Covid-19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Whanganui schools begin lockdown learning rollout

Nita Pond (left) and Rachel Conley get ready to deliver school work (and a guitar) to Whanganui Girls' College students on Monday. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui teachers are rolling out online learning programs once again as schools adapt to life in Covid-19 lockdown.

Whanganui Girls' College deputy principal Nita Pond said students would be using the Microsoft Teams platform during lockdown.

"Everyone is more prepared for it (lockdown), mentally as well, which is probably the big thing," Pond said.

"Our students who are online have been able to access work since last week.

"This time around, we are actually delivering a whole lot of work. We thought it was safer and more equitable. We have a lot of bus students, so we're going all the way to Waverley and Marton."

Sewing machines, art supplies, and guitars were being delivered to senior students, Pond said.

"That's for subjects that you can't necessarily do online.

"We've also got around 45 devices to delivery as well, from Year 9 right through to Year 13."

There were still students without access to the internet, Pond said.

"In those cases, a device isn't going to help, and I suppose that's just the way it is.

"The first thing is putting everyone's wellbeing at the forefront, and keeping calm about it all. Some students will throw themself into work and others won't want to do any work.

"There are those who will pick up extra hours as essential workers at places like supermarkets as well.

"It's making sure we take all of that into consideration, and to provide them with support and resources so they can carry on. We also understand that that's not always possible."

It's back to the home office for Whanganui Intermediate teacher, Robbie Power. Photo / Supplied

Elsewhere, head of economics at Whanganui Collegiate, Chris Buckley, said this time around students were familiar with the online learning platforms and processes that their teachers guided them through.

"Added to that, the bulk of the course content has been covered for the year and we are approaching what would have been the examination period," Buckley said.

"On the flip side, there is a level of angst and uncertainty - for both teachers and students - around how final assessments will pan out."

Mosston School teacher, Kate Cvitanovich, said despite access to online learning, some students preferred to work with pen and paper.

"I was quite surprised by the number of people who said they would like the hard-pack materials," Cvitanovich said.

"That's one of things that came out of last year, parents don't want their children just staring at screens all day."

The school continued to use Google Classroom and Seesaw after last year's lockdown ended, so students had found it easy to continue using the platforms from home, Cvitanovich said.

"There are the ones that really want things to do to keep themselves busy, especially if their parents are still going to work, and then there are the ones who are quite happy to do activities with their families.

"It's a bit of a mix. We put a lot of work out last time, and some of the feedback from families was that it was too much for some people.

"We've cut it back a bit on the amount of Zooms and put out more optional work. We're saying 'just do what you can', because we don't want to put pressure on people."

Students would have more structured school day this time around, Whanganui Intermediate maths teacher Robbie Power said.

"The school has been working pretty hard on getting a whole learning timetable together.

"There's a Google Classroom meeting at nine every morning, then on Monday and Wednesday mornings there's a literacy lesson type thing.

"On Tuesdays and Thursdays there's a maths lesson with me, which goes for about an hour.

"It's setting them up with work to do. We're keeping them busy."

Fordell School Year 3 pupil Sasha Pullen collecting a learning pack on Monday. Photo / Supplied

Afternoons would be filled with a technology class, with Fridays being a "family day", Power said.

"How our hard materials teacher is able to teach from a computer is beyond me, but I'm sure he's got a plan.

"Things are pretty relaxed, but it's structured enough to keep a sense of normality."

Power said meetings leading up to lockdown had made it "pretty clear" that alert level 4 would be implemented.

"At the end of the day, it's up to the kids whether they want to participate. I had most of them in there today though."

Upskilling students throughout the year and making sure learning packs were ready to go "in case it (lockdown) ever happened again", had put Fordell School on the front foot when alert level 4 was announced, teacher Fiona Mair said.

She was at the school on Monday handing out learning packs.

They were also well set up digitally with Google Classroom and Seesaw, she said.

"The kids are online, and our teachers have had little Zoom meetings with them.

"Last week a couple of kids in my classroom were asking for even more work, and I was like 'really?'.

"That's good though, it shows they want to keep learning.

School devices had been lent out to those students without them, and those without internet had access to hard packs, Mair said.

"Often, with tasks we send through online, there's a hands-on, practical part, so that they are not always on a device.

"We were meant to have school cross-country this week, and I know some kids have been out practising their running.

"They are a pretty amazing bunch. It's really cool to see how they are all supporting each other at home as well."