Ratapiko School families enjoy time with family and keep busy in lockdown

Ratapiko School families are finding fun ways to keep busy during the lockdown.

Rebecca Collins, mother of Blayke (10) and Savannah (8), says her family are keeping active during the lockdown by going on walks.

"We live in a pretty secluded area and we don't have close walks. Occasionally when we go for a walk we see someone else walking on the other side of the road."

She says she originally chose Ratapiko School as she lived near the school.

"We move around because of farming jobs. We are currently living Tariki."

She says she likes how the school has a lot of support for the students.

"There is a lot of one-on-one time for students which helps them pick up skills faster and if a student is having difficulty it is noticed quickly."

Being a small school makes it easy to stay in contact with others, Angela Amaru says.

"Although we're in lockdown, we're not isolated from school community we can still keep in contact electronically."

Angela has three children at the school, Evelyn (12), Lilliah (8) and Avalee (7).

Before going to school, the children were home schooled.

"The closest school to us had nearly 400 pupils and to go from home schooling to that is quite a big jump. I wanted the children to attend a small school.

"Ratapiko was one of the only un zoned schools. Going to Ratapiko was the best decision we made."