Hopkinson said the school would close on Monday as per Ministry of Education guidelines \u201cout of respect and for our staff to have time to comprehend this immense loss to our school community\u201d.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Ponsonby Intermediate School board told the Herald they are \u201cstill processing things\u201d and might have more to say in the coming days.<\/p>\n
The school will reopen on Tuesday and parents were told further information will be communicated via email tomorrow, including details of support for the students. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs per Ministry of Education guidelines, we request that families hold off contacting teachers whilst we navigate this challenging time,\u201d Hopkinson wrote in his email to parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that Nick was much loved by our school community and this will be hard news to share with your children.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur love and thoughts are with Nick\u2019s family at this incredibly difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The email included advice to parents on how to discuss the tragedy with children. It was signed off \u201cwith great sadness\u201d by Hopkinson and the school\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cKua hinga te t\u014dtara i Te Waonui a T\u0101ne,\u201d the email concluded.<\/p>\n
\u201cA t\u014dtara has fallen in the great forest of T\u0101ne.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Year 7 and 8 school has a roll of about 580 students. <\/p>\n
An earlier \u201cprincipal\u2019s message\u201d on the school\u2019s website from Wilson said the school offered a personalised approach to middle school teaching, designed to give children a wide variety of opportunities across the curriculum using the school\u2019s specialist teaching model.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students at Ponsonby Intermediate always come first. You can expect your child to be well taught, well looked after and, in partnership with you, they will receive the best possible education over their two years with us.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Ponsonby Intermediate, we ensure our students enter the next stage of their lives with a positive self-image and that they look back on their time with us as an important and engaging one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look forward to getting to know our students as they find their place in \u2018The Ponsonby Experience\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Herald has approached the Ministry of Education about Wilson\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
More to come …<\/p>\n