schools

The Department of Education has confirmed that the school buildings will be used as evacuation shelters for people leaving the exclusion zone to ensure the safety of students and staff operations in Aiwa are being carried out.

A large WW2 UXO (bomb) was found in Aiwo District and it will be disarmed and made safe today.  

DRM Director, Diminski Reweru said, “Fire and Tsunami evacuation drills are different. In a tsunami drill the students and teachers will be required to move to higher ground, while in a fire drill, students and teachers will be required to assemble in a designated safe area 15 to 20 meters from the school.”

The safety drills are an annual event organized by the department for safety reasons.

Fire and Tsunami evacuation drills are organized annually in the schools because students and teachers change annually.

Children aged 5 to 12 have been at home since April last year while Year 12 and 13 students returned to classes in November.

Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete said the coronavirus is now endemic to Fiji and community transmission will lead to the same in schools.

The Ministry of Education said Chinese President Xi Jinping's "thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era" would be taught from primary school level all the way to university.

The move is aimed at strengthening "resolve to listen to and follow the Party" and new teaching materials must "cultivate patriotic feelings", the guidelines said.

Since coming to power in 2012, the Chinese President has sought to strengthen the ruling Chinese Communist Party's role in all areas of society, including its businesses, schools and cultural institutions.

The Solomon Star reported the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education, Franco Rodie issued the directive, as part of the country's Covid-19 response strategy.

Dr Rodie said the mass repatriation of people from the capital to their home provinces following the declaration of a State of Public Emergency last week was causing anxiety and confusion for schools and education authorities.

Because of this Dr Rodie ordered all schools to close with a tentative return date set for the 27th of April.

According to Nauru Ridges to Reef Project Communications Officer, Deldeab Deduna, students and teachers have responded positively to the awareness campaign.

“Students had an inquiring nature and asked a lot of question regarding Eben Omo campaign and we had quizzes and prizes for students who given correct answers in the quizzes. Students were interested and engaged well by asking a lot of questions,” Deduna said.

Eben Omo was launched in Nauru in March 2018.

In December a two month old child from New Zealand was admitted to LBJ Hospital with symptoms of the disease.

The Department of Health is driving a campaign to promote immunisation after recent cases were recorded in the Northland region of New Zealand

Medical Director Joseph Tufa said parents should make sure their children are protected from the potentially deadly disease.

The department has asked parents to provide proof that their children have received the meningococcal vaccine and booster shot.

The amateur detective program was designed by teachers at Penrith Valley School, a facility for children with behavioural problems or complex emotional needs who have struggled with mainstream learning.

"A lot of them have had a lot of poor experiences in the classroom so they've got an expectation of failure that they're bringing in," principal Nic Danta said.

"And so the first stage is just to re-build that trust and connect them with education."

Campaigners are celebrating the ruling, saying giving more children access to sex and relationship information from an early age will be beneficial.

It means faith schools, where sex education has previously been limited, will now teach pupils about sex.

However, parents will still be able to opt children out of these classes.

The ruling is "really important" as it will equip young people with essential information on sex and relationships, Laura Hannah, the education and training manager for leading UK sexual health charity Brook, says.

Andrew Hogan of Optometry Australia sees a lot of children in his practice in Hobart, often when parents or teachers notice one of those symptoms.

"Kids won't complain about blurry vision," he told Helen Shield on ABC Radio Hobart.

"Kids who aren't paying attention [in class], sometimes it's simply because they can't see and they don't realise that everyone else can see, because they've got nothing to compare it to."