With the recent spread of coronavirus, our focus and priority is our students' well-being. Resilience will be an invaluable asset in the coming months and Panyaden stands committed that the school operation remains under the strict Covid-19 prevention policy we put in place last August 2020.
The measures below outline the steps taken by the school to ensure the highest standards of health and safety and minimisation of risk on our campus. All preventative steps we are undertaking are based on current regulations and government recommendations. Please note that procedures are subject to change according to government directives, and we will be closely monitoring any updates.
A quick look at some of the key elements of the school reopening:
- All students and staff to be at school every day following the usual schedule.
- All staff, students, and visitors must wear masks before entering the school area and at all times at school.
- New thermal imaging equipment are placed at 4 different entrances and 1 exit to monitor who is entering campus and to automatically check body temperatures. Anyone with a temperature of 37.5℃ or more will not be permitted on the school grounds.
- Hand washing and sanitising stations (alcohol gel) will be available throughout the school and students will be reminded to use them regularly.
- For school safety, only students and staff will be allowed on the school campus. Parents and guests will have to contact the school office before entering.
- The number of people entering the campus will be closely monitored. Nursery to Year 2 students will be picked up at the gate by the teachers and escorted to their classrooms. Year 3-6 students can walk to their classrooms by themselves.
- Parent travels and contact with friends or family from high risk areas will continue to be monitored. Expect regular information to be shared with parents.
- Outdoor learning spaces will be optimized to maintain social distancing.
- We will not be running any after-school clubs, in accordance with government recommendations.
- Lunch time will be staggered to allow us to maintain proper social distancing in the canteen. Inside the canteen, tables and chairs have been laid out to meet the requirements of social distancing and will be sanitised regularly. All catering staff will wear masks, shields and gloves.
- Classroom desks and canteen tables will be equipped with plexiglass partitions which adhere to social distancing guidelines.
FAQs
Starting from August, the school will provide only in-school learning. We would encourage you to send your children back to school, and we have systems in place to keep any risk to a minimum. Students will continue to benefit from the support of online programmes, but these will be supplementary to the main classes in school.
Before students and staff return to the school, we will be providing a questionnaire that must be completed with details of travel history and recent illness. We trust that everyone will share all required information, and we will take the steps necessary to delay return for anyone who may have had exposure.
We are following government guidelines on social distancing in classrooms by spreading out seating arrangements, adding partitions to student desks, and limiting the number of students per class. As an added protective measure, teachers and students will wear masks for all lessons, and will limit movement in the classroom.
Yes, wearing a mask is compulsory for anyone on the school campus. All students and staff are expected to wear cloth masks at school, although there will be times (such as when eating, drinking or engaging in physical activity) that this is not practical. They may also be removed on occasion to aid effective communication, but this will be limited as much as possible.
The younger the child, the more difficult these safety measures may be to maintain. We can anticipate children losing their masks, dropping or damaging them, or other occurrences preventing them from wearing their masks. We would recommend all children to carry a spare mask in their bag.
Yes, PE lessons will still take place. However, we will not be conducting close contact sports. Sports equipment will be cleaned frequently and we will not allow the use of shared equipment. Students can also play sport at school during break times, within the strict guidelines provided by the government.
No more than 20-25 students will be allowed in a single classroom, in order to have adequate space for social distancing. If there are more students, the class will be split into separate rooms.
We will try not to divert too much from the normal times and practices, whilst at the same time maintaining physical distancing and avoiding congestion.
For drop off, students from Nursery to Year 3 should be dropped at the Primary gate. Students from Year 4 to Year 11 should be dropped at the Secondary gate. Families with students in both groups can choose which gate to use.
For pick up, Early Years, Primary, and Secondary timetables will end at different times to stagger parents’ arrivals. Please wait at the Early Years, Primary, or Secondary gate until your child arrives.
If someone on campus is found to have Covid-19, we will separate that person in an isolated room, and will arrange for them to leave immediately and be hospitalised. We would then work with the authorities to assist with contact tracing, and close the school. Deep cleaning would take place on campus and we will follow official advice about the next steps to take. We will keep parents fully informed of developments.
We will keep apprised of the national and provincial situations, and promptly follow government directives. We will not take unnecessary risks with the health and safety of our students, staff and the whole Panyaden family. We will adjust as the situation requires.
The Panyaden family, from staff to students and their families, have all worked very hard to get through these last few months during a global pandemic. We hope that our parents will help us to orient our students to these new arrangements to protect our community, and we look forward to seeing our students in school in August.
****Please note that these protocols may be adjusted depending on the conditions and regulations in effect at that time. All procedures are subject to change according to government directives.