
New Year Honours: Grey Lynn physicist Shaun Hendy commended for Covid-19 response
A physicist who played a major role in the nation’s Covid-19 response has been appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours.
Grey Lynn resident Shaun Hendy used his expertise in the science of complex systems to map out how the virus could spread across the country under various scenarios.
His models revealed the severity of the threat and influenced the government’s decision to “go hard and go early” in its response.
“It has been a very difficult year, but in the end it has been very satisfying to have played a role in helping New Zealand get through this pandemic."


What's your experience with pre-fabricated homes?
The Sunday Star-Times is looking into the rise of transportable/ kit-set/ pre fabricated homes. The upsides are build-efficiency, quality of design, and cost. The downsides appear to be land supply, red-tape with council and difficulty getting lending from banks. If you're willing to share your experience - good or bad - email kelly.dennett@stuff.co.nz, otherwise leave a comment. Is there an aspect of transportable housing you'd like us to enquire about for you?

Choosing an education in a covid world
When New Zealand’s Alert Level 4 came into effect in March 2020, schools around the country faced the challenge of a transitioning from onsite to online learning.
As students adjusted to the shift in their educational environment, many schools were ill-prepared to move to quickly to online learning. Schools such as St Peter’s in Cambridge were readily prepared for a seamless transfer between classroom and digital learning.
With each student ready to use online platforms such as Google Classroom and Hangouts, a streamlined shift was enabled as soon as the lockdown occurred.
Find out why more families are choosing St Peter’s at our Open Day on 12 March.

Is the government giving financial support to families that are self-isolating?
Hi, my neighbours
We know that these days many families live in south Auckland, like Papatoetoe and now east Auckland, like Botany are self-isolating as government required.
I just wonder could they apply any help during the isolation or does the government supply any help?
I worry that those people who are self-isolating are suffering from a lot of pressure. Not everyone is wealthy enough to self-isolate without support, right? Do they have enough income to pay for their rent or food or cover their basic expenses? Could they keep working at home and not lose their jobs? How can they get help? And if so from where?
Could anyone who has experienced this share their thoughts and feelings about this subject?
Kind regards
Betty