Record number of travellers bound to Waitangi, Treaty Principles Bill described as the tip of the iceburg and expectations that unemployment will rise. Video / NZ Herald
A parent has criticised a major Auckland school’s decision to hold an online learning day this Friday, following the Waitangi Day holiday on Thursday — saying the disruption is too great so soon after the beginning of the school year.
Westlake Girls High School is holding the “online learning day” this Friday, requiring students and teachers to work remotely — a trial the school says is important to prepare for any future emergency disruptions, and which is being held on a day it believes is the least disruptive option on the school calendar.
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Teachers will set an activity on their Google classroom pages for each of the classes scheduled for that day, which will be released at the start of each “period”. Students will complete the activity and turn it in, and Years 12 and 13 students will be asked to log in to the NZQA website.
“Given the unexpected events over the past five years, including the pandemic and floods, it’s essential that our systems are thoroughly tested and connected to ensure resilience and continuity in our educational delivery,” a school spokeswoman said.
Westlake Girls High School will hold an online learning day this Friday. Photo / Google
Some other schools will close entirely or hold teacher-only days this Friday.
One parent of a student at Westlake Girls told the Herald they and other parents were annoyed at the timing — so soon after the start of the school year, and amid a wider effort to get kids back to classroom learning following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“They have only just gone back to school. We are trying to get them settled into some sort of routine, they have had a massive long summer break,” said the parent, who asked not to be named.
“They want the kids to practise getting online at home, in case they have to work from home at some stage. But to me, that’s something that would take half an hour, tops. Is there any reason it couldn’t be set as homework?”
She suspected the timing might be to give families the option of a four-day weekend.
“A whole day off, when we are trying to get them into some sort of routine seems ludicrous… I just feel like, come on, they’ve just got back to school — let’s just get on with the year.”
Westlake Girls High School students make their way to school. File Photo / Brett Phibbs
A Westlake Girls spokeswoman told the Herald the rationale for the online learning day had been clearly communicated, and came in the wider context of excellent academic performance by students.
“On our online learning day, students will be at home, and it’s equally important that our staff work offsite to ensure they can effectively connect with our students remotely. This includes the 20 new staff members who have joined us this year, some of whom are first-year teachers and have not yet experienced such events. By conducting this test, we aim to prepare all staff for any future disruptions, ensuring seamless education for our students.
“We have taken a proactive approach in selecting what we believe to be the least disruptive day early on the school calendar for this exercise. Our goal is to minimise any inconvenience to our students and their families while prioritising the robustness of our educational infrastructure.”
A number of other schools will hold teacher-only days or close entirely this Friday, Newsroom has reported, with principals reasoning many parents will take their kids away for an extra-long weekend, regardless of whether schools are open.
That is despite Associate Education Minister David Seymour last year announcing measures to reduce truancy, and warning that “schools will have to play their part in setting a good example as well — this means not taking teacher-only days during term time”.
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