On Monday we started with our round of coffee evenings for all year groups with a conversation with our Early Years parents, followed by a Year 6 meeting on Tuesday. The other year groups will follow in the next two weeks. Our aim is to make sure that it remains easy for parents to stay in contact with the school’s leadership team; despite parents not able to be in school and most of the children learning online. It goes without saying that all the other channels of communication remain open as well. Parents can always contact us via REMIND or via email. On top of that, the school’s leadership team is always available for individual online meetings as well. We find it of great importance that we can keep the exchange of suggestions, feedback and concerns going in these special times.

One of the things discussed in these meetings was the amount of screen time that children can or should cope with whilst learning online. This is of course something that is open for debate. To determine how much online interaction can be processed will, most likely, depend on age, maturity and the child’s own ability to concentrate. We try to find the right balance for every age group and make some of the sessions optional for children.

There is also a strong social element to our online Zoom classes. It allows the children to connect with each other, something they usually seek during their years of schooling. When talking to children and parents, it becomes apparent just how much the children value still being able to spend time with the other children, albeit online.

We hope that our Malaysian Indian families have still been able to celebrate Thaipusam. As there will not be a newsletter next week, we would also like to wish our Malaysian Chinese families an enjoyable Chinese New Year celebration. We hope that both events can be celebrated in school in full next year.