Auckland remains the epicentre of the Omicron outbreak and schools dealing with a peak in cases are rostering off year groups or shutting their doors to wait it out.
(file image) Photo: 123RF
The latest figures from the Ministry of Education show 86 percent of schools in the region have reported cases in the past 10 days.
Almost 20,000 community cases reported in the last 10 days are linked to schools in Auckland - that is 422 schools, leaving just over 100 unscathed.
Among those supporting students and staff in isolation is Orewa College.
Principal Greg Pierce said the school's 2000 students were learning online this week, after class attendance dropped and 15 percent of its teachers were isolating.
"It's not as though we were disproportionately affected by Covid compared to other schools in Auckland, but we just thought that with increasing numbers of students not being here and staff consistently at that 10 to 15 percent absenteeism, a five-day circuit breaker ... was appropriate."
He said the timing felt right with Auckland likely at its peak for community cases.
"It does appear as though Auckland is nearing its peak or has just peaked so we're really confident that having this five-day period with a weekend either side will really clear the decks to start again back on-site next Monday."
Another school, Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae in Mangere East, is closed until 21 March, with many teachers and students isolating.
Secondary Principals' Association president Vaughan Couillault said many schools were delivering online learning to students isolating at home - while also carrying on teaching in classrooms.
Vaughan Couillault is principal of Papatoetoe High School, where a couple of hundred of the 1400 students are isolating, along with about 20 teachers. Photo: RNZ
Couillault said students were coping better than during lockdowns.
"I think what we're doing now is harder for teachers to manage but easier for students to cope with. They hybrid thing of half of your kids are at school and some of them are at home is really hard for teachers," he said.
"Students, if they're engaging, aren't necessarily falling behind at the rate we may have seen say this time last year when Auckland was in that little bit of lockdown for three weeks. Students for example on my campus that are at school seem incredibly engaged."
Couillault is principal of Papatoetoe High School, where a couple of hundred of the 1400 students are isolating, along with about 20 teachers.
They were close to shutting down, but rostering days off for year groups meant they could manage with fewer staff.
Seven weeks into term one, Couillault hoped term two would be less disrupted.
"I'm hoping that by Easter red levels are a thing of the past, we might have regular supplies of rapid antigen tests so that individuals need to isolate and so it's not quite so broad in terms of what the requirements are of people."
In the meantime, principals are tasked with keeping their school communities informed.
Pierce said it was akin to being a diplomat.
"It's a fine line between keeping the community up to date and not disproportionately putting fear and anxiety levels above what they need to be, so it's a fine balancing act, but in general I think schools need to be as transparent and up to date with the information they give to their community as possible."
