Why Waitangi Day talks are far from over, parents shocked over school bus safety concerns and Prince Harry touches down in the UK following the King’s cancer diagnosis in the latest NZ Herald headlines.
Video / AP / NZHerald
He said parents’ reactions to Monday’s closure were “overwhelmingly supportive”.
“We’ve had a couple of emails that were more anti-Covid than they were anti-closing, but overwhelmingly supportive.”
Principal Bruce Kearney confirmed his high school would return to normal hours on Wednesday. Photo / David Hill
Kearney had earlier told the Herald the closure was not regarding Covid-19, but that almost a third of his 120-strong teaching staff were unavailable.
“We just can’t put bodies in front of kids and we really don’t want to be doing that on day two of high school.”
“It’s quite difficult to put relief teachers into classes where they haven’t even started their work.”
He said he was “pretty sure” the outbreak stemmed from the school’s teacher-only day.
“It seems like we had a bit of a super-spreader event,” he told NZME on Monday.
Throughout 2022, Rangiora High School remained open while other schools nationwide were forced to shut their doors.
“Our philosophy is to remain open during Covid to make sure that the kids have a chance to go to school,” Kearney said.
“The rule is if you’re unwell for whatever reason, stay at home until you feel better, and so all we get is phone calls from kids that are sick. They could be sick for anything.”
