School rolls begin to return to normal

BACK AGAIN: Room 1 from Havelock North Primary saw 25 of its 30 children return to school yesterday. PHOTO/DUNCAN BROWN

Havelock North Schools were back in full swing yesterday.

It comes after they closed because of the gastro outbreak, which saw hundreds of students off sick.

Yesterday, Hereworth, Havelock North Primary, Te Mata Primary, Lucknow and Havelock North Intermediate schools opened following Havelock North High School, Woodford House and Iona College, with a significant number of students back.

Havelock North Primary principal Nick Reed said the roll was looking much better in comparison to this time last week.

"We have 10 per cent of our roll away, with two teaching staff. We hope to continue to build on that as the week progresses, with 95 per cent attendance by the end of the week."

Mr Reed said the Public Health Nurse had spoken to the school on protocol surrounding hand washing and hand sanitisers were in every classroom.

"We are incredibly grateful to the wider community for their support."

Te Mata School principal Michael Bain said it was fantastic to have the children back, with only 10 per cent away - typical for winter.

Mr Bain said cleanliness was a top priority.

"We have an increased cleaning regime of four times, rather than once a day, and isolated all drinking fountains. We also had an assembly predominantly on safe hygiene," he said.

Mr Bain said community support had been phenomenal.

Havelock North New World had delivered 700 bottles of water, One Pure also gave 700 units, h2go donated 1000 bottles.

Similar attendance numbers were seen at private boys school Hereworth, with the majority of students back.

Principal Steve Fiet said 10 per cent were off sick, compared with just 70 boys last Monday.

Lucknow School Principal Paul Grundy noted that there were 43 students away, with 255 children at school.

"I expect it to gradually go back to normal by the end of the week," he said.

Woodford House Principal Julie Peterson said they would continue to drink bottled water only and would be extra vigilant around hygiene.

"We are thrilled to have 95 per cent of our girls back at school with good health.

"Throughout this crisis, our girls have demonstrated resilience and a high level of maturity as they turned a challenging week into a learning experience."