Message From the Head of School – May 15, 2020
It is with great enthusiasm that I share a first look at our planning for the opening of School Year 20-21.
Bali Island School is strongly committed to opening SY20-21 with health and safety measures in place, following all government regulations for schools, and seeing our BIS students in school, in classrooms, smiling, challenged, and engaged with their learning. I can’t tell you just how much our faculty and I are looking forward to seeing all of our students again. Many of you are using the school facilities and it absolutely makes my day to see students exercising, finding balance, and enjoying the BIS facilities with their parents.
Our Health Committee is composed by our leadership team and supported by medical doctor, Uwe Stocker, regional representative of SOS clinic Indonesia, as well as Natasha Varley, a BIS parent and doctor. BIS is blessed with having such representatives on our team providing us with all necessary and important developments regarding COVID-19 as well as important insights from an Indonesia perspective. This allows us to make well informed decisions for BIS.
Bali has weathered the Covid-19 pandemic well and we feel confident that BIS will open on August 4, 2020. We are studying very closely schools who have reopened/are reopening from across the globe to learn from their protocols and procedures. The Association of International School Heads and the Association for the Advancement of International Education have provided many opportunities to share best practices. I have been attending many conference calls to discuss opening strategies and to learn from those who are managing this transition now in their countries. This week, I attended a webinar led by schools in Korea, Copenhagen and China who have opened their doors in the last few days. Yesterday, Bali Heads of Schools Association (SPK schools) met to discuss several issues, including ways to assist the Ministry of Education to develop school opening procedures. The learning and collaboration has been remarkable and I am grateful for the sharing mindset of all school leaders.
While our indicators and plan for opening is still under construction, I want to highlight a few of the operating procedures we are envisioning.
- All faculty and staff will be tested prior to opening campus
- BIS will operate two separate entrances for students, faculty and staff
- Primary students will use the Taman Bacaan entrance
- Secondary students will use the entrance near the library
- All entrants to campus will be temperature checked
- Masks will be worn in indoor common areas
- Cleaning of all student desks, door handles, water coolers will occur three times daily
- Hand washing will occur between classes at our newly constructed handwashing stations
- Starting schedules and dismissal times will be staggered so our entrance and exit points allow for physical distancing
- Classrooms will be rearranged for physical distancing and classes will move together as a unit throughout the day
- After school activities will be offered by our BIS staff and students
While we are planning for next year, this school year is not over and we continue to have much work to complete. Our Senior Graduation will be a virtual event and I invite you all to join to help celebrate these resilient students – May 29 at 5:00 p.m. The Board, our leadership team and I will report on the work accomplished this year at BIS in the annual “Year in Review” presentation on June 4, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. It will be conducted virtually – details to follow. I look forward to sharing all of our accomplishments and progress.
Don’t forget to join my Head of School discussion on Friday, May 22 at 8:45 a.m. This week we will listen to Simon Sinek’s TED Talk.
Meeting ID: 932 5640 9447 – Password: 087850