The outbreak of COVID-19 in January this year got many parents worried about their children’s safety in schools. As a parent of a primary 5 boy, Ong Ming Ann understands their concern. However, as a PE teacher at National Junior College, she is also actively involved in keeping schools safe for her secondary and JC-level students. Here, she reflects on how routines and mindsets have changed in school in the past month.
What changes have you experienced in school since the outbreak of COVID-19?
We put in place measures like the wipe-down drill and temperature checks in the morning. In the afternoon, we conduct another round of temperature-taking before the students’ afternoon activities. The PE teachers are part of a “late-coming” team to ensure that the temperatures of students who may be late are also monitored and that attendance is tracked accurately. This is important in the event that contact tracing is activated.
For my department, we are now disinfecting the PE store, the shared equipment and the areas that the students have daily contact with. The cleaners do come in to clean up the office space, but the teachers and users share the duty of disinfecting the gym equipment.
Disinfecting the gym equipment is a duty shared by the teachers.
Do all these measures take up a lot of your time?
I won’t say they take up a lot of time as most of them, like attendance-taking, are part and parcel of our regular duties. However we do have some extra work because we are also preparing online lessons. This is to ensure that we would be prepared if we need to activate home-based learning. Planning and creating fresh lessons do take up some time because we do want to give our students meaningful assignments to do at home.
Home-based lessons, even for PE?
Yes! For my JH1 level, for example, we planned a healthy plate exercise. Students have to plan their own meal, take a photo and then show us all the different categories of food and portions they are consuming. This is something that will help them keep their immune system strong and raise their awareness of what constitutes a healthy portion size.
So how have the kids reacted to the situation?
So far they have reacted quite well. They understand the necessity of the measures, so they remind each other to keep up with hygiene practices. We have to teach them what to do though. Like just now, when I was disinfecting the storeroom, one of the boys saw me using the disinfectant and he wanted to spray it on his own hands! I used that chance to explain the difference between a disinfectant and a hand sanitiser to him and his friends.
Overall I think my students are not overly fearful. They enjoy the learning programmes that the school provides. Our students enjoy the interaction with their friends and are thankful that they can continue to learn without disruptions. If they are expected to stay at home, that’s when they will be more anxious.
Temperature checks are now a part of the students’ daily routines in schools.
What are some challenges that you have faced?
I think the main challenge is to keep students’ alertness up. Like when it first started, it’s “novel” and everyone followed the instructions given as they feared the unknown. As time passed, some of the students may have gotten a bit jaded and let their guard down. So we teachers have to remind them. We have to make sure we lead by example and remind them that we should still practise these precautionary measures.
As a parent, are you worried about your child going to school in this period?
I do talk to my boy about this. In his school they have wipe-down drills, where they are given paper towels to wipe down their own eating area. During his recess break, my boy likes to play soccer with his group of friends in the shared field. His complaint is that they can’t play in the field now to minimise contact with the adjacent secondary school. So his school is strictly carrying out the measures introduced by MOE!
I would say, given that I know what is going on in schools, I am not so worried. With all the restricted entry, separate seating, regular temperature checks and extra cleaning, the risk in school is not much higher than at home. At least not at this point. I believe my boy is in good hands.
In all, I think children thrive when they are in school with their friends, where they can be engaged and motivated. I hope that my child and my students would be able to have these opportunities to enjoy their school experience to the fullest.
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