Our first duty at school is to keep people safe, and we believe we have managed to do that throughout the coronavirus crisis. Although we have had cases reported at school, we have no evidence to date of any coronavirus transmission on campus. While we remain cautious in our approach to managing the virus, the fact is that objective conditions have markedly improved in Lusaka and in Zambia generally as acknowledged recently by the ministry of Health in their own relaxation of COVID precuations. This has led our Coronavirus Task Force to authorize a gradual and measured return to something approaching normal school activities, with continued emphasis on safety and hygiene. This includes:
- Resumption of after school activities
- Resumption of field trips
- Resumption of selected activities with other schools
- Returning middle school students to subject specific class organization
- Returning primary modern language classes to full frequency of lessons
- Resumption of certain student-led activities, such as movie night
- Planned reopening of our tuck shop
- Planned relaxation of the "48-hour rule"
These measures have been considered by the CTF in the light of the objective situation and our internal processes and have found support in that body; many of them have already been operationalized at school. It will be evident that the developments above represent a relaxation of our coronavirus control protocols, including ‘bubble breaking’, that is an intentional, measured response on our part. Nonetheless, we will remain vigilant and prepared for any future surge in COVID-19 cases. The Coronavirus Task Force meets regularly to review the situation and, of course, we may have to reverse these developments if the situation demands it. We are committed to a responsive, data-driven approach to keep people safe.
As mentioned above, we will be relaxing the 48-hour rule which requires people to stay home if unwell plus an additional 48 hours. It remains imperative that people stay out of school if they feel unwell for any reason, subject to exceptions granted by the school nurse, usually on receipt of a doctor's note. However, the requirement to remain out of school for an additional 48 hours will no longer be in force. As with the other relaxations, we may reinstate this if the situation warrants.
Students in middle school have been easing back into pre-covid normalized routines. Tutor groups are now able to meet their Tutors in their Tutor's classroom. Year 7 and 8 classes have begun to travel to their subject teachers' classes, rather than have the teachers all teach out of a common home room. Year 9 classes will transition to moving to subject specific classes after the October break. "Keep left" regulations continue to be in effect, along with all other classroom health and safety procedures. It's a welcomed change to see all our students walking to their classes.
Please bear in mind that the Home-Based Learning (HBL) programme was developed as a response to the coronavirus crisis. As outlined in our guiding document HBL- SBL Teaching Guidelines for ISL stakeholders, we deliver an HBL programme alongside the SBL classes for students unable to attend school due to COVID reasons. We have had some requests for an extension of the HBL service to people traveling for holidays or other non-COVID related reasons. In this situation, the teachers are not obliged to be on Google Meet and deliver HBL. Classwork will be posted on Google Class and the students can access this information asynchronously at their convenience.
Any questions with regard to COVID-19 should be addressed to our nurse, Ms Edith Lemba, on 0979053014 or email nurse@isl.sch.zm. You might find it helpful to refer to our master coronavirus control document and our COVID Quick Reference. You can also read our coronavirus related blog posts here. If you have any other questions, please reach out to us on ask@isl.sch.zm.
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