Safety protocols for college reopening

Safety protocols for college reopening

As the school plan commencement of physical classes here are some of the protocols we are following for student safety

Cleaning and sanitation facilities in the school

  • Thorough cleaning and disinfecting of all areas, furniture, equipment, washrooms, laboratories, libraries, etc. on school campus
  • Foot operated hand washing facilities are installed
  • Contact-less infrared digital thermometer will be used

Seating plan

  • As suggested by the Ministry of Health, there is at least 6 feet distance between students in the seating plan, with 10 students in each room. We have marked the seating that students should occupy.
  • We use only single-seater desks.
  • Earmarked different lanes for movement (coming and going).
  • Students will leave their mobile phones in the tray placed at the entrance of the building. Students will therefore need to label their phones for easy identification during collection at the end of the exam.

Display Signages and markings for enforcing physical/social distancing and safety protocols

  • Posters/messages/stickers and signage are installed at appropriate places in the school reminding students/staff about maintaining physical/social distancing such as inside the classroom, outside washrooms, hand washing stations, etc
  • Library, labs and lunch bay (common congregation areas) have been closed for entry, unless entry is authorised by the Headmistress/ Principal.
  • Circles have been marked on ground at different places like reception, water facility stations, hand washing stations, area outside washrooms, and other areas. Please stay on these to maintain appropriate distance
  • Frequent cleaning and sanitization of commonly touched surfaces like doorknobs and latches etc., inside and outside the classrooms will be carried out.
  • Availability of foot operated soap dispenser and clean water at all hand washing facility is ensured.
  • Frequent cleaning and disinfecting of washrooms during the school hours will be ensured.
  • Sanitization will be done before school and after the students leave classroom and school premises.
  • All students and staff to arrive at school wearing a face cover/mask and continue wearing it all through, especially when in class
  • Ensure and educate students to not exchange masks with others.
  • Stay vigilant that every child/staff member coughs or sneezes into a tissue or elbow and avoid touching face, eyes, mouth, and nose.
  • Sanitization of school transportation on regular basis at least twice a day – once before children board the transport and once after.
  • School Driver and conductor will maintain physical distance at all times and ensure physical/social distancing among students in the bus. They will wear face mask and face shield while on the trip.
  • Parents are advised that they must not send their wards to school if the child or any family member living in the same household suffers from fever/cough/breathlessness etc.
  •   Students should not share any material (textbooks, notebooks, pen, pencil, eraser, tiffin box, water bottles, etc.) with each other.
  • Windows and doors of the classrooms and other rooms will be kept open for ventilation.
  • SOP will be followed in case of detection of a suspected case of COVID-19

 Parents /guardians may take the following steps:

  • Ensure that their ward comes to school wearing a mask and sensitize them not to exchange masks with others.
  • Every student carries his/her personal sanitizer bottle.
  • Parents will take care not to send their ward to school if the child is not feeling well.
  • Drop and pick children from school, as far as possible. Follow the drive-in instructions of the security staff for drop-off and pick up of the child.
  • If sent by school bus then maintain physical/social distancing.
  • Ask their ward to practice physical/social distancing at all times once she/he leaves home.
  • Clean and sanitize their ward’s uniform and other belongings daily.
  • Provide individual clean small napkins daily for their ward for wiping hands.
  • Advise their ward not to share their tiffin and water bottle with others.
  • Advise their child not to engage in unnecessary socialising after/before the commencement of the exam in school.

SOP will be followed in case of detection of a suspected case of COVID-19

Parents /guardians may take the following steps:

  • Ensure that their ward comes to school wearing a mask and sensitize them not to exchange masks with others.
  • Every student carries his/her personal sanitizer bottle.
  • Parents will take care not to send their ward to school if the child is not feeling well.
  • Drop and pick children from school, as far as possible. Follow the drive-in instructions of the security staff for drop-off and pick up of the child.
  • If sent by school bus then maintain physical/social distancing.
  • Ask their ward to practice physical/social distancing at all times once she/he leaves home.
  • Clean and sanitize their ward’s uniform and other belongings
  • Advise their ward not to share their tiffin and water bottle with others.
  • Advise their child not to engage in unnecessary socialising after/before the commencement of the exam in school.

INCASE OF ONLINE SESSIONS

Deens College is presently using Microsoft teams to conduct online sessions

At Deens, it is our endeavor to stimulate a normal school day for the children incorporating co-curricular activities in the most effective way possible as per the class time table.

To facilitate virtual learning at Deens we are using the application offered by Microsoft Teams. Each student is provided with a unique email address for the Teams app. and the link for download and steps to install this App.

Student attendance will be taken each period by the facilitator and parents will be notified of the absence of their child. Please note that there will be no repetition of each class, in case a child is absent. We will not enable recording of classes, either.

To facilitate a smooth functioning of the virtual classrooms we request the following online etiquette to be followed by the students and their caregivers.

Kindly click on the following for details on how to log in to our microsoft teams :

1.user guide   2.MS Teams – Issues

The MS Teams Helpline Number in school  is  -7022421969.
It is available only on working days during school hours.
Virtual classroom space 
  1. The Student needs to be seated in a dedicated study space for the duration of the virtual class, with no distractions or access to any other persons.
  2. Students are requested to maintain silence and not disrupt the class when the session is on. They also need to keep audio and video is on during the session unless requested otherwise by the facilitator.
  3. Students are expected to use headphones mandatorily, so that there is minimum distraction to them. We advise this over earphones.

Virtual classroom attendance

  1. The classes will be as per the time table, for a duration of 35 minutes and there is a gap of  10 minutes between periods, so that the student can attend to any personal needs, do a quick recap of the previous class independently , and set up for the next period. For students who have classes beyond 12.15 pm, a short lunch break has been factored in.
  1. Attendance is taken for each period by the facilitator. Students are expected to login into each class a few minutes before the scheduled start time of the class. Once the class commences, no student will be permitted to enter the classroom.
  1. Should there be a glitch during a particular class session, the teacher is instructed to end the meeting and set a new class for later on the same day or for the upcoming Saturday of that week.
  1. Parents will need to send a note to the class teacher, in case of technical issues/ absence due to other reasons.

Virtual classroom Decorum

  1. Students are expected to login into each class a few minutes before the scheduled start time of the class.
  2. Once the class commences, no child will be permitted to enter the classroom.
  3. Students to keep all books and school supplies handy and organized, timetable wise, to avoid disruptions during class.
  4. Students will not eat/snack during class hours. Water bottles are allowed in the class though
  5. Students are expected to be dressed formally for class sessions. Night clothes and attire that is listed as unacceptable in our policy documents are to be avoided.

Interaction with teachers during virtual classrooms

Questions:

  1. Students shall avoid asking rude questions. They need to listen and not interrupt when someone is answering.
  2. Students shall not annotate unless specifically asked to

Language:

1.Medium of instruction and communication is English except in language classes

2. Use of regional/ international languages will be restricted to language classes only

3. Students will use formal language through the online sessions

4. Use of abusive/invective language during sessions will result in removal of student from the class/session

Please note:  Parents are not permitted to interact with their ward or the teacher, while the class is on. In case there is any concern it be communicated through email or eduflex portal with the teacher/ Headmistress / Vice Principal/ School Principal.

Homework and Submissions

  1. Students shall submit their assessments/homework on time.
  2. Late submissions will result in marks being deducted.
  3. Notebook work is facilitated through the Microsoft teams portal, so the facilitator will check the progress of the students notebook work.
  4. Physical notebooks and workbooks will be reviewed when school opens.
  5. For Lab experiments, the teacher will demonstrate the experiments and children are expected to record the same in their notebooks. They may even be asked to conduct home assignments and experiments with materials available at home.

Consequences

  1. Students are expected to adhere to all the norms mentioned for the online classes. Failure to do so will entail the following :
  2. First instance – warning/ removal from meeting/session depending on the issue
  3. Marks will be deducted if deviant behavior continues post 3 warnings.