On the 20 of January 2021, the children of UCSI CDC started their school year. For some children, it was their first time experiencing formal learning and meeting new people. For other children it was back to their ‘second home’. Everyone was filled with anticipation of all the things that they were going to face. The teachers prepared their respective classrooms to provide a welcoming environment for their students.
Due to the pandemic, CDC provided a dual learning mode where parents were given the option to have their child attend online classes or physical classes. Most families decided to send their children back to school. Thus, began the dual mode preparations. The teachers had to pack the children’s books for the school year and have parents pick them up for their children.
Strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) were implemented once again. The management of CDC took the opportunity to reorientate both, teachers and parents, where they were reminded of the importance of the implementation of these SOPs. One of the many but essential requirements were that everyone who entered the school was mandated to wear face masks and face shields during the physical lessons. Despite having a bigger workload, the teachers managed to get acquainted with a new set of children through their warm and loving personalities.
Every day before the children enter into school, the teachers on duty will measure each child’s temperature and jot it down according to the respective classes. Next, there will be another teacher standing by the entrance to sanitise each child’s hands and place their shoes on the shoe rack. The teachers assigned are required to put on a face mask and a face shield along with a pair of gloves. The gloves were so that their hands will not get dirty when handling the shoes. The teachers spent the first two weeks training their respective classes to keep their masks on at all times while maintaining a safe distance from their peers. Although some children found it incredibly challenging to wear their mask the whole day, these two habits became a part of each child’s daily life with much practice and encouragement from the teachers. In times like these, we are reminded that the cooperation between teachers and parents is of huge importance in a child’s life. The children would not be able to cultivate this new habit if not for the shared effort from the parents at home and teachers at school.
