Dear Parents,
PARTNERING with PARENTS will be crucial this year as we face many obstacles due to the covid19 global pandemic. We appreciate your support as you work with students at home with online classes and to practice safety protocols such as wearing a mask and washing hands. We encourage families to stay connected and informed by following our parent -teacher group chats and school website www.phuentsholinghss.edu.bt for important updates and information regarding our re-opening plans.
We have been working hard since 2020 with the outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic globally to plan for a safe opening of school and to implement best practices to mitigate the risks associated with Covid-19. We were also relocated on 14th September 2020 -15th March 2021 to low risk zone for 7 months to Wangdue PS(Classes 9&10) and KhuruthangMSS(Classes 11 &12) and children could continue their studies without any disruptions despite varied challenges.
On 15th March2021, we moved back to PhuentsholingHSS campus when Phuentsholing became green zone. Our classrooms were disinfected and cleaned by teachers with support from some parents and School Management Board members readying for the student’s arrival. Then we came up with Standard of Procedure (SOP ) and Contigency plans to curb virus. We oriented our children on the covid19 safety protocols time and again. Handwashing Stations has been installed throughout the buildings to wash hands frequently, and our schedule has been modified to allow for more time for hand washing and to maintain social distance, we also segregated the entry and exit school timing for senior and junior students. A stronger emphasis was placed on social and emotional learning as we implemented the guidance and counseling classes only. And done away with all co-curricular activities and even assemblies.
With a bitter lessons and experiences on online classes from 2020, this year we are better equipped with hands on training by our own teachers and also with online mock drill to children with the gadgets brought in the school campus really served our purposes during Lockdown this time.
However, not even a month after joining the school there was outbreak of virus in the community and the school was closed down on the 17th April 2021 due to Lockdown in Phuentsholing.
Since we were prepared this year compared to 2020, we started google classroom immediately and made necessary changes to timetable after getting feedback from teachers and students. Teachers also had to attend online training on teaching and learning management conducted by teachers who were oriented by Ministry of Education on 9th April 2021.
Communication is the key! We encourage parents to communicate with teachers and staff to foster a successful partnership. There have been already and will continue to have many challenges to overcome, questions to answer and problems to solve as we navigate this New Normal over the next couple of weeks. Our teachers and staff members are working hard to teach online classes and furnishing data upon data. Many are impacted by the lockdown and experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety and sadness. Through this all, their commitment and dedication are unwavering. Our teachers and staff deeply care about academic and social success of your children and determined to work through all of the challenges we will face in the coming weeks to preserve the continuity of instruction as well as the sense of community.
At this juncture, Parents, teachers, support staff and thromdey, all play a part in helping our students develop academically, socially and emotionally. Together we can make a positive difference. A strong partnership between home and school fosters greater success for our children. Parents are invited in our parent teacher group chat and a representative from each class is also invited in the Parent School group. It is a wonderful way to have your ideas heard, as well as support our school.
We are looking forward to build strong Parent School Partnership for our children and make school and home safe and productive learning environment. I encourage you to call me or class teachers to share ideas, concerns or questions.
I wish you, your families and student a very safe and Happy distance learning.
STAY SAFE AT HOME AND TAKE CARE!
Yanki Dem