It is strange to believe but there seems to be a more routine feel to this past week. There have been fewer problems and more students engaged. The teacher meetings are concentrating on improving how we teach by sharing ideas and methods. The majority of our last staff meeting was taken up with a case study on how one of our teachers is applying their work to the online system and how this could help with student feedback, differentiation and development. It is also really good to see how many parents and carers are supporting their children by helping with video and text feedback and encouraging them to complete their assignments.
In future update letters we would like to share some photos of children and parents in action. These photos would only be used for this newsletter. There are so many wonderful examples that we can see internally but we feel it would be so wonderful for each of our parents to see this also.
We are glad to hear that reported new cases of coronavirus continues to decrease in China and Shenzhen. In our last weekly update, we predicted to plan to resume the school on March 23. However, Chen Qiu-ming, director of the bureau, said the schedule of school re-openings is undecided, and the safety of teachers and students is the top priority. One new development is that any person coming back into China will be subject to a 14 day quarantine. Please plan accordingly if you are currently outside of China.
SAIS keeps working with the Bureau closely for any further notice, and we believe that the Bureau will inform us enough time for school open preparation. We are continuing to monitor the situation. As things change, we will continue to adjust. Below are our current plans:
- Online classes still continue till March 13, March 16-20 off for Spring Break
- Keep waiting for the further notice from the Bureau whether we are permitted to open on March 23
- Teachers, staff and students who return from outside of Shenzhen shall expect for 14 days home-quarantine before returning to campus.
- We may also stagger the grades open instead of the whole school resume at one time, if this is decided we will be in contact with all of our parents as to how.
- If school open delays again, we will continue exploring more options for students once we know the exact date.
- As the Bureau continues monitoring cases status, SAIS will collect your child’s weekly health status and location information as required by the Bureau from now on. Please scan the QR code or click the link at https://jinshuju.net/f/m9BhO7 to complete the form online.
If any more updates, we will share with you soon.
We would like to thank you each again on your support for your children and for the school in these trying times. If you have not taken advantage of our early bird offer for next school year please look at the last newsletter update for full details or if you are still not sure contact the school by email on admissions@szsais.org.
We wish each of our students and their families a successful and happy week in their studies.
In Community,
SAIS Leadership Team
