Schools ' new normality'... and some class closures
Over 99% of school children are able to go to class normally in the region
SCHOOLS are continuing to adapt to the ' new normal' term, although 32 classes throughout the Valencia region have had to send pupils home for 15- days isolation due to cases reported.
Four Benidorm classes have been affected by Covid- 19 cases detected and pupils are in quarantine at their homes as a precaution. The cases were detected at two classes in Mestre Gaspar López school, one at Puig Campana school and another at the Sierra Helada school in Rincón de Loix district.
In Villajoyosa, El Colegio de Pate primary school had to close one of its classes from Monday due to a pupil having tested positive.
A class at Blasco Ibáñez primary school in Elche has also been confined to their homes due to a case detected there.
Pupils of a Pinoso fourthyear primary school class have been confined at their homes due to a positive case among students.
Gandía's Joan XXIII school has had to confine two class groups, and pupils in one ' bubble' at the Sant Francesc de Borja primary school are still in quarantine.
Their classroom was shut after 10 teachers tested positive; they have all now shown as negative after PCR tests, but eight are still in quarantine as a precaution.
Around 40 primary school pupils in Castalla have been ordered to quarantine at home after two of their classmates tested positive for Covid- 19 – the latest in a spike in cases reported in the town.
Mayor Antonio Bernabeu said on Friday that the two children affected are siblings, but are in different classes at the Rico Sapena primary school, meaning two separate groups have been sent home.
All 40 children were due to undergo PCR tests this week, and to stay isolated and indoors until they got the all- clear.
The mayor said the two confirmed cases were tested after their elder sister, who attends the high school, was diagnosed – she reported feeling unwell and did not go to class that day.
All teachers tested in Torrevieja
Torrevieja town hall called in approximately 1,500 teachers, non- teaching personnel, cleaners and maintenance workers from all the schools in the municipality for voluntary serological tests for Covid- 19 antibodies on Wednesday.
The tests had been prohibited by the regional government but the Regional Supreme Court upheld the town hall’s appeal and they went ahead at the municipal leisure centre between 15.00 and 19.00.
The number of tests administered was not confirmed, only that the results would be issued within 24 hours and those who were positive would be given PCR tests to determine if they still have the virus.
They were carried out by Ribera Salud, the concessionary company that manages public healthcare in the area for the regional government, which said it had not charged the town hall for this additional service.
Calpe calls for tests
Calpe town hall is calling for school staff to be regularly tested for coronavirus to help prevent the spread of Covid- 19.
The council is urging the regional Valencia government to have a system of ‘ recurrent tests’ for the whole educational community in schools and colleges – including teachers and all workers.
This week’s council meeting rejected the town hall organising additional tests; it was agreed this could interfere with existing protocols agreed by Valencia’s health and education departments.
Masks are mandatory for all pupils aged over six – students must also carry a spare to school – and there is a strict hand- washing regime for younger children throughout the school day.
In addition, gel dispensers have been supplied, along with sanitiser, soap and disposable towels. Parents have been asked to supply children with bottled water as drinking fountains have been closed.
Air- con units installed
Air conditioning has been installed in all the classrooms at
the José María Manresa Navarro primary school in San Fulgencio.
This has been done to ‘ minimise, during the early stages of the term, the effects of the hot days and high temperatures that are so typical in our area and will continue until the winter arrives’, said education councillor Ana Villena.
The effects of the heat ‘ could be increased even more by the requirement for schoolchildren aged six and upwards to wear sanitary face masks against Covid- 19 for several hours of the day’.
The 19 air conditioning units were acquired by the school’s parents’ association ( AMPA) but the cost, of about € 16,500, was subsidised by the town hall.
A few still have to be installed in rooms that have been repurposed as classrooms in order to reduce pupil ratios, such as the library.
The councillor assured the air conditioning does not make it easier for the virus to spread as long as the classrooms are well ventilated, which the town hall has hired specific personnel to carry out.
Moreover, they are considering whether to install special anti- Covid- 19 filters to purify the air, in addition to regular, thorough cleaning of the apparatus.
Lack of teachers... and furniture
Pupils in first year of high school in La Font d'En Carròs were due to start school on Friday – a week later than everyone else – because of a staff shortage.
The Francesc Carròs school says it was waiting for extra teachers to be taken on for 11and 12- year- olds, but they were not deployed in time.
As well as not enough teachers for them, the tables, chairs and other equipment ordered in for the kids did not get there in time for the first day of term.
So they had to stay at home until Friday, September 11 as there was nowhere to sit and nobody to teach them.
Class numbers have been restricted nationwide to 20, or an ' ideal maximum' of 15, so pupils are ' distanced' and self- contained groups who spend all their time together, not mixing with other students, are manageably small.
This way, if a pupil or teacher catches Covid- 19, only one group will have to quarantine, and only 15 or 20 children rather than 30- plus.
It has meant more teachers employed and more areas set up as classrooms for the 2020 autumn term, hence the additional furniture needed.