The spread of Omicron has left Dunedin high schools with huge number of absences and lacking staff, but some are sending pupils home to try to relieve some stress.
Senior pupils at St Hilda’s Collegiate School will be attending class online from today as Covid-19 spreads throughout the community.
Principal Jackie Barron said more than 100 of its about 450 pupils were absent as confirmed cases or household contacts.
There were also staff members isolating at home.
That left the remaining teachers in a position where they had to teach some pupils in person and some online, a setup which was proving difficult, she said.
To try to rectify the situation, the school would enter a ‘‘hybrid model’’ from today, with years 11, 12 and 13 logging in from home and juniors attending in person.
It would ensure pupils had equal access to education and would not have to worry about falling behind in work.
Pupils were still welcome to come to school for workshops and tutorials.
The school ran a ‘‘really good’’ online programme and relieving the pressure would make sure it could still run.
It had about 160 boarders, many of whom would be heading home for the long weekend.
That made it the perfect time for a ‘‘circuit-breaker’’ which would be easiest on both the school and parents.
There were no guarantees with Covid but, hopefully, the school would be back to normal scheduling soon, Mrs Barron said.
It is not the only high school making moves to relieve pressure.
Year 11 pupils at Otago Boys’ High School are rostered to stay at home today, while year 12s will be home tomorrow and year 13s on Friday.
Rector Richard Hall said the pressure was ‘‘really building’’ at schools as the virus was ‘‘well and truly entrenched in the community’’.
The school had about a dozen staff unable to work and there was only a small pool of relieving teachers in Dunedin, some of whom would be isolating as well.
The school hostel had taken a ‘‘big hit’’ after a pair of sporting events and remaining pupils were taking daily rapid antigen tests.
Having pupils stay home combined with the long weekend would hopefully ‘‘break the cycle’’ and provide some relief.
Senior pupils were mature enough to stay home without too much extra pressure on parents, but it was ‘‘much harder’’ to expect families to accommodate year 9s and 10s staying home.
Mr Hall, who is also the president of the Otago Principals’ Association, said many schools around Dunedin would be considering similar moves in the coming days.
