Dear friends, congratulations to you and your children on the new school year!
Many of us have been wondering all summer how the 2020-2021 school year would be organised. We were tired of distance learning in the spring and longed so much to return to normal life in the autumn...
The good news didn't take long to arrive! The Polish government has decided to return pupils to schools from September.
But it left the possibility for the directors of educational institutions to return to distance learning if necessary (with the permission of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspectorate).
Unfortunately, no vaccine has been found and people all over the world continue to get sick...And to protect children and teachers, special guidelines have been developed.
Two weeks before the start of the new school year, Polish Minister of Education Dariusz Piontkowski announced them officially.
Special recommendations for Polish schools
- A student may be admitted to the school if they have no signs of respiratory infection and their family is not quarantined or isolated at home.
- Pupils must not exchange school supplies with each other.
- If a member of staff notices symptoms in a pupil that may indicate a respiratory infection (e.g. fever, cough) they should take the necessary steps to isolate the child in a separate room or place where a social distance of at least 2 metres from other persons is possible. And immediately notify parents/carers to collect the pupil from school (own transport is recommended).
- Students are encouraged to use the school yard and to be outdoors on school grounds, including during breaks.
- During activities, including physical education and sports where children cannot maintain a distance, the teacher should limit exercise and contact games.
- The staff of the educational institution shall ventilate the halls and corridors at least once an hour during breaks and, if necessary, during classes.
- A student should not bring unnecessary items to school.
- Kitchen and administration staff and cleaners at the school should limit contact with students and teachers.
- There are special rules for the use of the school library. The work schedule should be set taking into account a 2-day quarantine for books and other materials kept in the library.
- Wherever possible, it is recommended to organise the learning process in a way that maintains a social distance between persons on the school premises, especially in common areas. It is recommended to limit the gathering of students on the school premises (e.g. different arrival times of students from different classes at school, different break times or on the playground) and to avoid frequent changes of classrooms.
- Cycling or walking to the school facility is recommended.
