By Aimilia Konialidis, Y10
Since the 13th of March, we have all been working from home due to the spread of Covid-19. During this time, our teachers and staff members have been working exceptionally hard to make this period as easy as possible. Now, just over 2 months later, students are returning to school and life is beginning to feel normal again.
Since Monday this past week, all students up to Year 10 were divided into groups A and B and have been going to school on alternating days. Those who are not physically at school still take part in online classes through google meets; for those who are at school, measures have been taken to ensure safety for both students and staff.
Some of the measures taken include the installation of hand sanitiser machines all over school buildings as well as ensuring that staff members stay two meters away from students and each other. Classroom and lavatory doors must remain open at all times to avoid touching the handles. Moreover, the campus has been split into different sections for each year group, to avoid the students mixing.
As a student who has been to school this week, I can say that I definitely felt safe. I could tell that a lot of thought went into making sure that students felt comfortable and taken care of. It was reassuring to see the effort the school has made in an attempt to keep us all protected. It was also great to see my friends and my teachers, even if it was from a distance.
Another Year 10 student said, “It is strange to go back and see only half of the people you usually see but everything was [done] so that we feel as safe as we can be. It was nice to see some friends again. One thing that definitely reassured me was that the janitors were cleaning all the door handles, lockers and banisters during school hours which you wouldn’t have seen before. The teachers all try their best to stay away from students and other staff members and the students are also being very cautious. Overall, it is nice to be back to a somewhat normal reality.”
The end of year exams for Years 9 to 11 have been cancelled and replaced with ULP Deep Understanding projects and Viva Voces. The aim of these projects is to allow students to show deep understanding in each of their subjects. Students will each have 10 minute oral exams with each of their teachers to allow them to express their knowledge in the subject area and discuss their thoughts on the year’s course.
All of our staff members are doing everything in their power to make students feel as safe and comfortable as possible in this very strange time. Our teachers have done and are doing everything they can to support us as students, and we thank them for that immensely. For more information visit the Ecolint website.
