Teachers are getting ready for students to return to classes as the country moves to Covid-19 alert level 3.
Schools are reopening on Wednesday for children up to Year 10 who can not study from home, or whose parents need to return to work.
The principal of New Plymouth's Spotswood College, Nicola Ngarewa, who also chairs the Teaching Council, said the health and safety of students and staff was the number one priority.
"There's no doubt challenges with all of this, and I guess from my personal perspective as a principal I have had to find what some of those opportunities are," she said.
"Some of them have been able to continue with the distance online learning and they do need to be at home. I don't want them compromising their health at all."
Ngarewa said for those students who did go to class, life would be different.
"There has been a lot of preparation that has gone into making sure that all the guidelines are being followed up, with the distancing, making sure that there's really good measures in place around cleaning and hygiene," she said.
Ngarewa also praised teachers, the Ministry of Education and the Teaching Council staff in working "exceptionally hard" for schools to reopen.
RNZ
