Quarantined pupils attend event online

THE east branch of Jincai Middle School in the Pudong New Area had its new semester’s opening ceremony livestreamed yesterday. It wasn’t because there were any celebrities attending the event, but because 90 of its students are still under quarantine following the recent COVID19 cases in Shanghai.

“They are in either middle-risk areas or buildings locked down due to close contact with confirmed cases,” said Qiu Yili, director of the school’s student development center. “To ensure they don’t feel left behind, we decided to livestream the ceremony.”

The school has delivered textbooks to their homes, along with a letter from principal Zheng Gang and postcards from classmates.

In the letter, Zheng encouraged students to learn from and get inspired by police officers, doctors and volunteers who are working to support their life under quarantine and turn the special experience into an opportunity to develop new thoughts about the world and themselves.

Lin Xueleyi, a sixth-grader, replied to the principal’s letter.

She said she was anxious when her community was locked down, as both her life and study would be affected.

“But as you said in your letter, we are not alone,” she wrote. “The neighborhood committee staff delivered pork and vegetables to our doorstep, and volunteers came to ask about our health condition often. The medical staff wore protective gear to perform nucleic acid tests for us in hot weather with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius.

“Because of their bravery and hard work, everything is in good order.”

Lin said she had made detailed study and activity plans for her quarantined life, including doing summer vacation homework, reviewing new lessons, reading and painting, as well as playing card games and watching movies with her family. She also exercises for half an hour every day.

Qiu said all the quarantined students will take online classes on the city’s “Sky Classroom” platform, which played an important role in the spring semester last year, when students and teachers were stuck at home due to the pandemic.

“Since we all have experienced remote learning at home last year, it’s not a problem for both students and teachers,” she said. “I’m sure we will get through the difficulties soon.”

Qiu said about 60 students will finish their quarantine on Saturday and return to school next week, while the rest will return about two weeks later.