“Our current position on vaccinations is that it is a deeply personal issue, and that is not the school’s position to require everyone to get vaccinated. That being said, we really want to support our community to get vaccinate if this is what they wish to do. This meant that we made a concerted effort to develop relationships throughout Bangkok that would assist our community to register for and access vaccinations. We have been able to help members of our community to register for all of the different types of vaccines and I believe that this help has been really well received.” -BPS (Secondary Principal, Matt Seddon)
“The school spent a significant amount of time planning to prepare for students’ return to campus. We created the ATK/health declaration system that included the use of our IDs. This has made entering campus quick and easy while making everyone who enters campus accountable with an accurate system.
We provided a system that supported both online and face-to-face learning as well.
We altered the lunch menus and systems to provide the safest environment possible, while still providing great food options.
We worked with the local government authorities to make sure our plan was approved and within the required safety guidelines to reopen the school. We have communicated frequently with our community and made safety our number one priority”
– RIS (Head of School & Principal, Jim O’Malley)
“Much time was spent discussing safety protocols to ensure that students and teachers would be safe upon returning to campus. We looked at what other schools were doing, what governments were advising and made the best decisions possible based on the information that we had. We set things up around campus to comply with regulations and communicated to teachers and staff about any changes that needed to happen. We also did our best to communicate any and all changes with parents and students. It was a hard balance between ‘just enough’ and not too much of an information overload! Our school made connections with local hospitals willing to partner with us to provide vaccinations for students. We granted teachers time to receive vaccinations since protecting our community was a priority.”
– ICS (High School Principal, Amber Quick)
Ensuring excellent, transparent communication within a school community is so important if it is to flourish, and this is even more important during times like these. Whilst it has been a challenge not being able to work with our teams face-to-face, we are all well versed in MS Teams now and the principle is actually the same – communicate regularly and empathetically – really understanding the different perspectives of the teachers
-BPS (Secondary Principal, Matt Seddon)
Working from home was actually quite comfortable. It required many meetings and quite a bit of communication. The most challenging part was not being able to have personal interactions with people.
– RIS (Principal, Jim O’Malley)
“Screen fatigue is very real and getting burnt out on Zoom/Meet calls was definitely a challenge. The amount of emails increased substantially and there was constant pressure to be available at any time of the day, every day, in order to pass information along. This is not sustainable long-term and definitely played into pandemic exhaustion for everyone. The most challenging part was keeping up with ever-changing policies and mandates as the situation evolved and new information became available.”
ICS (High School Principal, Amber Quick)
We are trying to take a sensible approach which keeps everyone safe but still also allows school to feel like school. The last thing that we want to do is to be standing with measuring tapes measuring the distance between people walking to lessons. One of the big differences changes that we have made to support this is to ensure consistent seating plans, and to only have out-door eating, with students twice a day recording who they have eaten with through the Break and Lunchtime Tracker (BLT) . In the event of a positive case, this is so helpful for us to be able to track possible close contacts. -BPS(Secondary principal, Matt Seddon)
“The safety guidelines are well documented. The only new wrinkle this year has really been the ATK testing process and the enforcement of social distancing during recess, milk break, lunch, and flex/focus block. The Gate procedures have actually been much improved with the use of ID cards.” – RIS (Head of School & Principal, Jim O’Malley)
“Stay up to date with school communication about protocol. We feel we have a strong plan in place as long as everyone complies with these requirements: weekly ATK testing and accurate reporting, washing hands and sanitizing high traffic areas, social distancing/assigned seating and wearing masks are some of the most important ways to keep each other safe!”
ICS (High School Principal, Amber Quick)
“Our school is open for learning, but we are aware that there are some members of our community who are overseas through no fault of their own. We also have families who do not yet feel confident returning to campus and others who will be require to self-isolate. Because of this, We are currently running a hybrid model of CSL to support learning remotely and in the classroom. Covid-19 is a deeply complex issue which has touched us all and we believe that the current hybrid model is the best way that we can support the many different needs of our community. It is mostly working very well but if being completely honest, it can be very challenging from a planning perspective, especially when students change their mind on whether they are in or out from day to day. Whilst we are very proud of how we are able to deliver this hybrid model, we know that learning from home when most of the class are in the school cannot provide the same experience; as such we are looking forward to the day when everyone is back in the classroom together.
-BPS (Secondary Principal, Matt Seddon)
“This is one of the most difficult challenges for us. Teachers were already working much harder than when they are in class. Now they are challenged to try to support both platforms. I think the fact that the online portion of our program is now more of a Zoom into the class rather than the teacher talking to all students from their computer. I think overall though, our community has been flexible and open-minded.”
– RIS (Head of School & Principal, Jim O’Malley)
“I’m looking forward to seeing the Bangkok Patana spirit at its best. Just having the students back on campus has provided a lovely buzz, and I can already feel that this school is a wonderful place, despite the restrictions that are holding back so many of our special events and activities. I really do believe that the end is in sight, and that it won’t be too long before this community is enjoying the full Bangkok Patana experience again.”
- BPS (Secondary Principal, Matt Seddon)
“I reflect on my first two years here and how vibrant the community was. BISAC. SEASAC, School plays, concerts, IB art displays, MUN conferences, pep rallies, knowledge bowl, graduation, convocation, food sales, and fundraisers, service-learning trips, talent shows, prom, dances, band jam… the list goes on and on. It is hard to fathom that we have lost out on so much as a community. I know we won’t be able to do all of those things right away, but I am looking forward to the day when we can have all of those events. They are so important to our community.”
- RIS (Head of School & Principal, Jim O’Malley)
“We are made for community! Being back together- for learning and living life- is what I am most looking forward to. I eagerly anticipate hearing the laughter of students, seeing teachers and students interact in person and showcasing the many talents and interests of our ICS family. Getting to return to these things will be most welcome!”
- ICS (High School Principal, Amber Quick)
“For me, there are two big take-aways. Firstly, this pandemic has affected us all in different ways. We should never assume that the impact on others has been the same as it has on ourselves. So we must always be empathetic, and try to really deeply understand one another’s perspective. That’s how we ensure that we build an even stronger community. Secondly, from the students perspective – as much as possible we need to make sure that school is not a “weird” place to be. Young people are young people, and we need them to still enjoy school, whilst keeping each other safe.” -BPS (Secondary principal, Matt Seddon)
“I have learned to always be ready for anything, and I have also learned that our community is ready to adjust to anything we throw at them. I have been amazed at how responsive and effective our teachers and students have been to all of the adjustments. I have also been impressed by the support of our parents! We have a great community.”
- RIS (Head of School & Principal, Jim O’Malley)
“Be flexible! Things are constantly changing and it is best not to hold on too tightly to plans. Shared grief experiences do bring people closer together and I am hoping that we can learn to reach out, get the support that we each need and move forward with one another. Amidst the plethora of frustrations and pain that have come from Covid, there has also been beauty and good. Don’t forget to acknowledge those moments alongside the hard ones.”
- ICS (High School Principal, Amber Quick)
