Manutuke students set for classroom return

KEEPING KURA GOING: Manutuke School has been teaching out of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa temporarily as their kura remains closed. Principal Ryan Tapsell (pictured left) went into TWOA out of desperation to get students and teachers like Dayne Hollis (at the board) back into mahi. Picture by Liam Clayton

AFTER several “frustrating” weeks of being closed due to water supply issues, Manutuke School is hoping to reopen on Monday. 
The kura (school) has not been able to open as there is no water supply and a boil water notice in the Manutuke township which jeopardises the health and safety of the students and staff. 
Manutuke School principal Ryan Tapsell said he was not expecting to be closed for as long as they had been. 
“We closed straight away when Cyclone Gabrielle was hitting us. The rivers — Te Arai and Waipaoa — were rising rapidly.” 
“It’s coming up to four weeks now, which has been very frustrating.” 
Most schools in the region were able to return to normal timetables a week after the cyclone hit but Manutuke had to transition to distance learning which Mr Tapsell acknowledged “isn’t the best way to engage with our students”.
“One issue was that some students didn’t have access to their Chromebooks or iPads, so teachers were having to put together hard copy work sheets. We had to do a bit of old school teaching, which was fine.” 
Unfortunately, some whānau were not able to keep their child enrolled at Manutuke School.
“Their parents had to enrol them elsewhere because of work commitments, which is understandable.
Mr Tapsell said he and the Ministry of Education had been trying to figure out what to do under the circumstances. 
“I was driving into town one day and I decided to pull into Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and I went in and saw them.
“ It was out of desperation and they opened their doors without any hesitation to us. We wanted our kids back in the classroom as that is the best way to engage with them.” 
The school buildings weren’t damaged. The problem was the water supply issue. 
“It was looking like we wouldn’t be back until the end of the month, or April, or even the next term, which we weren’t happy about.”
After a few calls and hui with the MoE, there is a chance the school can reopen on Monday. 
A few health and safety measures need to be put in place which includes an ample supply of bottled water — some of which Gisborne District Council has provided, along with a 5000-litre water bladder. 
Another priority is to remove or disable all fountains and taps inside and outside of classrooms and toilets. The caretaker and a plumber have been doing that this week. 
.“We are trying to manage ourselves so we can get up and running again,” Mr Tapsell said.
“We are grateful for all the support from the Tairāwhiti community. 
“Our thanks also to the MoE advisers and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. They have been huge in what they have done for our kura. 
“Thanks also to Hindmarsh Buses, who have had to accommodate changes, and GDC for the support and regular communications about our water situation.
“The spirit of Tairāwhiti has been great to see —  seeing whānau support whānau and even those who don’t know each other helping others. 
“During this time it has been awesome to see the aroha and manaakitanga that’s been prevalent in Te Tairāwhiti which we have received in abundance ourselves over this period. 
“Schools from outside of our region have also fundraised money to support us, which is amazing to see.”