Some private schools opt to continue virtual classes
While public primary and nursery schools reopened their doors for face-to-face learning last Monday, some private schools have opted to continue teaching their students virtually.
The Marian Academy and Mae’s schools decided to continue to engage their students through virtual methods, although the former is moving to resume face-to-face classes from tomorrow as part of a phased-reopening.
In a letter to the parents of students, seen by this newspaper, the school explained that the classes will continue virtually by use of Microsoft Teams and there would be monitoring for a gradually phased reopening.
The letter said that the Education Ministry is clear about protocols regarding COVID-19 and noted that the school is moving forward by following how it previously operated. It reminded that secondary schools are not allowed to have face to face learning until the students have received both doses of the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
A representative of Mae’s Schools told this newspaper that the schools would remain closed to face-to-face learning. She said that the school is continuing the virtual learning method as it has been doing since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the School of the Nations has resumed physical classes for some of its students
School of the Nations shared with this newspaper a list of protocols it is required to follow for its students’ safe return to physical classrooms. Regular sanitizing of hands, wearing of faces masks, no loitering on arrival or before departure, observing social distance, and the prohibition of buying from vendors outside of the school are among the measures. If students feel ill while on campus, they are required to inform their teacher immediately and the parents are expected to be called. The student will be taken to the sick bay, the measures state.
The maximum number of pupils per class will be approximately 15, considering spacing of tables and chairs at least one meter apart.
For the nursery level, play stations have been created and the number of children at each station is limited. There are also sufficient breaks for cleaning before the children change stations. Children are also separated during large group activities, which will take place outside when space and weather permits.
At the primary level, this newspaper was told, students are not allowed to share materials, such as laptops, pencils, books, ect., and all the furniture has been set up to ensure physical distancing.
The staff are encouraged to be vaccinated and observe all the protocols which have been established. The teachers are also expected to help students to be vigilant in following the guidelines. They are also encouraged to be vigilant/observe when a student is not well. In the event of a student being unwell, the child will be placed in isolation immediately, his/her parent will be informed, and arrangements will be made for the child to be transfer to a medical facility for further evaluation.
Some of the reasons parents will be contacted for possible concerns of the child being sick is if a child in the class has developed a temperature. Contact tracing will be carried out and close contacts isolation will be done at school and monitoring until the child can get picked up. The parents of all students with whom the
child has had contact with will be informed, immediately. The class will then discontinue, and parents will be asked to pick up their children. Further, if the child has a negative COVID-19 test, all students from the class will return to school. If the test is positive, all students will be required to get tested, and quarantined for
the standard 14 days. The school will facilitate online classes for the students affected, so as not to disrupt their learning, the school further said.
School of the Nations is awaiting word from the Ministry of Education before the secondary level students can return to school.