Building stools, taking extended lunch breaks, and teachers shouting you lunch instead of shouting at you - yesterday was like a school day in the twilight zone for Kaikorai Valley College pupil Nathaniel McMonagle (13).
While the majority of secondary school pupils around Otago stayed home during the Post Primary Teachers' Association strike action, Nathaniel arrived at school as normal.
He was the only one to turn up to a supervised class at Kaikorai Valley College.
He spent the day "doing a bit of cleaning" and helping to clamp legs together for stools being built in woodwork classes.
Nathaniel said the bonus was he got to have longer lunch breaks, and the non-union teachers shouted him a cream bun and a pie for lunch.
"It's been one of the best days, if not the busiest, I've had at school.
"It was great," he said.
While Nathaniel was lapping up the extraordinary attention at school, other pupils spent the day either at home, at the beach or in the city shopping precinct.
Those pupils quizzed by the Otago Daily Times were supportive of their teachers' strike action - but for different reasons.
Many commented: "It's great because we get a day off school.
"They should strike more often".
However, Otago Girls High School pupils Catalina Jadue (17) and Charlotte Meiklejohn (16) said their teachers deserved a pay rise because they worked very hard.
"I don't think they get paid enough. It's good they're doing this. They do so much for us," Charlotte said.
Catalina, an exchange student from Chile, said New Zealand education was very good compared with public education in Chile.
"The teachers here are amazing - the work they do ..."
