Historic Times

I'm up super early for a PPTA womens' breakfast.Good to catch up on familiar faces. We're a support group and getting bigger as we connect more often. I sit opposite Dayna whom I taught in Year 11...doesn't feel that long ago but she's a teacher now with two small children. Amazing. I think you have to be Wonder Woman to teach fulltime with kids, let alone babies.
It's a rush to class but I make it. The kids are up in the air. Everything is so uncertain with the virus. Yesterday some boys were wearing dust masks in class. I ignored it. Today a boy walks in with one and I tell him to take it off smartly. It's another distraction and too in my face.
I make a quick trip to the building site at lunchtime because I have such a busy afternoon I know I won't get back. The insulation installation is still going on and I chat to one I think I recognise. Yes, he was a student at Pap High. Kai and he's happy to see me.
Teaching a double Year 10 in the afternoon I start by reading the short story, Ka Kite Bro. See you later, bro. The kids are silent when I finish. They don't have a lot of energy all afternoon. I finish early. They're wondering what next. I don't know what to tell them. They have been through disaster as small children. And there's higher levels of anxiety in their cohort.
I'm out the door early. I want to get a tile order in, just in case. The tiles I am choosing are from Italy which has been hit hard from the virus. And it seems it's getting worse in spite of lock down. I want to get as organised as I can in case of disruption. Panic buying at supermarkets has revealed a shortage mentality. I head out to Hornby to get filler recommended by Lance to smooth over the nail holes in the BGC board. My job.
Finally I make it to Villa Maria where we are holding the Canterbury PPTA regional AGM. It's a quiet affair but good afternoon tea. Some rewards. Covid is on our minds as we sip tea and quietly munch sandwiches. We are told of a Maori teacher shortage. No-one to fill the vacancies. Shame. This is the key to revitalisation of Te Reo Maori but the responsibilites of Maori teachers go well beyond lesson delivery and preparation. Te Reo teachers support not only students but also their whanau, and are not resourced or compensated for this. We ask too much and give too little.
Someone announces that New Zealand is closing its borders at midnight. I cheer. Kahu can't come home now. As I drive home I learn that this does not apply to citizens. In that case Kahu may be home soon. But this is historic. New Zealand has never taken such an action.
At \6pm it's still warm. Chris and I go for a swim at Taylor's. After we drive to Speight's Alehouse. I think I'm going to meet my volleyball teammates for a beer. Our game has been cancelled. But the pub's closed. Dead as a door nail. Chris and I have a drink in front of the telly.