Head of School Corner

Dear GJS Families,

First and foremost, on behalf of our dedicated team of faculty and staff, we wish all Global Jaya School community members a Happy New Year. May everyone enjoy a year of excellent health, endless happiness, and bountiful personal and professional success.

Since our return from semester break, Coronavirus infection rates reported in neighboring countries have dramatically increased. At this time, there are NO confirmed cases of coronavirus within Indonesia. That stated this is a matter to which we must pay increased attention.

All parents must maintain a close watch on their children’s health status, every day, so you will be aware if symptoms appear. Symptoms such as fever (temperatures of 37.5C and above), respiratory symptoms of cough, shortness of breath, or breathing difficulties are common signs of respiratory ailment.

Please inform the school and your child’s teacher as soon as possible if your child is sick or under doctor observation. If you have fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, be sure to share previous travel history with your health care provider. Please keep a sick child at home until they are 100% recovered. They can only return to school when all signs of the illness have gone, and a doctor’s certificate, indicating the student is clear to return to school, is provided.

The World Health Organization recommends taking the following steps to reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus:

• Clean hands by using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water
• When coughing and sneezing cover mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue
• Throw the tissue away immediately and wash hands
• Avoid close contact with anyone who has fever and cough
• Avoid unprotected contact with farm or wild animals
• Thoroughly cook meat and eggs

As a school, we have, as of the past week, put into place enhanced cleaning and sterilization processes. We have increased the number of handwash stations and have provided instruction on hygiene procedures. All students that fall ill during the day are being taken to the Nurse’s Office (UKS) immediately. Up to today, students, faculty, staff who have a temperature of 37.5C or above have been sent home and asked to seek medical attention. We are revising our planned trips, both within and around Jakarta, but also to destinations outside of Indonesia.

As of Wednesday, February 5, 2020, and until further notice, we will increase our level of response by initiating thermal scanning of all community members and visitors who are seeking to enter Global Jaya School.

1. Global Jaya School campus will open at 6:30 am, please do not arrive earlier than this time.
2. Entry points for the campus will be limited to Primary and West Gate Entrances ONLY.
3. All community members and visitors are required to remain in their vehicles until advised to exit by security.
4. All community members and visitors entering campus, by vehicle or by foot, will be subject to a thermal scan.
5. Any individual with a temperature of 37.5C or above will not be permitted to remain on campus and will be sent home immediately.
6. Individuals who have been ill or exhibiting fever may only return to school when all signs of the illness have gone, and a doctor’s certificate, indicating the individual is clear to return to class, is provided.

It is necessary that you bear with us as we endeavor to make this process work and will require your cooperation despite any inconveniences that arise. In order to manage the restricted flow of traffic in the morning, drivers will not be allowed to park their vehicles on campus. Once the student exits the vehicle, the driver must leave and find a place to park off-campus.

We recognize that adopting measures such as these may cause inconvenience to some members of our community. Please know and understand that the health and well being of ALL GJS community members is our priority. We expect that the procedures placed into practice for our collective well-being will be supported and followed by all who wish to gain entry to our campus.

It is essential to be mindful of the recent Indonesian Ministry of Health (MOH) publications that guide how to limit the spread of bacteria and viruses. Please note that the first two documents are in Bahasa Indonesia, the third is in English. These are official publications from the MOH and the World Health Organization; alternative language versions will be distributed if they become available.

Ministry of Health Communication: January 28, 2020

Ministry of Health Guide to Prevent Coronavirus from Spreading: January 28, 2020

WHO Novel Coronavirus information page

Prior to the semester break, we completed a rigorous Indonesian Ministry of Education SPK school accreditation visitation. We were optimistic about the results after meeting with the accreditation officers in November. With the official results being released, we rightfully earned top marks for all 3 of our programs, overall grades of 97/100 and achieving top scores of A's across the board. I would like to once again acknowledge Ibu Dewi, Pak Edi, the accreditation teams formed at both Primary and Secondary levels for their hard work, dedication, and perseverance as we successfully completed the process.

We have started the second semester with activities that put on full public display the fruits of our Semester 1 labors. Our Year 6 Students held a dry run of their PYP Exhibition, our Year 10 students hosted their MYP Personal Project Exhibition, and Diploma Programme Faculty facilitated a Year 10 Student and Parent IB Diploma Programme course information evening.

Our Year 6 exhibitioners spent time with faculty, parents and other guests as they fine-tuned their slide show and oral presentations. The passion, effort, and creativity that has guided Year 6 students’ research and Metaphorical Artwork is nothing short of tremendous. The full PYP Exhibition will be held on February 11th and 12th.

The Year 10 Personal Project Exhibition brought out the very best in many of our students, challenged all of our students and has left parents, faculty and the students themselves proud of the overall achievements.

Please read through the rest of this month’s KONTAK to learn more about these events.

Over the past week, we have had the opportunity to pull together four different focus groups; one representing our leadership team, one for the student body, one for Faculty & Staff, then finally one representing our parent community. The purpose of these focus group meetings was to develop a deeper understanding of stakeholder perceptions regarding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing Global Jaya School. Moving into next week our Leadership team will begin analyzing the data generated, part and parcel of a larger initiative aimed at gaining broader stakeholder input as we seek to update and broaden our strategic initiatives. All participants were very forthcoming, positive and supportive of our session efforts. We wish to thank the students, parents, and staff for their time and consideration during this effort and look forward to sharing, in greater detail, our plans over the coming months.