Tauhara College head students' lockdown reflections

Tauhara College head students for 2020. Deputy head girl Abby Rameka (left), heady boy Huia Foua, head girl Case Mastny-Jensen, deputy head boy Dylan Foster (right).

When Tauhara College head boy Huia Foua first heard the country was going into lockdown, he didn't believe it was real.

"Thinking that Covid-19 was coming, it was kind of like a movie. But it didn't develop and [the threat of Covid-19] is not a big thing now."

Watching the pandemic unfold around the world while at home in lockdown, Huia says the Prime Minister was a calming influence.

"Some people were over thinking it. They thought maybe we would be away from school for a year."

School resumed at Tauhara College after the Covid-19 alert level dropped to 2.

"When we came back all the students and teachers talked about was how bad it was overseas," said Huia.

A basketball and rugby player, Huia was disappointed the McQuilkin Cup was cancelled.

"We beat Nui at rugby last year. I wanted to do it again this year," said Huia.

For the Year 13s, deputy head girl Abby Rameka said it was disappointing having a large part of their final year cut out, and she is going to make the most of what is left.

"The lockdown made me grateful for the people and the opportunities around me," said Abby.

Practising dance from home via Zoom went well, but Abby is happy to be back in the dance studio.

"I missed dance for eight weeks. It made me aware of the privileges I have."

Head girl Case Mastny-Jensen said, for her, the new normal involves sanitising her hands before and after class.

"The other day we had to wash our glasses after chemistry, and our lab coats had to go in the wash. This is new," said Case.

Students are allowed within one metre of each other while at school but otherwise there is a two metre social distance. Case said all the students are aware of and cautious of the social distancing rule.

During lockdown Case wanted to stay fit for netball. One day she would run, do cross-fit the next day and then ball skills on the third day.

"At level 2 there are no games or tournaments. You can't really practice netball without other players. We have to wipe the ball down afterwards. At the gym we have to wipe the weights down at the end."

The students are all looking forward to sports resuming now that the country is in Covid-19 alert level 1. They miss the vibe from coaching, umpiring and playing in front of a home crowd.

"Imagine playing netball without spectators? That would be strange," said Case.