It was the first day back in the classroom for many children today, as schools prepare for life with Covid-19 rife in the community.
The start of a new school year, and one that is unlikely to be like any other.
It is just a matter of time before the Omicron rips through the community.
Wellington mum Caroline, dropping her daughter off at Berhampore school, said she was feeling apprehensive.
"My youngest who's five-and-a-half, she's been a little bit emotional over this last week [about] coming back to school.
"I do think it is probably around the uncertainty, not knowing how things are going to be.
"We've been talking a lot about [how] Omicron is here, [and how] we're probably all going to get it at some point."
Caroline said her children had a dose of the vaccine a few weeks ago.
Amit, the father of a nine-year-old, said while he was pro-vaccine, and had his shots, he had been a bit hesitant and had not taken his daughter to get vaccinated yet.
"That's something that she asked about the other day, because one of her friends got the jab.
"So she was like 'okay, when are we going to do it?', and I was like 'look we'll talk about it whenever you want and [you can get it done] if you want to'."
Amit said his daughter was plugged into what was going on, and had been listening to the prime minister's 1pm press conferences.
Sam Huggard, who has a 5-year-old and a 10-year-old, said the timing of the outbreak helped ease the disruption to learning.
"We're quite lucky in a way that it's February, March for this wave to be coming, because you can keep the rooms open and more ventilated [and] there's heaps more outdoor time.
"If we were having this conversation in June, July, August [I would] be having a bit more of an anxious reaction. [We're] lucky in a sense that we've been able to get through summer and do the best we can to try and prepare for this."
About 37 percent of children have had a vaccine dose, and parents spoken to by RNZ said they have had no trouble getting an appointment.
Meanwhile, the red Covid-19 setting means schools are minimising the number of adults allowed onsite.
They are asking parents to drop their children off at the gate if they can, rather than bring them into their classroom.
And there are some other new rules. Children in Year 4 and above have to wear masks indoors, and while it is encouraged for the younger ones, it is not required.
Schools are also being asked to open windows, doors, and vents to allow air to flow, and follow good hygiene practices.
Parents should keep children home from school to get tested if they have Covid-19 symptoms.
Berhampore School principal Mark Potter said he only got detailed information about the new settings 10 days ago, which was not a lot of time to prepare.
"We're as prepared as we can be ... [it's] a bit like D-day: you've got to have 58 plans and only use three of them, because so many scenarios can come up.
"It's going to be about maintaining our workforce, and of course our role is to make sure that parents can maintain their place in the workforce.
"We're not going to see closures of schools like we have in the past."
Potter said the school would experiment with the best approach to masks.
"We are getting parents who are questioning about the masks and worrying about what impact that may have.
"So it's about working through with them so that they feel more comfortable with what we'll be doing with masks, so they don't feel that pressure to keep their children home.
"There's a lot of parents saying they might keep their kids home, but they don't want to home-school."
The bell sounds and a new school year begins - and for New Zealand, the real test is about to come.
