Letter from the Principal – “100% of our students learning, 50% in school.’
Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,
Further to the letter you received from Belinda Greer ESF CEO yesterday about students returning to schools, the details below will provide you with further information about what that will look like at Sha Tin College. We intend to be fully compliant with government guidelines to ensure students can return to campus safely. We also intend to continue to deliver a high quality learning experience for students which for most students will now include face-to-face and online lessons so that every student continues to progress with their learning.
We recognise that not every parent/guardian or student is equally comfortable with returning to school while other families can’t wait. We intend to be sensitive to the needs of all our families. As such there is quite a lot of information below designed to provide clarity and reassurance. I will write again next week with further information and detail as needed.
Going forward please note the following:
1) There will be a Teacher Planning Day on Friday May 22nd for teachers to prepare for the return of students to campus. There will be no online classes on this day.
2) We will be prioritising the return of Year 12 students who will be on campus every day from May 25th.
3) Years 11 and 13 students will not be returning to campus initially as their Term 3 courses are going very well and have been specifically designed for an online environment.
4) We will be returning students gradually building towards a capacity of no more than 550 students on campus at any one time. The schedule below indicates the dates for students to be on campus for the ten day period commencing May 25th. Once fully operational most students will be on campus every second day.
| May 25th | May 26th | May 27th | May 28th | May 29th | June 1st | June 2nd | June 3rd | June 4th | June 5th |
|
Year 12
Year 10
|
Year 12
Year 9
|
Year 12
Year 10
Year 7
|
Year 12
Year 9
Year 8
|
Year 12
Year 10
Year 7
|
Year 12
Year 9
Year 8
|
Year 12
Year 10
Year 7
|
Year 12
Year 9
Year 8
|
Year 12
Year 10
Year 7
|
Year 12
Year 9
Year 8
|
5) Year levels who are not in school for face-to-face lessons on a given day will continue with their usual online lessons. Teachers will be keeping all our digital online practices operational. Teachers are not expected to simultaneously offer online and face-to-face lessons. Students who are not in Hong Kong or chose not to return to school can continue with online classes when they are running and complete work posted to Google Classrooms/SMART.
6) The number of students/year levels returning has been based on our ability to manage lunch arrangements. To comply with EDB and CHP guidelines there will be no cooked food or canteen service provided. Students should bring their own packed lunch and sufficient water. The infection risk to students is considered higher when masks are removed for eating. As such classrooms will not be used for eating. Canteen, outside eating spaces and the Hall have been set up as dining spaces maintaining a 1m distance. We will run two dining sessions leaving sufficient time for the disinfection of dining spaces. Students will not be permitted to have food delivered to the campus.
7) We will operate a one-way system on corridors and staircases with designated up-only and down-only staircases. Signage will make traffic-flow clear.
8) Student and staff temperatures will be taken every morning upon arrival. We have set up four temperature taking stations at our four access points. We have identified an isolation area for students with a temperature above 37.5 which will be staffed by the Nurse. Students with a temperature above 37.5 will not be permitted access to the campus. Students will also be asked to have their temperature recorded prior to leaving home. We will be providing a temperature recording sheet to all students which should be brought to school by students.
9) Next week we will be sending families a Travel/Health Declaration which must be completed before students can return to school. Students who have recently returned from travel overseas should complete their 14-day quarantine before returning to campus.
10) Students will need to wear a mask at all times. There will be special bins provided for the safe disposal of masks. Students should bring their own masks to school.
11) Classrooms and other learning spaces will have hand-sanitizer and tissues provided.
12) Classrooms will be configured to enable students to remain 1m distance apart.
As you can see we have been busy planning for the safe return of our students and we very much look forward to having students safely back on campus. There is no doubt that the return to school will provide further logistical challenges for staff and students. However, in the same way that our online practices evolved and refined themselves over time and are now working extremely well, so too this hybrid of face-to-face and online learning will evolve.
As we all continue to problem-solve and course-correct as we go, our agility to respond to issues, our resilience to stay going and our support for each other is what continues to define the Sha Tin College spirit. For that spirit we are truly grateful.
Keep safe and healthy and with everything going well we’ll see you in person soon!
Kind regards,
Carol Larkin
Principal
