A South Auckland primary school and its community are in shock after their much-loved principal and leader died in her sleep. Paeariki Mataroa-Johnson, 52,.
Of those, about 4300 were still not at school another two weeks later. A similar pattern followed the Auckland lockdown. Schools fully reopened on August 31 but nearly 4600 students still had not returned four weeks later.
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When schools reopened their gates after lockdown, thousands of students were not present. (File picture) Two-thirds of slow returners were from decile 1 and 2 schools, where the ministry said a combination of Covid-19 fear and economic and housing stress due to the pandemic contrived to keep students away. “This could be due to instances such as students remaining home due to concerns around catching Covid-19 at school, particularly when there are elderly or immuno-compromised family members in the household; barriers to attendance such as lack of transport, insecure housing, or lack of uniforms; or students absent from school because they are caring for family members or [undertaking] employment,” ministry chief economist Andrew W