Principal Allison Alliston, who has worked tirelessly alongside staff members to prepare different methods of teaching, has outlined how the school has coped in recent weeks in the wake of the virus and how students continue to learn from home.

A fortnight before the end of term one, it was announced by the federal government students across Australia would begin learning from home.

"After the announcement that parents were entitled to keep their kids at home and encouraged to do so, our numbers dropped significantly overnight," Mrs Alliston said.

"The community was reeling about what to do and suddenly teachers were faced with a huge task of going online for 100 per cent of their classes."

In just four days, staff worked around the clock to post all learning material to online teaching tool Google Classroom. This modern teaching method was foreign to some teachers, with less than a third of staff using it before the pandemic.

Mrs Alliston commended the work of deputy principal Raylene Starke who managed staff rosters and kept track of who was at school or working from home.

The only concern from students has been workload.

"We just said 'do what you can' and also for parents who have numbers of kids in high school and primary school who only have one device, we loaned out laptops and internet dongles so they had access," Mrs Alliston said. "We also gave them hard copy packs."

The school has remained open despite the majority of teachers working from home.

"We had the attitude that no child would be turned away from the school," Mrs Alliston said.

While their schoolmates worked from home, a small group of students stuck around. Some were the children of essential workers while others just wanted to be there.

"The kids who came were excited to be here," Mrs Alliston said.

The students suggested one out of uniform day but their fun loving principal had other ideas.

Dress up days were held with themes such as retro, pajamas and superheroes.

"All the staff and kids got dressed up and we had a fashion parade each morning," Mrs Alliston explained.

"It just set the tone that they were welcome here, we'd keep them safe to enjoy their last two weeks of term."

This week marked the start of a staggered return to the classroom. Year 11 and 12 students will have normal lessons four days a week while Wednesdays will be set aside to focus on major works.

"A lot of our year 12 students have major works in art, music, drama, industrial technology and extension work so we're saying to them 'let's concentrate on you on Wednesdays' so we can get them back up to speed," Mrs Alliston said.

When senior students walked through the gates last Monday morning, they were welcomed by a round of applause from staff.

"That was just an amazing moment and that's what we're here for, schools are for kids and we've missed them," Mrs Alliston said.

Year eight returned on Tuesday, with staff welcoming them back with a barbecue. About 400 students at school was a stark contrast to weeks gone by.

Years nine and 10 returned yesterday while year seven will head back to the classroom this morning.

"We've really appreciated the work of staff and the families in supporting Taree High School and education in Taree generally," Mrs Alliston said.

"I think they're amazing and I love the kids' attitudes to coming back.

"The families have been amazing in supporting their kids and you get comments like 'oh my goodness I didn't realise what it was like to be a teacher but I'm glad I'm not one'.

"We really appreciate what the parents and the community have done for us.

"Whilst it's been a nerve-wracking time for a lot of people, there's a few positives to come out of it and we're glad to see the kids coming back, and I'm sure families are glad to see their kids going back to school."

Online work from home will continue, with a full-time return to school still unknown.

"As the phase rolls on, we'll work out what's happening next, such as giving students access to two days a week," Mrs Alliston said.

"We're governed by the Department of Education giving us advice on what to do next, as well as the health department.

"We don't want to do anything in a rush to maybe start another spike of coronavirus but we're good."

Staff and students are taking every measure possible to adhere to social distancing and practice hand hygiene.

Teachers are taking a realistic approach to ensure guidelines are met.

"We're practicing social distancing where we can but kids are kids and they will clump," Mrs Alliston said.

Staff members have designated hand sanitiser bottles in each classroom.

Students have embraced the idea of good hand hygiene and are constantly cleaning their hands.

"There's soap in the bathrooms, air dryers and we're encouraging that at all times with our kids to practice that safe hygiene for all of us," Mrs Alliston added.

"We're all in this together and we all want to protect each other."