As the bulk of kids head back to school this week, I just wonder how many parents are feeling, well, a) relieved, but also b), slightly trepidatious about whether we’ll get a whole school year in this year, or get another lockdown. I mean based on yesterday’s awesome total of zero cases, we’d like to think positively, but realistically, the chance is always there.

What’s cool about this year though is getting the sport and extra curriculars back for the kids. I mean I think for many children the working from home thing was pretty good – especially if their school was well equipped for online learning, but it’s the social side of things and the sport that they probably missed more. So having that schedule back up and running is exciting for them.. long may it last. That goes for school events and gatherings too. The fun stuff basically. All the stuff that got cancelled last year.

I mean I don’t doubt there won’t still be Covid fallout for some schools. The Southland Secondary Principals Association president was quoted in one report as saying, ‘larger schools with big international rolls and small country schools with international programmes were most likely to be impacted.’ There will have to be a bit of re-jigging done for schools like those which may have been relying on international students, and they’ll certainly be praying for open borders in the not too distant future.

But I feel like we’re going into this year more prepared, we know what to expect, schools are better prepped and hopefully more agile to respond quickly if they need to. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. The summer break is always such a long holiday, the hard work this week is getting kids acclimatised back to early starts. Enthusing them to hop back into scratchy uniforms in this heat, carry heavy bags around, make school lunches, dig out the PE gear. No easy task after a long carefree summer where all they had to think about was applying sunscreen.

But getting them back into routine and out of the house is good for them and for working parents who’ve been back into the daily grind for awhile. It’s not cheap though. By the time you’ve done the stationery shop, the inevitable next size of up of school shoes and uniform bits and bobs, tried to shop up all the politically correct items for the lunchbox, it’s an expensive exercise.

There was the occasional item I had to expel from the supermarket trolley which my daughter had thrown in optimistically. I mean once upon a time I might’ve been relaxed about the odd packet of Doritos in the lunchbox, but god help you if that enters the school gate these days. So to all the parents finally seeing children off to school this week, let’s hope they actually get to stay there for at least a full term 1 of 2021.