Whakarewarewa School sending aroha to Christchurch. Photo / Stephen Parker
Whakarewarewa School sending aroha to Christchurch. Photo / Stephen Parker
A Rotorua school has joined hands to send love to Christchurch after shootings which caused the hearts of the nation to shatter.
Whanaungatanga, manawanui, aroha. Belonging, tolerance, love. This is how Rotorua schools are helping their students cope with and make sense of Friday's horrific events.
Described as one of New Zealand's darkest days, 50 people were killed last Friday during shootings in two Christchurch mosques.
Whakarewarewa School teacher Janice Simeon said the students were in shock after what had happened and the pupils showed their love by forming a heart on the field, an image of which they will send to Christchurch.
Simeon said teachers would be answering questions and offering a safe environment to have discussions following the shootings. They would also do relevant activities around the issues.
Otonga Road Primary School observing a minutes silence to honour their brothers and sisters of Christchurch. Photo / Supplied.
Otonga Rd Primary School principal Linda Woon said staff had been briefed to ensure all teachers understood the specific needs of the pupils and that there was consistency across the school in how to move forward.
Woon said the school would acknowledge a terrible thing happened, that it was done by a bad person and he had been caught. They would also say police helped and would continue to help keep everyone safe.
She said it was important to reiterate the school values and explain what happened in ways the pupils would understand.
"We reminded them of our assembly last week where we talked about celebrating our 23 nationalities and all of our differences," Woon said.
The school plans to celebrate this diversity on Friday with a national dress day for a gold coin. The money will be donated to the victims' families.
Woon said the school would also join the Paper Doll project where pupils create paper doll chains as a symbol of unity to share with the children of Christchurch.
The Ministry of Education has put out a number of resources for teachers and families, one of which are the Ministry of Health's dos and don'ts of traumatic events.
Lynmore School principal Lorraine Taylor said in a newsletter to parents the school would review its lockdown and safety plans.
While the school had the required safety procedures, it would be about rehearsing it, which would allow puipls to feel safer too.
Simeon said the tragedy had sparked an urgency to review what they had in place and determine if anything needed to be done better.
Taylor acknowledged the high distress some of the school families may have and said teachers had been given advice on how to manage questions from students following the massacre.
Lynmore School's Muslim families and students will lead a community vigil on Wednesdayat 3.45pm hosted by the school in the Cultural Centre.
Glenholme School held a special assembly first thing this morning with a moments silence to send aroha to Christchurch.
Glenholme Primary School, one of many Rotorua schools, sending Aroha to Christchurch. Photo / Supplied
The Ministry of Education's enablement and support deputy secretary Katrina Casey said Christchurch was the current focus.
"We know children and young people around the country have been impacted by Friday's events, and we will also ensure they are provided with the support they need.
"This is a really difficult time for New Zealanders, and it's critical our children and young people get the support and care they need as they return to schools and other learning institutions."
A police spokeswoman said police had a good relationship with schools and if they were ever aware of a threat to students they would notify schools of this and the schools may go into lockdown.
The New Zealand Education Institute union meetings planned for this week have been postponed.
