Devices have been delivered to pupils and teachers have rolled out their online learning resources.
However, as the country heads into its extended lockdown, parents are being reminded not to feel pressure about online learning and to prioritise their families’ wellbeing.
Dunedin North Intermediate principal Heidi Hayward said the school was up and running for online learning as of yesterday and any pupil without a device had been supplied with one.
The school had learnt from its experience last lockdown, when the majority of people found distance learning "quite overwhelming", she said.
It was clear no pupils had significantly regressed in learning following last year’s lockdown, so this time the school was making and effort to "stick to the basics".
The school had few expectations of whanau during the first three days of lockdown and wanted people to prioritise family time, which had helped pupils "enormously", she said.
Otago Boys’ High School principal Richard Hall said parents and pupils were able to come through the school, adhering to social distancing and wearing masks, to pick up learning packs with resources for design and visual communication classes yesterday.
Home deliveries were made at the weekend for devices, and today, courier packages would be sent out to hostel pupils.
Mr Hall said teaching staff had also adapted quickly to online learning this time around.
"They have probably expanded their techniques ... there is much more confidence and they are willing to try new things."
Kaikorai Valley College principal Richard Geerlofs said years 7 to 10 pupils were allowed a grace period last week, but the school was fully online for all levels from yesterday.
The transition had been "relatively smooth".
"We are reasonably confident that things should be ticking along," he said.
"We are just being forward-thinking. It seemed unlikely that we would suddenly go from Level 4 to Level 2."
Staff were given permission from the Government to go on site and get the resources they needed this time around, which had made a "really big" difference, she said.
Otago Primary Principals’ Association president and Sawyers Bay School principal Gareth Swete said schools were good at preparing for worst case scenarios, while hoping for the best.
He said it was important to remind parents there was no pressure to deliver distance learning "all day, every day" during this time, he said.
"The primary responsibility for families is not the online learning, it is about managing a household, taking care of themselves and their children in the best way they can."
Comcol, which has six colleges in the South Island, was also prepared for an extension of lockdown.
It delivered learning packs to its students yesterday, including chromebooks and the necessary resource material for each student’s course, to allow for distance learning.
