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Friday 22 May 2020
Many happy returns
Back to school: Collingwood Area School students arrive at the school gates early on Monday morning. Photo: Jo Richards. ANITA PETERS, JEANINE TAYLOR, JO RICHARDS
On Monday, Golden Bay students seemed very happy as they returned to the classroom after nearly two months of home-based learning. They were just some of the country's 800,000 returning students who included the year 1 intake, who are effectively starting over, to year 13 NCEA students who are on the final stretch of their school careers. Collingwood Area School At Collingwood Area School, cars and buses began to arrive shortly after 8.15am discharging students of all ages at the school gates. It might have been a chilly five degrees, but the welcome was warm, with teachers and students greeting one another in the playground. Several older students took the opportunity to get in some early morning basketball practice and, as the clock ticked on, the distinctive happy noise of a school playground filled the Collingwood air. At the end of the school day, principal Hugh Gully reflected on the re-start. “We had a very good turnout – about 95 per cent.” He noted that students were clearly pleased to get back to school. “They were very happy
to see their buddies. I wandered around at lunchtime and they were sitting around in circles just catching up. It was good to hear lots of laughter from the kids – and the teachers. “I spoke to a few kids who have had a nice time during lockdown, a really special time with their families, doing a load of interesting things.” Hugh said that while not all senior students had engaged fully with their NCEA studies
“I enjoyed learning from home but it's great to be back with my friends.” during lockdown, they would be able to catch up. “They will have lots of one-on-one sessions with teachers to help them get credits they need. If they haven’t engaged, today is the time to get on with it.” Summing up, Hugh said he was very happy with how things had gone. “It’s been a really, really good day.”
Golden Bay High School Ninety-two percent of the school roll returned on Monday, arriving in droves. They were greeted by the senior management team before being directed to the handwashing facilities and on to their form classes. The rules under Level 2 were laid out, and teachers and students reconnected with each other and with face-to-face learning. The senior students expressed relief about being back, as did their teachers; in fact, most students said they were happy to be back. The year 9s returned to creative mode in Resistance Materials Technology following a health-andsafety briefing from teacher Ben Knoef. Student Hazel Molloy commented, “I enjoyed learning from home, but it is great to be back with my friends,” while Kyla Lusty said, “It feels really weird.” These sentiments were echoed by many fellow students. The focus on day one was on settling back into school and assessing where students were with their learning. Adjusting to the conditions set out for health-and-safety under Level 2... Continued on page 3
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THE GB WEEKLY, FRIDAY 22 MAY 2020
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Wage Subsidy extension JO RICHARDS
Businesses continuing to suffer a significant decline in revenue as a result of the coronavirus crisis will be able to apply to the Government for a further eight weeks of financial support in the form of a Wage Subsidy Extension. The Government has so far paid out around $11billion to employers under the original Wage Subsidy initiative which was launched in March. The Government announced the extension to the current Wage Subsidy scheme in its recent budget and confirms that the payment will be available to support employers, including sole traders, who are still significantly impacted by Covid-19 after the current 12-week Wage Subsidy ends. The extension payment is also available to those who have not previously received the Wage Subsidy. The Wage Subsidy Extension will be available from 10 June until 1 September so employers can keep paying their employees over winter - a traditionally quiet period for many businesses. More information about the payment, including details of how to apply, will be available before 10 June when applications open. However, employers are not allowed to apply for the Wage Subsidy Extension for an employee until their current 12-week Wage Subsidy has finished. To be eligible for the initial Wage Subsidy, business needed to have experienced a minimum 30 per cent Covid-related decline in actual or predicted revenue over a 30-day period compared with the same period in 2019. The rules for the upcoming extension payment are different; applicants must have had, or expect to have, a revenue loss of at least 50 per cent for the 30 days prior to making their application, compared to the equivalent period last year. The key points of the new scheme are summarised below: It will cover eight weeks per employee from the date the application is submitted. It will be paid to applicants as a lump sum at the same weekly rate as the Wage Subsidy. This is a flat rate of $585.80 for people working 20 hours or more per week (full-time rate) and $350.00 for people working less than 20 hours per week (parttime rate). Applicants must agree to certain obligations, including: • Pass the subsidy on to their employees. • Retain their employees for the duration of the subsidy. • Do their best to pay their employees at least 80 per cent of their normal pay. • Take active steps to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on their business. One subsidy at a time Employers cannot receive more than one Government Covid-19 payment for the same employee at the same time. These payment schemes include the Wage Subsidy, the Leave Support Scheme, and the Wage Subsidy Extension. For further information, visit: https:// www.workandincome.govt.nz/ ISSN (PRINT) 2538-0923 ISSN (ONLINE) 2538-0931
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