Teachers and principals are bracing themselves for all manner of reactions when eight-hundred-thousand school children return to class on Monday for the first time in eight weeks.
Some children will be excited, some will be anxious and some might not turn up at all.
The Education Ministry has warned schools truancy rates might rise because families have got out of the habit of regular schooling and some will be worried about Covid-19.
RNZ's education correspondent, John Gerritsen, reports.