Schools making masks available
Face-to-face crucial ahead of exams, says principal
Bay of Plenty students and teachers are preparing to return to the classroom tomorrow as the region moves down to alert level 2. Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield is strongly encouraging those aged 12 or over to wear face coverings at school but it is not mandatory. But one Bay of Plenty principal believes masks should be compulsory in class.
Another school leader is “excited” about the return of face-to-face learning and believed it would help ease exam pressures for senior students.
Otu¯moetai College principal Russell Gordon said distance learning could become “quite a chore” for students, parents and teachers over time but level 2 could solve that.
“There is a certain efficiency being in front of students, and being able to answer questions immediately as opposed to an email question that might take 20 minutes to answer,” he said. “It just speeds up the whole learning process.”
Level 2 would also benefit senior students in the lead-up to NCEA exams, he said. “This period of time is critical as we run up to the end of the year. That has been my deep concern for our students.
“Hence my delight at getting back to face-to-face. So we can look at where our kids are and where they need to be. We can then put things in place to address any disparity if such exists.”
The school would take a “common sense” approach reintegrating into the classroom, following the Government’s guidelines around mask-use.
“We will just use the Ministry of Education’s wording that masks are recommended, but it is up to the student and wha¯nau. They will make that decision.”
Face masks would be available onsite for students, school assemblies would not be held at alert level 2 and hand sanitising would be encouraged as students moved from class to class.
Gordon understood why some students might be anxious about returning. “Students go through a whole range of emotions. They get into a rhythm of learning at home because they have to, and now that rhythm is being disrupted by coming back to school.
“What I want to push is that we have to create resilience in our students, and there might be the tendency towards being anxious. We have to make the best of the situation.”
Mount Maunganui mother of four
Lee Martin said she had “mixed feelings” about returning to school.
“It has been lovely as a parent to have all my children in one place, and for them to have more interaction with each other. They have had a lot of time together.
“But it will be positive for them to have some of their routine back. They are looking forward to seeing their friends and their teachers.”
Martin said her two oldest children, aged 14 and 16, would be taking face coverings to school. “They are happy to wear them if other children are.”
Rotorua Intermediate School principal Garry de Thierry hoped maskwearing would be mandatory for students and teachers inside the classroom under alert level 2.
He said he was concerned that classroom ventilation systems “weren’t the best” in most schools.
“[The virus] just spreads like wildfire,” he said.
“You won’t have a lot of air circulating. It’s a closed environment. And with weather like [Tuesday], it’s not like you’re going to have windows open.”
A Ministry of Education Covid-19 bulletin said wearing a face covering at school remained a decision for the individuals and wha¯nau.
“Whatever decisions students and teachers make, it is their own to make and needs to be respected,” it said.
“There will be differences of view about the use of face coverings, and it is important to show tolerance towards individual choice in this matter.”
It reiterated that wearing a facecovering was not a requirement for anyone in a school setting.
The Ministry of Health was approached for comment.