GETTING BACK TO SCHOOL AT LIWA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

GETTING BACK TO SCHOOL

AT LIWA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

BY: SHAKILA MOHAMMED

At Liwa International School for Girls, we brainstormed, created plans, adapted our curriculum, studied the framework, but most of all made a foolproof plan to ensure the safety of our girls. With all the uncertainties and questions in mind, we went ahead and started our reopening journey. The first thing we made sure was that the safety measures and protocols were in place for a safe return of students. Policies were created to safeguard students and teachers. Apart from this, the model of reopening was finalized between our Education Group. Parents completed a survey to identify the models they preferred for their children: full distance learning or a hybrid model, with two groups coming on alternating days. Academic curriculum was made to match the new models. Due to the COVID-19 scenario our priority was to make sure that the students are well supported in other areas, than just academics, like social protection, nutrition, health and emotional support, hence we added PSHE into our subjects and made sure this would be integrated in almost every lesson.

We had a very smooth start to our first week. The reopening of grade K-5 was staggered for the first week back, Grade 1 and 2 started school on Sunday, whereas Grades KG1, KG2, 3,4,5 started on Tuesday. This way, we had all hands on deck to make sure that, the reopening was smooth. We brought the KG1 newcomers to visit the school with their parents. We further created an effective dismissal system for families who had several girls studying in our school. Although the dismissal procedures required training for teachers, students and parents, entry and dismissal were smooth processes by the end of week 1. We are a digital school, and even before the pandemic, most of our students’ work was completed through E- Learning platforms. This year was not different. The only glitch we faced were parents not able to connect to our most used platform Class Dojo. Usually we would send out parent and class code as a hard copy for our Arabic speaking parents. Due to the number of parents choosing a full Distance Learning model, we could not send home hard copies of Class Dojo codes. We attempted to notify parents through their emails and this decision caused a little delay in setting the accounts up. Once Class Dojo setup was completed, we had our multiple learning platforms ready for student use, with work digitally going home for the students who chose distance learning.

The face to face learners had fun coming to school and getting that 1:1 support from their teachers. Creating the two groups enabled us to have 6-8 students attending the face to face lessons each day. Face to face has been effective with small groups.

The government’s decision to have only the K-5 come to school was wise. We had a very good start to the year and feel our program will continue to show success. As we move forward, we want to make sure we maintain the rigor of teaching and learning, without losing focus on the social and emotional factor for the wellbeing of our girls and our staff. LISG has a strong parent community who are ever so supportive and cooperative, which helps us to make a strong team for our girls.

Shakila Mohammed

Assistant Principal- K5

Liwa International School for Girls