Lockdown locks lopped off
Children at amanawatu¯ school who developed a shaggy mane or long locks during lockdown are being given a trim and a tidy up.
Palmerston North Intermediate Normal School has brought in two hairdressers to tame the locks of children stuck at home during alert level 3 and 4.
About 50 children, boys and girls, were booked in for new dos yesterday. The school’s old dental clinic, which is now used as amaths room, has been turned into a temporary hair salon for two days.
Principal Hamish Ruawai was happy to organise the service, with some children needing a haircut.
‘‘It’s less stress for parents and less stress for kids. If their family struggled over lockdown, $20, $30 [for a haircut] that’s the cost of dinner or whatever.
‘‘If we can help parents out that’s great.’’
He said the priority this week wasn’t pupils’ hair, but making sure that children who had been nervous about returning to school were OK.
A handful of teachers registered to get their hair seen to as well.
Hairdressers Trena Christensen and Karen Whitelaw were tasked with cutting the kids’ hair.
‘‘We’re taking the pressure off the parents to get them tidied up when they get back to school,’’ Christensen said.
Whitelaw said there had been a lot of children with hair that had grown out.
Pupils Lyrik Littlefair, 10, and Chris Mitchell, 11, both spent time in the chair.
They usually had their hair styled by barbers and were glad to be given sharp new cuts.