BCB Weekly Newsletter - 12th of February 2021

Dear Parents,

Hopefully today we can help clarify some of the current organisation and decisions made. We are only reporting on the situation today as we don’t want to add confusion. Changes, calls for feedback, and future changes will be communicated at the necessary time.

35% Occupancy Rates – this is currently still in effect as we follow governance by Sao Paulo’s municipal government and Ministry of Education. Our current rotation will therefore be in place to Friday 19th February. We will follow this guidance until a new decree is issued and we are authorised to make any changes.

Year 1 and Year 2 increased rates – from Monday 22nd these year groups, along with Early Years, will return to school 50% of the time. There will be no whole class online days for these children, online learning will of course be available for any families who make this choice or are not able to return yet.

New rotation – this is due for implementation on Monday 22nd February. Each section of school (Primary or Secondary) and year group or class (Year xB, for instance) will distribute this to you shortly. Nothing has changed for any year group from Year 3 upwards.

Survey results – we have had a strong 93% response rate to our survey and there is a resounding majority in favour of one day in school followed by one day at home. The average score for this arrangement was 86% and no particular difference between all year groups, so this is what we will do for the whole of Primary. It actually would be our choice for logistical and operational reasons but also academically. How the day at home is organised will become different for each year group so it is appropriate and accessible. The class teachers will communicate this with you in the near future and continuously as your children learn.

Carnaval – school will be closed on Monday 15th, Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th February. We will reopen for the last two days of rotation 1 on Thursday 18th February.

Coffee Morning – this was a very well attended event with about a third of our families joining. This is a great indication of the interest in the current topic and everyone’s desire to get our children back to school as much as possible. After any event we will always have reflection and we plan to hold another coffee morning in about two weeks’ time. Before this event we will request questions to be submitted beforehand, so we can group questions and respond to as many parents as possible. We are committed to working collaboratively with you and informing the community of our decisions with honesty. It is always a shame that we can’t actually meet in person but at least we are able to connect and start building our relationships

On a final note, I would just like to point out one thing that may be lost from our memories in our push to get everyone back in school. Your children are having an amazing experience being back in school on this rotation, they arrive excited and leave buzzing with the experiences enjoyed. Just two weeks ago all we could manage was 20% extracurricular activities, and only for Primary, for 2 hours once or twice a week. It is a perfect time with these upcoming days away from school to reflect and be thankful we are enjoying 35-50%, and this will only get better..

I do hope you have a great extended weekend and look forward to seeing everyone back next Thursday. Our teachers and the school will be in touch with individual organisation in the very near future.

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Warm Regards,

Principal Nick West