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A Possible Return to School - SOPs
School is scheduled to recommence on Tuesday, September 15. While we must wait for further confirmation in August as to what exactly this means in terms of possible restraints, this is what we are aiming for.
Senior online classes will get underway from Thursday, August 6th. Junior and Prep Schools will commence online classes from Tuesday September 1st and break until then. Until now, a lot of work has gone into portal uploads, online classes and pre-recorded learning with worksheets to adequately prepare boys of different ages for what we hope will be an uninterrupted Term 1. Our boys will be well equipped to start the new school year.
This also enables the College to handle the busy Admissions period rescheduled to start Friday August 21st and end Monday August 24th, as well as to complete preparations for general teaching. The new schedule will be uploaded, shortly.
On return to school, classes will work according to strict SOPs listed in detail at the end of this letter. These will be taken very seriously.
Notwithstanding, we appreciate that returning to school brings with it certain challenges of the mind and body. At the forefront of this is health and safety. Younger boys (even parents) might be anxious to start, but our staff will incorporate strategies to deal with this in our day-to-day well-being programs.
At this early stage, we respect a family’s right to choose whether or not to send their son(s) to school, although we encourage you to do so. Accordingly, we will provide some portal support for boys who are kept at home or who may fall ill or who are quarantined. Approved leave will apply in such notified cases, but it is essential that parents electing to keep their sons at home advise the relevant Head of School, beforehand, to take advantage of approved leave and to qualify for targeted support. To be clear, Aitchison cannot offer full online teaching and learning support once school recommences on top of formal school, given the demands placed on returning teachers with Day commitments. Nor will there be a reduction in tuition fees for an online alternative. Please note that our fees are calculated on an annual basis, while boarding charges are already very generous.
It is imperative that health and safety precautions are respected.
- All boys (Day and Boarder) are encouraged to quarantine at home or avoid contact with large groups for 14 days prior to returning to school. This is to ensure that we are less likely to have boys returning infected or arriving as asymptomatic carriers. While it is no guarantee, it is a logical and sensible precaution of mutual respect for one another.
- Should a boy feel ill or a resident family member test positive to COVID 19 or a boy come into contact with an infected person(s), the concerned boy(s) must remain at home and revert to the online schooling for a period of 14 days. Approved leave will automatically apply. Our College doctor will oversee a boy’s return to school. No boy may return to class without approval for doing so. Failure to follow this requirement will result in suspension from school.
- There will be no sport or co-curricular activities until further notice. The only exception to this rule will be for boarders’ after school, supervised activities.
- Leave for returning boarders is not permissible in Term 1 without quarantine and only with the Principal’s approval.
- The temperature of all Dayboys will be tested before they re-enter their respective schools at designated entry points each day. Medical lineups should be efficient, but patience will be required.
Rule: Be cautious and think of others if you feel ill. The school will not take responsibility for infections as it is imposing the best possible precautionary measures.
How will we manage the school?
With almost 3000 boys and two campus schools, it is simply impossible to practise effective social distancing with these numbers. As there is no sport or co-curricular until further notice, we will run two school sessions each day, Monday to Friday. Boys will be allocated by Heads of School to Cycle A or Cycle B. These cycles will be taught the same lessons in classrooms and usual facilities each week with adequate social distancing or spacing of 1.5 metres. Classrooms and venues are already setup for this. We are one of the few schools able to do so comfortably. Heads of School will post easy to follow timetables for Cycles A and B, in due course. There will be adequate drop-off and collection time between cycles.
School timings are as follows:
Cycle A from 7am to 10am and Cycle B from 11.30 to 2.30pm. The Bursar will clarify Gate timings, shortly.
There is no negotiation on cycles or on which part of the day a boy attends. No boy may skip a cycle to attend another without prior approval from the school. We will keep siblings in the same cycle wherever possible in a particular school or across different schools.
Boys may access online materials and worksheets as additional help or support on return home or to the boarding houses. We are currently planning our IT response and added capabilities in this area of operation.
There will no large assemblies or groupings. There is to be no sharing of food or drinks. Canteens will be closed until further notice. Boarders will be catered for in houses only. There is no recess or lunch break in either cycle. The routine is: drop-off, controlled entry to school, classes, and then leave school at designated collection points. The Bursar will upload these details shortly with applicable gate times on each portal. It is essential to follow the instructions of school security.
What are Aitchison’s SOPs?
- Staggering the school day with half class sizes and ventilation maximized in school buildings and boarding houses. Heads of School will post timetables on school portals, shortly.
- Staff and students will be required to wear facemasks as and when feasible and when social distancing is not possible or difficult.
- Students will have temperatures checked on entry to school. Ideally, parents should do the same before a boy leaves for school and keep him home if his temperature is abnormal and report this to the relevant Head of School.
- Only ONE junior parent or support person may escort a child to Junior School at the drop-off or collection point before and after school. Boys from Prep and Senior schools must enter and leave school as individuals to and from their separate campuses.
- There will be no provision of food at school in these shortened days. All cafeterias will be closed. Boarders will be provided food options in houses only at set times.
- Frequent hand-washing and easy access to washing stations with disinfectant at entrances to classrooms and buildings will be provided. The sharing of objects or food is banned.
- Surfaces will be wiped/disinfected regularly by school workers, especially in washrooms and classrooms, both before and between school cycles (10am to 11.30am).
- Assemblies and large gatherings are cancelled for the foreseeable future, including sport and co-curricular activities till further notice, unless the latter can take place online. This includes any activities with large groups or crowds.
- Parents/guardians will not be granted appointments in person, unless required by the school. All business will be conducted online or by telephone until further notice. Parent gatherings and parent-teacher meetings will be deferred until further notice.
- Strict policies will apply to those who are deemed sick. Unwell staff and students will be segregated from school or isolated until collected.
- Field trips and excursions are cancelled until further notice.
- We will not be running buses to and from school as a pre caution against the spread of infection.
- Boarding houses will not, under any circumstances, accept visitors during term or school time. Visitors will be turned away at the gates. This is a precondition of boarding enrolment this term until further notice.
- Corridors in school buildings will be patrolled to ensure SOPs are followed.
- Boys who breach these SOPs will be sent home and may face suspension.
- Distance learning support will be offered as an option for those who choose not to attend school or who fall ill or who are quarantined, but this will not include face-to-face online classes.
- Approved leave will apply in all cases of illness.
To whom do I address further queries or concerns?
Your Head of School will assist with all queries, as is normal practice. No alteration to these SOPs will be considered. Please do not request changes to what is presented here.
What can I do to help?
Go through these requirements with your son(s) (especially junior boys) and make sure they understand what ‘social distancing’ means and to avoid rubbing eyes or putting fingers in mouths as is so frequently done at a young age. Shaking hands is forbidden. Educate them to simply greet someone in words and keep distance. Teach them how to sneeze politely (if they do) into their arm. Bring a tissue to school. There will be staff on duty to help younger boys especially. These are particularly unnatural times and staff and parents need to work together. If your son(s) needs to bring to school some food or drinks these must not be shared. If your son(s) are not feeling well, please keep them at home. Usual medical needs will be handled as we currently do. Any changed circumstances should be advised to the relevant Head of School a.s.a.p.
The College reserves the right to amend or alter any of the above conditions on the basis of altered or unforeseen circumstances.
Warm wishes,
Michael Thomson M.A., Dip. Ed., M.A.C.E
Principal