Message from our Dean: Covid-19 Level 2

Kia ora,

We know these new Covid-19  cases are disruptive and unwelcome news. As always, BTI’s approach is one of an abundance of caution and also of care. We encourage all of you to prioritise your own self-care, to eat, sleep and exercise well, to talk to friends and whanau if you need support, and to find time in every day to spend with our companion Jesus who is with us in the storms and in the calm. Here is some specific information about how BTI will operate under Level 2 conditions. If you have any questions, please contact your course coordinator in the first instance.

• We affirm the decision made by SoSP to cancel the intensives this week. An email sent out by Lucille Brits on behalf of Dr Arkwright earlier today provides further detail.

• We have cancelled the Martin Codyre Memorial Lecture tonight. This follows a conversation between Judge Becroft and I late last night where we both felt in the circumstances it would be unwise for it to continue. My thanks to Tyler Harris for the substantial amount of work she put into this event and it’s a great regret it cannot go ahead.

• Under Level 2, onsite tutorials and classes will continue and the campus remains open to students, as long as you are well, and observe social distancing and contact tracing.

• If our region or the country goes to Alert Level 3, we will immediately move online, i.e. all teaching will be online only and all staff will be expected to work from home.

• If you feel unwell, please stay home and if you are symptomatic get tested for Covid-19. Please practice good hygiene and make full use of the hand sanitisers available throughout the campus. Please observe all social distancing measures and sign in and out when you come into and leave the campus (which you can do via reception and/or attendance sheets in classrooms) .

• The Teachers’ Council have been in touch with us this morning and we are in frequent and open communication with them about the impact on placements for our teacher education students. We are also in touch with the other professional bodies for social workers and counsellors.

• We understand that the Prime Minister will make a further announcement on Friday morning about whether the alert levels will change or continue and we will update you as appropriate at that time.

Shalom, 
Andrew