Otumoetai College Year 13 students Sandra Tiang and Moss Benton. Photo / Emma Houpt
Otumoetai College Year 13 students Sandra Tiang and Moss Benton. Photo / Emma Houpt
Two Tauranga students are opting to mask up in class following new Government guidance, saying their decision is a "small sacrifice for a large gain" to protect the community.
Meanwhile, the school's principal believes the advice leaves them in a "no-win position", making rules around mask-wearing hard to enforce.
Ina newsletter sent to schools last week, the Ministry of Education recommended students in Year 4 and up wear masks for the next four weeks indoors, where it would not have a "significant impact on teaching and learning".
Moss Benton, who is the Ōtūmoetai College head boy, said the majority of students were choosing to wear masks in classes.
"Everyone is pretty on board with it - because everyone has seen the effects of Covid. Some people can't wear masks or don't like to - and they don't. But everyone sort of understands the collective responsibility," he said.
It was "a small sacrifice for a large gain" and he described the school's guidance as "responding appropriately to the situation".
Board of trustees student representative Sandra Tiang agreed, saying students were practising "resilience and flexibility".
"We really understand it's not just to protect ourselves - but it's to protect our whānau and community. We don't want to make other people sick and put other people in danger.
"It's your moral obligation as part of our kura and community."
This did not apply to those who had mask exemptions, she said.
She had switched from wearing a reusable mask to one that was medical-grade, making it a lot easier to breathe and focus in class.
The school's principal Russell Gordon said direction from the ministry around mask-wearing had been sent out to the community and it was his expectation staff and students wore masks.
But staff did not have the ability to enforce mask-wearing as it had not been mandated by the ministry - leaving schools in "a no-win position", he said.
He criticised the ministry's choice to "strongly recommend" mask-wearing. He would have liked the guidance to be more definitive and described the messaging as "frustrating".
"The ministry can't have it both ways - it's either mandated or it's not. They could have made it so much easier for schools - but sadly they haven't."
Views on mask-wearing ranged in the school community - some who were fully supportive and others that were "utterly opposed", he said.
"What do you do when a parent emails you directly and says 'my child will not be wearing a mask'?"
Aquinas College principal Matt Dalton. Photo / George Novak
Aquinas College principal Matt Dalton said masks were a requirement for all students - excluding those with exemptions - in the first four weeks of term.
Dalton said in reviewing attendance data in the first two terms, it was "alarming" how much school students had missed through medically justified absences.
This could have a significant impact on achievement, he said.
"We ultimately need to do what we can to minimise the spread of illnesses so attendance can increase, as inconvenient as wearing a mask might be."
Dalton believed the ministry's guidance - which gave the strongest recommendation without mandating mask-wearing - put school leaders in a challenging position.
"There are varying opinions about mask-wearing and visible fatigue based on the rapid decline across the public. I think this has led to a lack of coherence across the education network in this regard, and that adds to our challenge."
Tauranga Boys' College principal Andrew Turner said the school was taking a "practical approach" and following Government advice to strongly recommend masks.
"We are seeing some staff and boys doing that, and others powering ahead as they were last term."
Pāpāmoa College acting principal Pere Durie . Photo / Mead Norton
Pāpāmoa College acting principal Perie Durie hoped mask-wearing would help minimise disruption in what was a "busy term" for students academically along with sporting events, a school production and cultural events.
"The communication we shared with our whānau and community was just highlighting kids are putting a lot of effort in, we have a lot of things on - and if a mask minimises their chance of getting crook - that can only be a good thing."
The school had not made masking-wearing compulsory, however, it was strongly encouraged and there was a "big supply" for those that needed them, he said.
"We have put the onus on the students."
A post on the Tauranga Girls' College Facebook page on Sunday said masks would be required to be worn in all indoor settings unless students had an updated mask exemption.
Principal Tara Kanji was unable to provide further comment.
The ministry's operations and integrations hautū (leader) Sean Teddy said all schools and kura had their own plan for best meeting the needs of students and staff - including the option to make masks compulsory.
"For any child or young person who is failing to comply with the school policy (who is not exempt), schools can agree their own school policies to manage the behaviour."
This could be done in the same way they might enforce sunhat and sunblock rules and uniform rules, he said.
