Covid-19 and Queen's College update 14 - Grade 11 return information

As per Minister Angie Motshekga’s advices, both Grades 10 and 11 are due to return to school on Monday, 6 July 2020.

However, we at Queen’s College have decided on a platooning return of Grade 10 and 11 boys to school. This will mean that your son will not physically attend school every day. Online learning will continue on the days on which your son is not at school. However, our aim is to have all Grade 12, 11 and 10 learners back at school together in the near future.

GRADE 11 RETURN TO SCHOOL

School will re-open on Monday, 6 July 2020 for our Grade 11 learners.

All Grade 11 boarders need to check in to their boarding house (Connaught House) on Sunday, 5 July 2020, between 14:00 and 16:30 only. Should any boarder parents have any queries, the Hostel Superintendent, Mr Jacobs can be contacted via email on pjacobs@queenscollege.co.za or on 084 899 7444.

THE GRADE 11 LEARNERS WILL HAVE SCHOOL AS FOLLOWS:

MONDAY 6 JULY, TUESDAY 7JULY, WEDNESDAY 8 JULY (3 consecutive days)

MONDAY 13 JULY, WEDNESDAY 15 JULY, FRIDAY 17 JULY (3 alternate days)

On these days, he is to report for school between 07:00 and 07:40 to the front of the Memorial Hall in College Avenue, commencing this coming Monday, 6 July 2020. No late entry allowed. The boys will be screened (taking of temperature, asking of regulatory questions), after which they will proceed to a venue for orientation on how the new school academic timetable works, which venues they have been allocated to, which area his class has been allocated for break times, education on the importance of social distancing, Covid-19 sanitising, cleaning and other regulations.

Your son will also receive a lanyard with an identity card – he needs to ensure that he wears it to school every time he attends school. Please note: No lanyard and screening card – no entry.

He also needs to report wearing his OWN MASK to school on day one. No mask, no entry. We have a visor/shield and 2 face masks for your son, which will be handed to him by his form teacher after his orientation session.

We encourage you to send your son to school with a small bottle of hand sanitiser in his pocket.

A form period will take place between 07:40 and 08:00 each day, whereafter academic classes will commence at 08:00 and end at 14:00.

Once the sanitising routine has been completed in your son’s form class at the end of the school day, both he and all teaching staff will have to vacate the school buildings, so that the cleaning staff can clean and sanitise the venues in order that they are ready for the next morning. Kindly make the necessary arrangements for your son to be fetched timeously from school.

Please ensure that your son is not driving a motor vehicle or motorbike to school without a valid driver’s licence. (Boys may NOT drive a car to school with a learner’s licence). This is against the laws of our country; and we are working hand in hand with our Traffic Department to ensure that all perpetrators are dealt with.

By now, you would have received an email with regard to the four Modules that the school has introduced with regard to Covid-19. In addition, the boarder parents would also have received Module 5 in respect of Hostel and Bisset rules, including all the precautionary measures taken; as well as the new rules set in place, inclusive of social distancing, sanitising and cleansing routines.

ALL BOYS ARE TO WEAR CIVILIAN CLOTHING AND TO BRING THEIR SCHOOL BAGS AND BOOKS TO SCHOOL.

DAY BOY PARENTS

PLEASE SEND YOUR SON TO SCHOOL WITH A PACKED LUNCH AND SOMETHING TO DRINK. (THE TUCK SHOP WILL REMAIN CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE).

BOARDER PARENTS

STRICT RULES HAVE BEEN PUT INTO PLACE FOR THE DAYS ON WHICH YOUR SON WILL NOT BE AT SCHOOL. HE WILL CONTINUE WITH ONLINE LEARNING UNDER SUPERVISION IN HIS HOSTEL, PRACTISING SAFE SOCIAL DISTANCING.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected each one of us in one way or another. To those who have lost family members, loved ones and friends, please accept our sincere condolences and know that you are in our thoughts and prayers at this very tough time.

Each and every staff member at Queen’s College has worked tirelessly and extremely hard with only your son’s best interests, health and safety at heart. We urge you to chat to your son about self-screening and not coming to school if he is unwell (in this regard we require the parents to phone the school to advise of their son’s absence due to illness).

Should any of the information which you have sent via the confidential Covid-19 questionnaire have changed since submitting to us, please be so kind as to email the Grade 11 Covid-19 secretary, Mrs Christina Caldeira, on ccaldeira@queenscollege.co.za to advise her of the changes.

We cannot wait to welcome the Grade 11s back to our wonderful school.