Checkpoint

A primary school that was an early adopter of iPads in class has ditched the tech, returning to pen and paper for its youngest students. Omata School in New Plymouth packed away iPads for years one to four at the start of the year. It started as one term trial but the school is now sticking with it until the end of the year. Omata School Principal Karen Brisco spoke to Lisa Owen.

Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen about many Australians finding themselves unable to communicate electronically yesterday after a major outage of services provided by the country's biggest telco.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The Warriors are back in action tomorrow night after a much needed week off. On the back of three losses from their last four games - the side head to Sydney to meet the West Tigers - a club with a close connection to coach Andrew Webster. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

A group of very young North Canterbury students are driving change when it comes to protecting some of Aotearoa's most precious birds. The students - between six and eight years old - have convinced the Waimakariri District Council to investigate a bylaw to ban vehicles and dogs on the Ashley/Rakahuri River bed during nesting. Teacher Anita Ward spoke to Lisa Owen.

It's been a tense day at Tauranga Hospital as medical registrar's faced the prospect of more than a quarter of their staff away over the long weekend. A doctor issued a plea on social media calling for anyone familiar with the hospital to come in and help as a medical registrar over Saturday and Sunday. Finn Blackwell has more.

As wild weather and flood waters smash the country yet again, the damage and repair bills are dangerously high. A new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand lays out the enormous infrastructure bills faced by regions following extreme weather events last year. Local Government New Zealand president and Gisborne Mayor, Rehette Soltz spoke to Lisa Owen.

Floodwater is slowly starting to recede in Kaikoura after rivers burst their banks in torrential rain earlier this week. While the district remains in a state of emergency, people have left evacuation centres and are returning to homes and businesses coated in mud, slit and debris. Samantha Gee reports.

Auckland's rail network is closed once again as gencies run a final dress rehearsal for the long anticipated City Rail Link. Auckland Transport and KiwiRail remain tight lipped on when the underground loop will open to commuters, but promise the four day Matariki weekend closure will be its last push to the finish line. Felix Walton reports.

New national guidelines are being developed for assessing and monitoring patients in emergency departments following the death of a man in the Waikato Hospital ED. Following a rapid review of the incident Health New Zealand says the death was an acute unexpected incident. Health NZ Executive National Director - Clinical, Dr Richard Sullivan spoke to Lisa Owen.