Dear Parents,
As you may know, KHDA have recently mandated Covid-19 tests for all school staff. Schools have been told to wait for a testing slot which will be communicated to them, along with a testing centre where all staff need to attend. We are not allowed to open school until we have all results for staff and we know what those results are. As of now, we are still awaiting this notification, and there is now no possibility of the results being returned to us before Sunday. In fact, it is highly likely that we will not have results by Monday either. Therefore we will need to delay the school reopening. Please understand that this is completely beyond our control. We are absolutely ready to start but it is mandatory, and in the best interests of our students, that our teachers and support staff are all tested and Covid-free. To be clear, we are not permitted to arrange these tests ourselves, otherwise we would have done so.
New School Start Date
At the moment, and in the spirit of transparency, we are hoping that we can reopen school on Tuesday, 1st September. However, until KHDA have provided us with the date and time our teachers will be tested, we cannot be sure. As soon as we have more information, we will let you know. There will be no eLearning until the school officially reopens.
PreK and KG1 were due to return in separate bubbles over the course of the first 3 days. This plan will also need to be pushed back. We will therefore follow the same plan as previously communicated by Ms. Wood but it will start later. Ms. Wood will send further information.
Return to School Presentation
Many thanks to those who joined our Zoom presentation on 'Returning to School' last night. For those who could not make it, the presentation is shared with you HERE. Some questions that arose are as follows:
Q. What kind of sanitiser is being used in school?
A. 'Shield Me'. Learn more HERE.
Q. Can younger students play together at break times?
A. Pre-K, KG1 and KG2 students can play together, without social distancing at breaks and lunchtimes. However, they must do this in their bubbles. The play areas will be sanitized in between play sessions.
Q. Will students get changed for PE?
A.Students will come to school in their PE kit and remain in their kit throughout the day as KHDA requirements state that we can't use changing rooms.
Q. Much of the learning at Fairgreen is group work. How will that work with furniture arrangement that reflects social distancing.
A. There are many ways of collaborating that still be done within the distancing guidelines. Collaborative conversions/discussions, collaborative technology tools, group guided reading sessions, etc can still take place. Teachers and schools are sharing new and best practices all of the time.
Q. Can we have a parent workshop on collaboration?
A. Yes. We'll organise a workshop. We're working on a schedule for parent workshops; we'll make sure to put one in on collaboration.
Q. If a child tests positive for Covid-19, can they return to school after 14 days or do they need a negative Covid-19 test?
A. If a student tests positive for Covid-19, the student is not allowed to return to school unless they have a clearance certificate from an approved medical facility.
Q. How are rooms or equipment sanitized?
A. We have employed additional cleaners who are permanently stationed on each floor. They will have 'fogging machines' which will be used to sanitize all areas. Toilets/bathrooms will be fogged many times during each day. We have monitoring systems in place to ensure toilets are as clean as possible.
Arriving at School
Linked HERE is a short video with some additional information about how children will return to school.
Urgent - Travel Declaration Form
It is essential that all families complete the Travel Declaration Form linked HERE. In an additional communication from KHDA we received this morning, all students under the age of 12 with a recent travel history will have to undertake a mandatory 14 days eLearning from their date of arrival. Therefore, we need to know the date any children arrived back in Dubai and parents should keep them home for 14 days after that date. We will provide eLearning opportunities for them until they return to school, but not before our reopening.
Parent School Contract
KHDA have asked us to remind all parents to sign the Parent School contract and indicate their choice of face-to-face learning in class, or distance learning. This contract should have been emailed to you directly by KHDA. For new parents, if you have not recieved an email from KHDA then you still need to complete your registration paperwork. Specifically, you need to meet on campus with our KHDA liaison to submit in person your child's Emirates ID, one parent's Emirates ID, and your child's transfer certificate from their previous school. Please stop by during office hours or you can arrange a meeting via ofarahat@fairgreen.ae.
Once again, please continue to check for our communications as we hear more about when our school will reopen.
Kind regards,
Graeme Scott
Director