Dear Crescent Parents/Guardians
As we go through this Covid 19 crisis, please be assured that Crescent School remains committed to providing the best possible health and safety for both learners and staff as we work towards opening our school for Second Term 2020 and continue with our delivery of the curriculum.
I cannot give you a definitive date for when we will open for Term 2, as there are many factors that need to be considered before making that decision.
The following measures will be put in place, by the School, so that our school is compliant with all Covid-19 regulations and the school is as safe as possible for your children when we do eventually open.
1. Fumigation of the School
All classes, labs, ablution blocks, administration buildings will be fumigated by a registered company. This company will supply us with a certificate that will be needed for the health team’s inspection. All rooms that are not in use will be locked until the arrival of students. All railings and outside areas used by students will be wiped down or sprayed with disinfectant before school opens. There will be daily disinfecting of classes and labs after students dismiss.
2. Provision of Foot Mats
Mats soaked with disinfectant will be placed at the main gate and at all other points where students and teachers enter their classroom blocks, so that shoes are disinfected before students and staff enter classes.
3. Use of Sanitizer.
All persons entering the school will be required to have their hands sprayed with hand sanitizer at the entry point. All sinks in both ablution blocks and outside washing points will have soap dispensers for hand washing. We have installed additional outside wash basins. Ablution blocks will be cleaned regularly by support staff. SHE Teachers will monitor that students are maintaining frequent and proper hygiene. Extra teachers will be put on duty to ensure students sanitize their hands and feet in the morning and at break.
4. Adherence to Social Distancing and Wearing of Masks.
All teachers will be instructed to maintain social distancing inside and outside the classroom. Students will be spaced at least 1 metre apart. Students sharing a desk will be required to sit on either side of the desk. All assemblies will be cancelled.
Both students and teachers will be required to wear masks while at school. The school will be selling masks, but students may come with their own. All visitors to the school must wear a mask.
5. Adjustment of Timetables to Minimize Student Movement.
In the Secondary school teachers will move to base rooms instead of students moving to the teacher’s classroom. Movements to Science labs will only be done for experiments. Movement to computer lab and art room will be closely supervised by teachers.
Primary students will remain in their base rooms. Specialist teachers will go to the base rooms.
PE lessons and afternoon activities are postponed until further notice. However, in the primary school daily exercise on the field will be conducted by class teachers while observing strict social distancing. This is to allow students to stretch and get some sunshine. Break time will be reduced to 15 minutes.
The tuck shop will be closed. Students must come with their own food. Students will be given 15 minutes before break to eat their food in class while being supervised by a teacher. Please ensure that your child comes with healthy packed food for break, as there will not be any food on sale.
6. Management of Sick Students
Student’s temperatures will be taken as they enter their areas in the morning. Any student with a temperature over 38° Celsius will be sent to the school hall and parents will be called to collect them.
PARENTS SHOULD NOT SEND CHILDREN TO SCHOOL IF THEY ARE SICK.
Teachers will monitor students for symptoms of any sickness and parents of these children will be called to collect their child. This will be done in private.
7. Entry onto School Premises.
All visitors to the school will be required to follow all precautions as explained above. No persons, including parents, will be allowed to visit classroom areas. Visitors will be required to wait in the parking lot for assistance. A register of all visitors will be kept with contact details.
8. Suspension of all Sports, Afternoon Activities and School Trips
All of the above will be suspended until the Covid 19 emergency is lifted.
9. Sectioning off of Classroom blocks
Secondary, Primary and Pre-primary will be sectioned off from each other and students and staff will not be allowed to move between areas.
10. Students Returning Home from School
All students returning home after a day at school are advised to avoid vulnerable people (i.e. the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions) Uniforms and masks should be washed.
11. Revised School Times
ALL STUDENTS WILL RETURN TO SCHOOL ON THE DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED.
Starting time will be staggered.
Starting times:
- Std 4 to Form 4 starting time is 0715hrs.
- Reception to Std. 3 will start school at 0900hrs.
Dismissal times:
- Reception to 6 will dismiss at 1330hrs.
- Std 7 to Form 4 will dismiss at 15150hrs
Adherence to 180 Teaching Days:
The timetable will be redrawn to ensure that 180 teaching days are covered. Vacations will be shortened and teaching in the Third Term will extend into December. Saturday lessons will commence at a date to be announced for final year completing classes’ i.e. Std. 7 PSLE classes and Form 4 IGCSE classes. The revised timetable will be sent to you once we have finalised opening dates.
Schools Fees.
Schools fees for 2020 will remain the same, however, Management has formulated a payment plan policy which our accounting function will make available to parents accordingly. The plan includes yearly, termly and monthly payment options.
Please understand that Crescent School is completely reliant on school fees to sustain our operations, and our school does NOT receive any other external public or private funding ordinarily. Without consistent income of school fees, it is inevitable that our operations will be affected and we cannot overemphasis the need for parents to pay school fees due on time.
Students who have outstanding fees for Term 1, 2020 will unfortunately NOT be admitted into class for Term 2 unless full payment for Term 1 is made.
I sincerely hope that we can get the academic year back on track as best as possible and that there are no more interruptions. Nevertheless, the health and safety of our students and staff comes first and we will monitor the situation closely and remain in consultation with our principal stakeholders, so that any decision regarding Covid-19 is done transparently and expediently.
Yours faithfully
Mr. N Miller
School Head
