Dear Parents,
Please find below a list of important points for your information.
Introduction
Our priority is to ensure the safety of the entire school community and to do so, we rely on the vigilance and cooperation of everyone.
The Autumn Term starts:
- For new students to complete their orientation day on Tuesday 1st September at 09:00.
- For all students on Wednesday 2nd September at 08:20.
As you are aware from our full reopening in June, we have already introduced extra cleaning, thermal scanning and other additional safety protocols. There will be a need to maintain and enhance these with a full return to site.
However, we would like to return to as much normality as possible.
It is not possible to list everything and cover all scenarios but please read the below information prior to the start of term.
Before
1st September – new students
2nd September – returning students
Please complete the health declaration form to confirm your child has been in Shanghai for 14
consecutive days prior to returning to school.
At home
Please be vigilant about the health of all family members.
Get in touch if there is anything you are not sure about: Principal@britannicashanghai.com
Covid-19 Symptoms: A reminder：
If any of the symptoms below are observed, please do not attend Britannica.
Fever
Dry cough
Unexplained and abnormal tiredness
Loss of taste or smell
Diarrhoea
Vomiting
Entrance to School
It is important that only healthy students come to school.
All students should have temperatures checked at home before leaving for school.
If their temperature is over 37.3°C for the forehead, please keep them at home.
All students who do not arrive by school bus must enter through the front gate.
No parents or visitors will be allowed inside the school building without a prior appointment.
An exception will be made for new parents on the first day of school, where specific areas will be setup on the front field to allow you to meet your child’s teacher. Parents will not be allowed to enter the building at any time.
All parents will be temperature checked on entry (and refused entry if above 37.3 degrees). Parents must wear a mask.
All students will have their temperature checked using our thermal scanning cameras prior to entry in to our school building. Students will also receive regular temperature checks from our school nurse.
No students with a temperature above 37.3 degrees will be permitted to enter the school site.
In the event of a child’s temperature being recorded above 37.3 degrees, parents will immediately be called to collect their child and the student must undergo testing and provide a copy of the results prior to being allowed back on campus.
In School
We are guided by medical advice provided by the Shanghai Authorities protocols.
Masks
• Students in Early Years are not required to wear masks in school.
• Students in Years 1-13 are required to wear masks when moving between lessons.
• Students will not be required to wear masks in lessons or outside.
• Any student wishing to wear a mask at any time will be supported in their wish.
• Parents and visitors are not allowed on site without an appointment. Should an appointment be arranged, masks must be worn at all times.
• Staff will be wearing masks when moving around the school site.
Other restrictions
The swimming pool has been refurbished over the summer holiday, however currently remains out of
use.
Buses
We have worked closely with our bus provider to ensure that students are safe on their buses. Please follow the guidance of the bus monitors and contact them should you have any questions. Our bus coordinator Miss Katrina Zhang is also available at Katrina.Zhang@britannicashanghai.com
What if there is an increase in cases and the Chinese government closes schools again?
The community worked well together during the closure. Staff, parents and students all upskilled themselves within the digital environment and are prepared for this situation. Additional workshops and seminars will be organised throughout the Autumn term.
If we need to switch across to digital learning again, we will, of course, communicate the need to do so and begin this immediately.
ASA’s
If the situation remains as it is in Shanghai now when we open school, we will look to run our ASA programme using the normal structure. Providers will need to adhere to and sign-up to, our strict guidelines, meaning that no one who has visited or been in touch with visitors from the countries on the red and yellow risk areas within the specified time-period will be allowed on campus. They will also follow the 14-day period within Shanghai prior to entering the school site. During this period, providers will be thermal scanned on entry and required to wear a mask in shared areas and corridors.
Equipment
Please provide your child/children with a pencil case, so that we can minimise the need to share equipment. What is needed inside it will vary by age. Year 1-4 teachers will provide guidance to parents on what they need.
For Years 5 upwards:
• At least two pens for writing
• At least two pencils (HB) for writing/drawing
• 1 rubber
• 1 pencil sharpener
• 1 ruler
• Appropriate age relevant Mathematics equipment
• Highlighter pens
Lunches
All year groups will return to having their lunch in the canteen, with early years eating in their own EYFS
canteen. Lunch times will be staggered with separate areas for different year groups and social
distancing will be in place.
These measures, again, are aimed at returning a sense of normality to children’s school experience.
Students should continue to bring their own cutlery to school.
Uniform
Parents will have the opportunity to order new uniforms directly from the school between 9am and 3pm on the 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, and 31st August 2020. Please come to the front entrance of the school.
If you are a new parent, your child’s House will be assigned in the first week, so please do not worry about having the correct colour top for any house events.
First Day for All Students – New and Returning
The school year starts at 8.20am on Wednesday 2nd September 2020. All students should arrive prior to this time.
We welcome all new families joining Britannica International School!
In the following section you will find important information that you may need for a smooth start.
Should you have any questions that are not covered below please contact us via e-mail
on Principal@britannicashanghai.com
Necessary Equipment
Primary students:
(Year 1 – Year 6)
All School equipment and books will be provided by the School. However, there are a few things your child needs to have in addition, which should be LABELLED with their name:
• A school bag large enough to hold A4 paper
• A pair of indoor shoes to be kept at the School for wearing inside the classroom (black or dark blue or brown).
• A change of clothing, including undergarments, to be kept at School, just in case they are required. Necessary for Key Stage 1 pupils (Year 1 and 2)
• Water bottle
• Pencil case
We are trying to encourage independence so please allow your child to pack and carry their own bags.
Secondary students:
(Year 7- Year 13)
The School provides secondary students with all schoolbooks and notebooks. Parents are asked to provide a fully equipped pencil case and mathematical equipment such as metal compasses, protractor and scientific calculator.
Uniform Code
Please keep in mind that wearing the Britannica uniform is compulsory in the school building. Since the uniforms are hard to distinguish, we highly recommend that you LABEL all uniforms with your child’s name, so if it gets lost in the building, it gets back to your child as soon as possible. During the current period, the lost and found will be placed outside the front entrance at regular intervals, for parents to check.
Until the ASA programme begins, school Finishes at 3:00 for ALL students. Further details of the Autumn term ASA schedule will be released shortly.
What is a Key Stage?
The British Curriculum outlines which subjects children must study at School and also divides them into age groups called Key Stages. At each Key Stage, all children in mainstream education will study certain subjects and have the opportunity to learn key skills, following the requirements of the British Curriculum.
The Key Stages are as follows:
• Key Stage 1 (KS1): Years 1 and 2
• Key Stage 2 (KS2): Years 3, 4, 5 and 6
• Key stage 3 (KS3): Years 7, 8 and 9
• Key stage 4 (KS4): Year 10 and Year 11
• Key Stage 5 (KS5) also referred to as 6th Form: Year 12 and Year 13
The School Day starts at 08.20 with registration.
School ends at 15.00 for all students.
After the ASA programme commences School ends at 16.00 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for all students. Each Wednesday students will finish school at 15.00.
Late pick-up area: For those children whose Primary parents cannot come on time because of circumstances beyond their control, there is a supervision area in the school reception where a member of staff looks after the children. Please come to the school gate and the security staff will call the reception for your child to be sent to the front entrance to meet you.
COVID-19 Delivery and Collection
In order to keep the school community safe, we require parents to remain outside the school building
both for pick-up and collection of their children.
Late pick-up is, as described above.
Lunch and Snacks
A hot lunch is provided for all students attending the School. Please inform the school office if your child has any dietary requirements or would like to receive vegetarian meals. It is also possible for parents to provide a packed lunch should they wish. Eating in the corridors is prohibited. Morning snacks are provided to classes in Primary and EYFS, and are eaten in the form rooms.
Sweets/candy and chocolate should be avoided with preference for healthier snacks, which are best for good learning. Britannica remains a nut free school and any foods containing traces of nuts should be avoided.
Drinking Water
Pupils should bring in a ‘named’ plastic drinking bottle with a nozzle, containing still water. Children are able to drink the water throughout the day.
Drinking bottles must not be shared with other students.
House System
Each student joining Britannica is placed into one of our four Houses. The idea behind the House system is that there is a vertical and even split of the children, EYFS, Primary and Secondary into the four Houses. These Houses compete against each other in all kinds of ways; sporting, academic, and even in entertainment. The aim for all the students in Britannica is to build up points for their Houses every day, every week and every month and also by playing for their House teams against other Houses in sports or in other competitions. The School year is divided into three termly championships and at the end of each term there is a cup for the winning House.
Currently, all students have to wear the House t-shirt for all House events– these can be purchased from the School uniform shop; the colour of the polo shirt should be chosen according to the particular House the student belongs to.
EAL (English as an Additional Language)
During the first few weeks of term all students will be informally assessed for English ability levels in order to plan appropriate language support throughout the School year. You will be kept fully informed of any decisions made about additional support being offered.
ASA’s
Britannica offers various after school activities. Some afternoon activities are taught by Britannica staff at no extra cost however there will be a charge for other activities where the lessons are held by external specialist instructors. In these cases, the payments go directly to the instructors.
We will be sending out a full set of details during the coming weeks on the ASA’s taking place for EYFS, Primary and Secondary students. We will share this with you via email with instructions on how to sign up electronically.
Individual Music Lessons
The Britannica one to one Instrumental Programme is a scheme to encourage students to take up learning an instrument at school. Individual instrumental music lessons are available for students. We have a team of recommended visiting instrumental teachers who teach violin, clarinet, saxophone, recorder, flute, guitar, voice, piano and theory. Students can sign up to receive a weekly lesson on an instrument of their choice.
These lessons are arranged during the academic day. An email will be sent to you regarding the sign up procedure when term begins.
Communication with Parents
We are a truly family-orientated school therefore, ensuring smooth communication between parents and the School is very important for us.
A weekly newsletter is sent out every Friday by e-mail to all parents. This newsletter outlines events that concern the school and also reports on general items of interest. Urgent items are occasionally sent out during the week by e-mail and repeated in Friday’s newsletter. Please provide the School Office with your most recent contact details and make sure that if your telephone number or e-mail address changes to inform the School Office of this.
Meet the Teacher Afternoons will be held in the first few weeks of school. Further details will follow separately.
Parents’ Afternoons will also be held. On these occasions parents can meet with teachers and discuss
the progress of their child’s work.
Individual meetings can be also arranged with teachers if necessary. Each member of staff also has their own Britannica e-mail address for direct contact. Parents wishing to discuss academic or social matters outside of these scheduled parent-teacher meetings should contact the form tutor or class teacher in the first instance, followed by the Primary Year Leads or appropriate Head of EYFS, Head of Primary or Head of Secondary.
Friends of Britannica
The Friends of Britannica group is a valued group of parents who join regular meetings to share points of information with the school leadership team.
We are very hopeful that this association will develop strongly again over the next year. Look out for further information over the next few weeks.
Electronic Devices
The school requests that parents do not send their children to school with a mobile phone or smart watch device. Primary students are forbidden to use a mobile phone in school. Should you choose to send your child to school with a mobile phone, please note that you do so at your own risk. The school takes no responsibility for the security, monitoring and safe usage of mobile phones. The use of mobile phones in classrooms is strictly forbidden.
The school operates a BYOD (Bring your own device) approach in Years 4-13. All students should bring a suitable laptop, or equivalent device with a keyboard to their lessons. Britannica is keen to take full advantage of the value IT can bring to education and make the most of the enhancement in the skill set of the community that has taken place in recent months. If you are a Primary parent in years 4-6, please look out for further information in the coming weeks with regards to workshops where both you and your child can learn more about the responsible and effective use of IT.
The school also has a fully equipped IT suite plus sets of laptops and IPADs for students to use, as appropriate within the curriculum.
Handbook
Key policies can be requested at any time by contacting Principal@britannicashanghai.com
Parents will be provided with a parent handbook that covers other areas and the rules of the school.
Anything else?
We have tried to cover as many general questions as we can in this document but understand that you may have individual specific questions about your child’s entrance to Britannica, we are always here to help!
Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.
On behalf of the entire staff at Britannica we look forward to welcoming your children and serving your families this academic year.
Kind Regards,
Paul Farrell
Principal
