Dear Samakee Community,
It is fantastic news that we can reopen the school on Monday 1st November, and we are looking forward to seeing the children face to face!. Our Hybrid Model is a safe model with just 50% of our students in school and gives them time to adjust and gradually practice the new protocols and routines. Our priority is to make sure that all the children are comfortably settled in their new classrooms, happy and enjoying face to face interactions with their friends and teachers. We want our children to catch up on the essential experiences of childhood as life begins to return to normal. Catching-up will, of course, include learning, but the children will also have the opportunity to rediscover play, sport and activities and spending time with their friends will be one of the foundations of helping them get back on track!
Thank you to everyone who took part in Virtual Parent Consultations on Wednesday; it was lovely to talk with you about your child’s progress.
ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURESWhen children arrive at school, they must go straight to their classrooms. For the first week, staff will be at the entrance to support children’s transition back to school and direct them to their new classrooms. To facilitate this transition, we have arranged staggered arrival and departure times.
There is a fifteen-minute window between each phase arrival and departure time; please keep within this time frame to support smooth transitions to and from school for all children. Thank you.
THAI SAVE THAI APP
A requirement for our school community that you will have seen in our reopening plans is that everyone returning to school will need to complete the Thai Save Thai App or Website Form daily. Parents should register through the https://savethai.anamai.moph.go.th/main.php or the mobile app, which you can download to your phone. The first time you register and log into the Thai Save Thai app or website, you will need to complete all four sections which appear. After that, you will only need to complete sections 1 and 2 each for each subsequent day you visit the site or app. Everyone must start providing this information daily, all staff and parents. Participation by our community will demonstrate to the MoPH and other authorities the extent to which our school community is willing to cooperate in this risk assessment and ensure we remain at low risk of COVID infection. Thai Save Tha is a condition of reopening, so your support with this is greatly appreciated. Thai Save Thai Guideline
CHILDREN WORKING ONLINE
As agreed, Online Learning will also continue across all Year Groups to support families who have decided they would prefer their children remain at home. Any children not in school on onsite days will continue to learn through Online Learning, with lesson details for every lesson shared via Firefly and children also involved in lessons, via Google Meet etc., as and when possible. Class teachers/tutors will regularly check in with these children to help them adjust to their new timetable, and other staff will also be timetabled to support them. Six children will be working online for the next two weeks.
Here is the schedule for onsite and virtual learning:
WEEKLY ATK TESTS
As explained previously, all students must provide a negative ATK test before coming to school either on Sunday evening or on Wednesday evening, depending on the days the student will attend school. All admin staff, teachers, and TAs have been doing this for several weeks and will continue to do so. The ATK test is a gentle nasal swab, different to the PCR tests used in hospitals and does not hurt. Nasal swabs are an easy and painless collection method for COVID-19 testing and are appropriate for children. For our younger students in EYFS and KS1, the government has recently informed us that they have approved saliva tests. All ATK test results must be submitted via a Google Form to the school before attending school. Any child without a negative ATK result will not be allowed into school. Here is the link to the Google Form; please write the date and your child’s name on the ‘test device’, take a photo and send it to school. Thank you! Here is the list for ATK tests that are approved by the Food & Drug Administration ATK List 2021
ONLINE LEARNING HIGHLIGHTS!
YEAR 1 – FUNNY BONES
Year 1 has been getting into the Halloween spirit in our Drawing Club sessions this week with the Funny Bones story. We read about the skeleton’s adventure to the zoo, and the children drew their own skeleton pictures. They also came up with some spooky ideas for how their skeleton’s could scare each other!
MINDFULNESS IN PE
Samakee students have been learning #Mindfulness in PE through #Yoga. Students have improved balance, strength and flexibility to go along with Fundamental Movement Skills. Year 5 (pictured) are demonstrating their favourite pose!
ONE-TO-ONE UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD CLUB!
Someone in the Early Years wanted to learn more about dinosaurs. Awe, wonder and learning is clearly demonstrated in her expressions!
SCRUMPTIOUS SAMAKEE STREET FOOD
On Wednesday, while teachers talked to parents during Virtual Parent Consultations, the Middle School children were asked to participate in the latest Samakee Pop-Up event: Scrumptious Samakee Street Food. Teachers encouraged them to get creative in the kitchen and create one or two dishes to share at home. Some children also made a menu or recipe for their dish and even their own food stall! As you can see in these photos, their creations are amazing – Well done, Middle School!
SNACKS AND LUNCHES
On Thursday, we met with the Epicure team to discuss “Epicure Boxed Lunches” and to agree on an appropriate menu to appeal to our youngest children. EYFS & KS1 will be eating Snacks and “Epicure Boxed Lunches” in their classrooms or designated areas in their “Bubbles”. The “Epicure Boxed Lunch” will be delivered to their classrooms or eating area.
Snacks and Lunches for Year 3-9 will be staggered, one “Bubble” at a time, and supervised by their teachers to maintain social distancing. Seating is restricted to two children per table, and children will select their meals one at a time. Windows and doors are to remain open during mealtimes.
Once again, here is the link to a Visual Guide to our Reopening Plans.
We are looking forward to welcoming all EYFS children back into school on Monday, as well as KS1A, Year 5 and Year 8 & 9. On Thursday, we will welcome back KS1B, LKS2, Year 6 and 7.
Kind regards,
Monica L Sudhirak
Head of School