Over the past few weeks, the spotlight has been on the deadly coronavirus that has been reported in over two dozen countries and territories. Such news has created anxiety and fear among many people, as masks and hand sanitizers also get out of stocks at major pharmacies.
We understand this is a worrying time period for all our community, especially for the parents and our younger students who might not understand some of the procedures or what is going on.
Quoting June, one of Kodecoon’s parents in this Channel News Asia article, “We do not know how this pandemic will pan out, but we can control our thoughts and choices today. By all means, take the necessary precautions but in order to emerge unscathed through this crisis, we need to balance fear with equal doses of calm, wit and trust.”.
At Kodecoon Academy, we will maintain a friendly but strict implementation of safety procedures to ensure we have a safe learning environment. This is the time for us to strengthen our communication with our parent community and ensure our instructors and students practice good hygiene habits. Other than the precautionary measures that we have started to implement, we are also monitoring the situation very closely so that we can update our parents in real-time in our WhatsApp Broadcast group.
Starting with our ongoing regular classes, we will be implementing the following precautionary measures across all classes:
- Travel declarations to China
All parents are required to fill up the Student Registration Form (http://bit.ly/kc-studentregistration) - Leaves of absences (14 days)
As per the Ministry of Education (MOE) communication on 27 January 2020, all Kodecoon students and staff returning from Mainland China will be required to take a Leave of Absence (LOA) for 14 days, starting the day after arrival in Singapore.
For affected students, we will try to arrange for make up classes to help with the catch up.
- Temperature taking
We will be taking the temperatures of every student before starting the class – anyone with fever or flu-like symptoms should be sent home, with parents/guardians being informed as necessary. - Hygiene practices
All instructors and students are to make sure to practice general hygiene – wash or sanitize your hands at regular and consistent intervals. We have prepared hand sanitizers for our instructors to be used in class.
Students should wash their thermometers after usage. They should at least wipe down with an antiseptic wipe.
It is made mandatory for instructors to wipe down the shared laptops before/after usage. As viruses are passed most commonly through contact, such as when someone touches a contaminated surface and then their face, it is important that we wipe down our laptops or devices with an antiseptic wipe before and after usage.
“What kind of message would I be sending my kids if I allowed fear to steer my every course?”
As we practice caution, we also don’t think learning should come to a stop! We are adopting a precautionary approach and will revise procedures as we monitor the situation and as it develops. We are adopting a very open communication channel with our parents to prepare for possible scenarios, be it your child being placed on a leave of absence, or in case of class cancellations. Do WhatsApp us at +65 87792872 should you have any concerns.
We appreciate your support and cooperation. We are monitoring the situation very closely and we thank all the parents who reached out with concerns! It’s really with this Kodecoon family spirit that we work together as a community to ensure our learning environments remain a safe and secure space for all kids. 🙂