Follow the reopening of Songjiang Campus, Wuding and Hongqiao both welcomed students back this week.
Everyone’s excitement was plain to see, from the teachers greeting students at the gates to students seeing their friends again to parents seeing off their children at the gate.
To get the school ready, to reopen the campus, there was a tremendous amount of work that needed to be done. We needed to make sure that we had all of the government regulation compliance requirements in place, we needed to develop a whole range of policies – from taking the temperatures to quarantine and observation to reporting anything that was of concern to the medical team. An absolutely brilliant job has been done. I’ve been impressed throughout the whole period by just how hard everybody has been working.
—— Siobhain Allum,
Primary School Principal
and Head of Wuding Campus
Looking back at the experience of the past few months, the parents expressed their appreciation at the school’s clear communication – with Y4 parent Heather complimenting, “We found that communication was amazing, I mean we had our teachers telling us updates in terms of what they were learning online as well as the administration. It just kept us feeling in touch with the community over the last several months.”
With the students studying from home, until now the campus had been silent and lacked the school’s usual energetic atmosphere. Now that the students are back, Crick Chen, Primary Deputy Principal, says happily, “With the children’s laughter and voices, it feels like the soul of the school has finally returned.”
Alongside the joy of their return, the students are also deeply aware of the safety measures they must follow at the school, “Before we go into the library, we need to line up one meter apart, then sanitize our hands and wear our library pass, this makes sure that there are no more than 25 people in the library at a time.” Y4 student, Eric, explains.
Matilda, Y4
I feel really happy to be back with my friends and my teachers.
Andy, Y4
I am really happy to be back at school, if I don’t understand something, I can easily ask the teachers.
Ciana, Y5
What’s different is that we have social distancing and I can’t really hold hands with my friends even though it is really exciting to finally get to meet them.
Sophie, Y6
I feel really happy to be back at school, because I can see my classmates and teachers. I’m the type of person who prefers to leave the house, so staying at home has been difficult.
At Hongqiao, Y6 and 7 have also made their return.
The campus’ disease prevention measures have been very successful but emphasized that there is always room for improvement. We’ve done extremely well with both the planning and the implementation of the procedures, alongside any necessary adjustments and problem-solving that we’ve faced.
—— Caroline Xu,
Deputy Head (Academics)
Middle School Principal
and Head of Hongqiao Campus
Y7 Ethan says that at first, he thought the school would only look his health code and measure his temperature before entering the school. “But the school is using so many different measures, more than I could have ever imagined.”
After extensive preparations, the Middle School Deputy Principal, Grace Chen, was pleased with the smooth return of the students and that none showed an abnormal temperature. In order to further prepare the students, after they entering the school the seniors divided the students into four groups and spoke with them about social distancing, the procedure for lunchtime and being careful during playtime.
The preventative measures taken at the school, have also reassured the staff. Anthony Mulson, Middle School Humanities Teacher and Instructional Coach, says that he has been reassured by the administrative staff, the general services staff, the checklists and the school’s diligence following policy and procedure, “I think the school is well prepared for it – they are vigilant, yet calm.”
Andrew Ashton, Y5 Cohort Leader, believes that daily life will be similar to before, but with some important differences that teachers will have to pay special attention to, including student’s personal hygiene, washing hands, wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and controlling face-to-face communications.
The school has also made sure to give teachers special training to ensure that disease prevention measures are clearly understood. “The school puts the student’s health first,” emphasizes Y4 Cohort Leader, Daisy Hou.
Shirley Jin, the Head of Middle School Chinese, believes that the experience will influence their teaching, “After we return to school, I don’t think we will go back to our old teaching methods, we will definitely incorporate the new techniques we explored throughout the online learning period.”
One of the key concerns for parents has been the arrangements for lunchtime, both Wuding and Hongqiao have taken on different measures to fit the unique layout on each campus. Pao School parents have reported that the school’s measures, adapted appropriately to the conditions on each campus, have given them peace of mind.
Wuding has adopted the use of transparent barriers during meals and spaced seating, so that students can eat safely whilst still seeing their friends.
Wuding campus
Lanco Ke, Operations Director of Wuding and Hongqiao Campuses, detailed the measures, “Because the cafeteria at Hongqiao is very spacious, we have arranged for there to be one person per table at lunch. Each group of students and teachers will use different elevators and entrances, and select what lunch set they would like online. We hope to use pre-served lunch boxes, with a lid, so that teachers and students can receive their lunch more conveniently.
Hongqiao campus
I don’t think this will influence, like, friendships, because people would understand that we have to social distance.
—— Ciana, Y5
I just think to myself. I still have my friends and I am lucky that I can still be with them, and if I didn’t wear my mask then they would probably have to go away and that would be even worse.
—— Matilda, Y4
Extended Reading
Pao School - where the dream takes flight
Pao School cheers resumption of classes at Songjiang campus
The fruits of intellectual curiosity and taking the initiative
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