The Secondary Principal's Scoop

Dear Families,

It's happening! Well, it's happening for Grades 9-12, let's hope our Middle School students are not far behind.... Grades 9-12 are starting back on November 8th and there is some information below which I sent out earlier this week that I would draw your attention to.

As we prepare for the transition back to campus, we would like you to review the OSC Roadmap to Reopening and the Daily Operations website prior to your return.

It has been a while since campus was open, thus we would like to share some procedural information and COVID guidelines to help families organize for the first day back on campus:

Friday November 5th

This will be a catch up day for High School students with no classes scheduled, Middle School classes will take places as usual, online in the DLP.

1^st Day of School for all Grade 9-12 students November 8th

This is a Day 5 on the schedule, students should check Mangebac for the classes. School will start at 8:15 am on Monday morning and so Grade 9-12 students should aim to be on campus by 8:05am, heading to advisory classrooms where they will be given their locker allocation and combination lock.

PE Lessons - Grades 9 and 10

ALL PE lessons will be carried out at school including swimming. Your child’s PE teacher will inform them what they need depending on the unit they are currently working on. Ensure that your child is prepared for the days they have PE and Swimming; wearing the OSC PE kit and suitable trainers for PE, along with an OSC swim cap, swimsuit, goggles and a towel for swimming.

Label Your Items

Please ensure your child’s name is written on all common items before coming into school. For example, lunch boxes, PE clothes, swim caps, swimsuits, water bottles and hats.

Wearing Masks & Social Distancing

ALL students and staff on campus must wear an OSC mask and observe social distancing.

Purchasing OSC Masks

Masks are sold according to House Color and a box of 5 masks costs 1000/Rs. We have masks available for purchase in the Gecko Shop inside the business office.

School Hours

The school hours will be the same as the DLP. The school day will run from 8:15am - 3:30pm. During DLP we have reduced lesson times to 1 hour which gives our students a 30-minute break at the end of each class, we intend to keep to that arrangement for the first two days to allow extra time for socialising or meeting with teachers for support. The last half an hour of the day will be a break time following the last lesson and so for the first two days if students wish to leave at 3pm they may do so.

Lunch & Snack

There are no cafeteria facilities (food) up and running at school, thus all children must bring a packed lunch and snack from home. Students will have the option of using the refrigerators and microwaves.

Other Supplies Needed

Water Bottle: all water on campus is filtered and children should bring a water bottle that can be refilled throughout the day, students must not drink directly from the water fountains but should use them to fill bottles.

Hat: all outside play requires a hat to participate

Vaccinations

Only fully vaccinated adults will be allowed on campus. Our security team will be collecting this information and parents will be given a sticker for their OSC ID cards once vaccination records have been received. If parents would like to receive a sticker, please visit the main office to provide details of your vaccination card, we will have a station positioned outside of this area on the first day back for easy access.

Entering OSC Protocols

Students with a sibling in the Primary school may enter with them at the front gate, all other secondary students who are not using the school buses should use the rear entrance. The usual auditorium entrance is closed due to maintenance but there is a new entrance slightly further up the road which opens up to the pool area. Upon entering campus, everyone will receive a temperature check, followed by a bag check and a visit to the handwashing station. Once this is complete, you may proceed to enter the school.

Bus Transportation

We will operate our bus service as normal. Should you require this service, please email our Head of Security, Mr. Ajith Nathaniels, anathaniels@osc.lk to arrange pickup. Our Head of Security is working with our bus contractor to arrange routes and pickup times. This will be communicated to you prior to Thursday.

ASA’s

We are hoping to reintroduce after school activities once we have everyone back on campus and familiar with daily attendance at school. To begin with, we will not be offering ASA’s.

We are excited for the first day of school and anticipate that there will be many questions along the way. What we do know, is that your children will be safe, secure and nurtured both socially and emotionally, as we ease back into new routines.

Please make sure that you are diligent in checking your child’s health prior to leaving each morning so that we can keep everyone learning on campus and avoid situations where quarantine is needed.

If you have any questions, please do check the links to information at the top of this letter first and if the answer cannot be found within, do email me with any queries you may have.

Let the fun begin... and "bring back the Joy to learning"

Best wishes,

Claire McQuillan