Aucklanders enjoy new level three freedoms as they sip takeaway coffee and munch on takeaway food. Video / NZ Herald
Most Auckland schools have opened this morning for young students who can't stay home - but barely anyone has turned up.
And those that have are not being taught in person - they're mostly being supervised while they continue distance learning with their classmates who have stayed home.
Tāmaki Makaurau moved to alert level 3 at midnight, meaning schools are open for students up to Year 10 if nobody can supervise them at home. Masks are mandatory for Year 9 and up.
The Ministry of Education will survey schools and early childcare centres by text tomorrow morning to get a fuller picture of how many children have returned.
Just four students came to Greenmeadows Intermediate for the first day of level 3. Photo / Supplied
Just two students are at Glendowie College today out of a normal roll of 1200.
The two juniors were doing distance learning in the staffroom, both wearing masks, principal Gordon Robertson said.
The school planned to seek exemptions for two Year 13 technology classes, which need to use on-site resources, but he was awaiting numbers before applying to the Ministry of Education for the exemption.
"The bulk of our kids are online learning, they use Google Classroom as a matter of course so it's not a great transition. It's more those portfolio practical subjects that are the problem."
Robertson agreed students would most struggle to catch up in the practical subjects. The school has done what it can - at the start of level 4 staff were given one day to get resources like paint and paper to students who needed them.
The art department was also planning holiday workshops if Auckland were to move down to level 2 in two weeks.
Steve Hargreaves, president of the Auckland Secondary School Principals' Association, talked to several principals yesterday who were expecting fewer than 10 students back.
Macleans College principal Steve Hargreaves. Photo / NZME
Only a few had applied for exemptions for senior students. Hargreaves is principal of Macleans College which has a roll of more than 2500 but just four students were there today, he said.
At Freemans Bay School just 10 children are attending school this morning, out of a roll of around 500.
The primary school's principal Cindy Walsh said the children were split across three bubbles with two teachers to each bubble. Just one child was wearing a mask this morning.
Greenmeadows Intermediate principal Cathy Chalmers said just four of their 400 students were present.
Two teacher aides were supervising the little bubble of students, letting the teachers continue with distance learning for the Manurewa school's other students.
Greenmeadows Intermediate principal Cathy Chalmers says just four students turned up today for the start of level 3. Photo / Supplied
"We've got about 80 per cent of our kids accessing that so we didn't want to disrupt that. It's impossible for teachers to manage a bubble and do distance learning at the same time."
All four students had started out with masks on but a couple had taken them off while outside playing.
"It's up to them if they wear them or not ... it would be a hard ask actually to have kids in our age group wear a mask for a whole day."
All the families were very conscious of trying to do the right thing, Chalmers said. "The parents are very grateful to be able to send their kids to bubble school."
She wasn't sure why the vast majority of parents had kept their students home. "There's probably a little bit more tentativeness out there in the community ... Manurewa is one of the spotlighted areas. But those are all assumptions, I've got nothing to base them on."
Intermediate-aged students might more inclined to stay home if they could, she added. "Bubble school's not as much fun if you're doing the same distance learning as at home [although] we pepper it with games to try and keep it fun."
The school has also restarted its free lunches programme today. Sixty lunches have been ordered and will be distributed by contactless delivery to those families who are struggling.
