please contact us to let us know your personal situation, so we can look at how we may be able to assist you.

Phone 0800 24 24 76 and ask for ‘Student Central’. You are also welcome to pop into student central at your nearest campus and ask for assistance or email studentcentral@ara.ac.nz and someone will get in touch with you.

Please remember that we are currently at Alert Level 2 and most classroom activity is still in place. Our Ara team is keen to work together with you so we can be prepared and set you up for the best learning experience, regardless of how it needs to be delivered in the future.

Thursday 13 August 

Kia ora students

Our Ara Incident Management Team (IMT) met this morning and are leading our response to COVID-19 through any changes to Alert Levels. The team now includes a Student Voice representative to increase our understanding of the immediate issues facing students’ and allows contribution to the planning and implementation of our response to COVID-19. The IMT will be meeting as often as required.

The IMT would like to provide the following reminders:

• The IMT will continue to make decisions that prioritise the health and wellbeing of colleagues and learners, and our actions will be aligned with NZ Government guidelines.
• All Ara sites remain open under Alert Level 2, and learning will continue in the current format. We have closed Ara Connect satellite sites (New Brighton, Bishopdale, Rangiora and Hornby) for the remainder of this week.
• Access to Ara sites is by swipe card so that movement around our sites are reduced and we’re able to provide detail if it is required for contact tracing.
• We are confirming plans for how Ara will operate at Alert Levels 3 or 4 so that we are prepared to respond to any Government directives, using learnings from the recent lock-down period.

Please continue to be vigilant with your own personal health and hygiene:

• Practice good hygiene – wash your hands for 20 seconds and cough into your elbow
• Stay home if you are sick. if you have any cough, cold or flu symptoms, it is essential you stay away from class and contact your GP or the Health Centre to arrange COVID testing.
• Practice physical distancing* and take sensible precautions in classroom areas.
• Wear masks if you can in public – this still remains voluntary.
  People at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, for example those with underlying medical conditions and seniors, are encouraged to take additional precautions when leaving home.
• Keep a record of your movements and where you are in contact with others. The NZ COVID Tracer app is a good way to do this, and all Ara sites have QR codes at entrances.

*Physical distancing under Alert Level 2 is different to Social distancing, that exists under Alert Levels 3 and 4 – please review the COVID 19 Government Guidelines.

Take care and look after yourselves and each other.

Nāku, me ngā manaakitanga

Tony

Wednesday 12 August

Kia ora students

As an organisation Ara will continue to work collaboratively and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of all colleagues and students.

We are following NZ Government guidelines and direction related to COVID-19 and will communicate these updates as quickly as possible. We recognise that this is a changing, and potentially unsettling, situation.

A full list of guidelines around how Ara will operate from 12pm today while Canterbury is in Alert Level 2 has been developed. We are beginning to make preparations to shift to Alert Level 3 if this is required.

Our Incident Management Team (IMT) is being reinstated to make ongoing decisions in response to Government directives.

From 12pm today the following will apply:

• You can continue to come to campus and classes will continue – but physical distancing guidelines apply.
• If you’re unwell you should stay home.
• We are closing all Ara sites to the public until further notice. Computer labs will only be used for course activity and all buildings will be accessed using swipe cards.
  
  • Ara Connect Community sites (Bishopdale, Hornby, New Brighton and Rangiora) will be closed for the rest of this week. Facilities at Madras and Timaru are operating for current students (swipe access only).

Our Health Centre at the Madras campus remains open during usual hours. Please do not come to the Health Centre if you have any respiratory symptoms - ring your own GP or contact the Health Centre for advice on 03 940 7566.

We will continue to provide updates as regularly and quickly as we can via myAra and on our public website – www.ara.ac.nz.

Please continue to look after each other,

Tony

Wednesday 12 August

Morena Ara students,

As you will be aware last night the Prime Minister announced that New Zealand, outside Auckland, is moving back to Alert Level 2 from 12 noon today until 11.59pm this Friday.

Auckland is moving to Alert Level 3. These changes to Alert Levels relate to concern about community transmission of COVID-19. At this time Ara remains open, and classes and activity will continue as usual. Our class sizes will all be under the 100 person limit at Alert Level 2.

We are encouraging all colleagues and learners to remain vigilant and follow official advice around personal health and hygiene:

• Practice good hygiene – wash your hands for 20 seconds, cough into your elbow and stay home if you are sick
• Practice physical distancing – we will be managing this situation in the same way as we did during the last Alert Level 2 period
• Wear masks if you can in public – this remains voluntary
• People at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, for example those with underlying medical conditions and old people are encouraged to take additional precautions when leaving home.
• Keep a record of your movements and where you are in contact with others. The NZ COVID Tracer app is a good way to do this, and all Ara sites have QR codes at entrances.

Regretfully, we have cancelled our Whakatau which was to be held at Manawa campus this morning.

This is an ever changing situation and we will continue to watch the latest government announcements and provide regular updates to you.

Government updates are available at https://covid19.govt.nz/.

If you have any questions or concerns about the situation please in the first instance get in contact with your tutor.

Please stay safe and take care of yourselves

Naku, me nga manaakitanga

Tony