MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL: One School – One Community!

Monday 2nd March 2020

One School – One Community!

Click here for the latest directives from the Ministry of Education

URGENT NOTIFICATION  – Malaysia and Vietnam  (Sunday 1st March 2020)

Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff and Students,

I would like to thank everyone in our school community for your continuing support during this most difficult COVID – 19 crisis. We are truly ‘One School – One Community’ whereby everyone has demonstrated sustained honesty, mutual respect and integrity. This must continue for the indefinite future. It is our collective responsibility to do our best to reduce the spread of this COVID -19 virus and we need to protect the vulnerable people in our society.

To do this we must continue to strictly follow the self quarantine guidance from the Thai Ministry of Education and also follow these recommendations from the World Health Organisation.

■   Wash your hands regularly – soap or hand gel can kill the virus

■   Always cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing – ideally with a tissue – and wash your hands afterwards, to prevent the virus spreading

■   Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth – if your hands touch a surface contaminated by the virus, this could transfer it into your body

■   Never get too close to people coughing, sneezing or with a fever – they can propel small droplets containing the virus into the air – at least keep 1m (3ft) away.

What can I do during self quarantine?

The British Embassy recommended watching this link – BBC self quarantine

It is important that, where possible, self quarantine should be perceived to be a positive experience. During self quarantine there can be mixed feelings of being disconnected from classmates and peers coupled and also there may be alterations in your normal activities and lifestyle despite the fact you are feeling able and healthy as usual.

If you are feeling lonely or need support, please contact friends or colleagues online or pick up the phone. Video calls will never be quite the same as face to face contact but they can really help people to feel connected.

It is also highly likely you will need to continue work while your children are learning at home. You may wish to discuss the challenges of this together and think about setting a robust routine and even different spaces for work and breaks and play.

Innovative Online Learning – All students at our school have been fully involved in home learning using ‘Firefly’ at some point this year. Bangkok Prep also is currently trialling the use of new innovative online learning. A typical ‘online’ session involves teachers providing live instructional, demonstrational sessions of 10 – 15 minutes whilst the whole class ‘attend’ the ‘virtual lesson’. This initial session is then followed by a range of differentiated subject relevant learning activities for the students to complete. Then the teacher will assess their progress and feedback directly to the students.

Other recommended activities – Self quarantine within a household is an excellent opportunity for families to reunite and spend some quality time together. Try to spend some time as a family ‘unit’ and take part in some meaningful well being activities.  Research shows that spending quality time as a family unit strengthens Family Bonding, improves your child’s academic performance, helps children develop parenting skills, results in less behavioral problems and can lead to greater self-confidence.

Here are some suggestions for family activities:

Play board games like Monopoly, Cluedo and Scrabble
Bake cakes or biscuits or possibly cook a meal together
Watch a family film together
Organise a family art project
Tidy and reorganise a bedroom together

I would like to thank every member of the community again for your sustained honesty, mutual respect and integrity. Please continue to communicate with the school and I hope that, in time, the COVID – 19 virus will have less of an impact on our daily lives.

Warm regards

Duncan

Head of School