COVID-19 SCHOOL PROCEDURES

Windfield International School will begin teaching at our new campus on 30th August – we look forward to seeing all returning students and families, whilst also welcoming all the new students and families to become the new WIS community.

We hope that the current wave of Covid-19 subsides but until we know we may need to make adjustments to our learning provision where we move through a variety of risk levels. WIS will continue to follow guidelines set out by the Thai government which may include social distancing limitations or campus closure. We will follow the government’s assessment of the risk level, but at WIS we also realise that we will need to respond to a number of different health and safety scenarios.

We will continue to follow the recommendations and guidelines published by the CDC and WHO.

We intend to follow three different educational models, which will be adopted according to the known Covid 19 situation. We believe that we must remain flexible and that we may be in a situation requiring us to shift from one model to another, possibly at short notice.

We expect that the situation will continue to be fluid and may change throughout the school year. The school will need to be prepared to possibly shift between the three models below, depending on the circumstances.

MODEL 1: REGULAR SCHEDULE

In this model, when the Covid 19 risk is considered low as indicated by the amount of community transmission of the virus on Samui, WIS will operate as close to a normal timetable as possible, with a number of Covid 19 related Health and Safety measures undertaken to ensure that the risk of transmission of the virus is as low as possible.

MODEL 2: ADAPTED SCHEDULE/BLENDED LEARNING

In Model 2 learning will be undertaken using a blend of in classroom learning and online tuition. This model will be used for example, when a teacher or student, or group of students, cannot for any reason attend school. There may be a number of students who are not able to attend school, on campus, for a variety of reasons. In these situations, WIS will do their best to accommodate how students may still connect or attend virtually.

Possible scenarios include a teacher delivering a lesson remotely, for example by video conference to a class of students in school (supervision will be arranged for these students), or a student, or group of students, joining a live lesson taught in school, via video conference.

Depending upon student numbers, and social distancing restrictions, or if the school determines it is safer to maintain such restrictions, we would be able to open our campus but with stricter health measures. By reducing the number of students in classes and restricting the mixing of students across groups, we would not be able to have all students on campus at the same time.

MODEL 3: ONLINE LEARNING

If Thailand determines that schools must close their campus, WIS will return to providing educational services via online platforms and following the determined online plan.

DISTANCE LEARNING PLATFORMS AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AT WIS

The following Online Platforms support both Distance Learning and faculty/student/family collaboration to ensure a quality student learning experience when planning and delivering remotely:

WIS GMAIL is the communication tool used to contact and communicate with WIS families

 

Google Classroom, including Meet, may be used for Distance Learning with students who have a school email

ZOOM is a virtual classroom platform that may be used by all teachers.

This is very easy for students and parents to access, as the classroom teacher

simply sends a link via email for individuals to join the meeting/class.

Routines

ALL STAFF AND FACULTY

• Take body temperature before leaving home.
• Arrive at school no later than 08.00
• Temperature checked at school gate.
• Use hand sanitizer in reception and if possible, wash hands.
• Wear protective masks throughout the day (apart from when eating at lunch, singing in music and any other exceptions).
• Open windows, if possible, in work areas.

ALL STUDENTS

• Take body temperature before leaving home.
• Wear a protective mask throughout the day.
• Avoid sitting in common areas.
• Maintain social distancing.
• Temperature checked at school gate.

INCREASED WASHING OF HANDS

Throughout the school day, there will be scheduled times for students to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer.

WEARING A MASK WILL BE COMPULSORY

The purpose of wearing a mask while at school is for two main reasons:

1. Prevent the spread of droplets
2. Reduce individuals touching their faces

We ask that all individuals bring their own masks to school.

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCEDURES

Until further notice parents will not be permitted to enter the Campus buildings in order to limit the number of people on campus.

Arrival Procedures

• Park and Drop– Parents should drop off students at the front gate as much as possible. Temperature checks will be done at this entry point.

Dismissal Procedures

• Students should not gather or wait in common areas, such as the Dining Hall, Gym, any common areas, or outside on school grounds, as they should be picked up promptly and leave the campus.
• Students being picked up should go immediately to their parent or driver to exit the campus.
• No one should be staying on campus to use any unapproved facilities or equipment.

DEPARTURE FROM CAMPUS

Students will be dismissed from their homeroom or last class to collect their things and go straight to their transportation home. If they have to wait at all, students should keep a physical distance of 1.2 meters.

SPACE ARRANGEMENT

Classrooms will be set up to allow for as much social distancing as possible.

PRECAUTIONARY ROUTINE

At the conclusion of each class, each student’s desk/workstation will be sprayed with approved disinfectant solution.

STUDENT SCHOOL ITEMS AND RESOURCES

In order to reduce the amount of sharing items we ask that students:

• Have their own personal water bottles
• Use their own personal school items
• Limit the sharing of non-essential classroom resources under the guidance of the teacher.

PE PROTOCOLS

• Teachers should plan outdoor activities whenever possible.
• Students change in groups of no more than 10. This will reduce the number of students per room.
• Teachers will avoid activities that require physical contact.

ART PROTOCOLS

Teachers will ensure that all Art materials, brushes, palettes, etc. are disinfected by the students at the end of each Art lesson.

MUSIC PROTOCOLS

Teachers will decide whether students will remove their masks depending on the activity.

• Students should not share equipment.
• Music stands and any other surfaces touched by the students will be sprayed with disinfectant and wiped down at the end of each class.
• Communal equipment (percussion instruments, guitars, pianos, etc.) will be sprayed and wiped down with disinfectant at the end of each class.

LIBRARY PROTOCOLS

Our library will use a 48-hour rotation system to naturally disinfect books before they are placed back into circulation. This will be done using daily bins that are rotated and stored until the appropriate time.

FOOD SERVICE PROTOCOLS

The WIS kitchen staff will comply with all necessary precautions and regulations concerning safe food preparation and serving.

• The Lunch Schedule will be changed to allow for fewer people in the lunchroom at one time. This will depend upon student numbers and enrollment.
• Student seating will be spread out and students should be located diagonally opposite each other.
• Students lining up should keep their masks on until it is time to eat.
• Students lining up should keep a distance of 1 meter while waiting for their food.

SEATING FOR STUDENTS

Student seating in the cafeteria will be arranged to provide more space between all students. If required, spare classrooms will also be temporarily set up to provide overflow seating.

Cleaning in between groups – tables and chairs will be cleaned and disinfected between student groups.

Normally, WIS has a vibrant campus, full of activities and classes for students. We recognise that during this time, we may need to close off our facilities to some of these activities and opportunities.

CLEANING

• Increased School Cleaning with Disinfectants – WIS will increase the frequency of cleaning and place a larger emphasis on commonly touched surfaces, such as door handles, banisters, and shared classroom items.
• Student Transitional Cleaning – Secondary students will be asked to disinfect their work spaces before transitioning to a new classroom.
• All classrooms will have spray bottles and wipes for disinfecting desks and work-stations.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

WIS will use open waste containers and remove waste regularly from school areas throughout the day.

General summary:

1. Screening

• Primary temperature checks will be done at the front gate. Secondary temperature checks will be done when necessary at the School Nurse’s discretion.
• General monitoring of student health by teachers – any students showing any symptoms should report to the Nurse/Doctor for a health check and interview.

2. Recording – Health Data Collection 

• The School Nurse maintains student records.
• All COVID-19 related symptoms should be documented.
• Any student sent home for isolation until confirmation, should be documented and reported.
• Students who stay home, but have any COVID-19 symptoms should inform the school for documentation.

3. Contact Tracing - “Based on our current knowledge, a close contact is someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 48 hours before illness onset until the time the patient is isolated.”  (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/principles-contact-tracing.html)

With the above in mind, when we open on  30th August, we will adopt the following strategies as described including:

To reduce the number of persons in contact with one another:

• Classroom Cohorts will not be in contact with other students, as far as can possibly be arranged
• Social Distancing (1.2m)
• One-way systems in hallways.
• Have specialist teachers come to classrooms – students may remain in homerooms, except for Art, PE, Science and Music.
• ESL additional classes will be arranged to avoid the mixing of students for language classes or Intensive English –

Tracking Student Movement

• Use of the student’s schedule to inform contact tracing

Identifying Cases

• If a student is showing symptoms they should report to the School Nurse/Doctor to interview for possible COVID-19.
• If COVID-19 is suspected, the student should remain in isolation until they can be sent home.
• The student should remain home until recovery is confirmed, or has tested negative.
• The school should monitor very closely any individuals within their contact circle for similar symptoms.

Reporting

• If an individual is confirmed to have COVID-19, and not just the symptoms, the school will inform everyone within the contact circle to warn contacts of their exposure, and assess their symptoms and risk.
• Refer those with symptoms to testing and care.

ISOLATION ROOM

The WIS will organise a room/space identified for the use of isolating anyone showing symptoms while waiting to be sent home.