Dear Parents of Secondary DBIS students,
Please note that on the back of approval from the Education Bureau we will now be able to make the planned changes shown in the email below – which was sent out before the Easter break. This is fantastic news for us and our students.
I am writing to inform you about our intentions to revise the daily learning schedule for our Secondary students after the Easter break. These changes will take effect from Monday 12th April, and only once we have received official confirmation from the Education Bureau.
We will notify you swiftly once we are in receipt of this official confirmation from the Education Bureau. This is very likely to be towards the end of the Easter break, so please look out for correspondence from us about this important area.
Intentions
Whilst we are not able to have definitive confirmation from the Education Bureau about our intended arrangements until after we have received negative tests for every member of staff within the school, we are aiming to bring in all Secondary students for an extended morning, each day. Consequently, every lesson will be delivered through face to face provision and we will not therefore require any lessons to be administered through our online platform; Google Classroom.
We believe this is the most desirable outcome for two primary reasons. The first to enable our students to further connect with their teachers (and peers) and also to engage in their learning through the most beneficial and productive means – face to face. The relationships our learners have with their teachers is paramount to the success of their learning journey and their subsequent achievements, hence our intentions and efforts to plan for this.
To accommodate this, there are however some adjustments to our day. Each lesson will now run for a duration of 50 minutes, with 10 minute intervals. The day commencing promptly at 08:00 am and finishing at 12:50, with students being able to arrive at school from 7:45 am. The schedule is detailed below for your reference.
| Timing | |
| *Tutor Time | N/A |
| Lesson 1 | 08:00 – 08:50 |
| Lesson 2 | 09:00 – 09:50 |
| Lesson 3 | 10:00 – 10:50 |
| Lesson 4 | 11:00 – 11:50 |
| Lesson 5 | 12:00 – 12:50 |
| **Lunch | N/A |
I would like to draw your attention to two key implications:
- Tutor Time arrangements/Year Group Assemblies
- Lunch and snack arrangements
*Tutor time arrangements/Year Group Assemblies
Daily tutor time sessions will not run. Significant emphasis will continue to be placed on opportunities for the students to ‘check-in’. Tutors will continue to meet with their students directly through their scheduled assembly and Year group time and use the bi-weekly check-ins through existing Google forms (as per the current format) to support our students wellbeing. Learning for Life lessons will continue to afford students and teachers the opportunity to address collective personal, social and health matters. In addition to this, students will be encouraged to reach out to tutors if they feel it is in their best interests to connect. Arrangements will then be made (at the discretion of the tutor) to meet in person, or online once the student has returned home, if this is more suitable or appropriate.
NB: Day 1 (our first day back on Monday 12th of April), Lessons 2 & 5 will return to the original format (Lesson 2 as a Timetabled lesson, Lesson 5 as their Assembly/Year Group time).
**Lunch and snack arrangements
The conclusion of the day will now be at 12:50 pm. Students will be expected to make their own arrangements for lunch. We recognise that students will of course require food during the morning. We have purposely continued the standard 10-minute intervals between lessons so that the students have an opportunity to snack, if they need to, where it is safe and permitted to do so. Access to lunch after 12:50 looks very similar to our original lunch slot of 13:30, so we do not anticipate this being a concern for the students. The students will not be permitted to eat their lunch on-site.
As we look to successfully utilise this opportunity when we commence Term 3 and to conclude the academic year strongly, I would like to take this opportunity to once more thank our Parent community for their adaptability and their support. Your resilience and commitment is very much reflected in our students, who remain as determined and enthusiastic to learn as ever – so we are very grateful.
We wish you an enjoyable festive break and we hope to bring you some positive news in the coming days.
Kind regards,
Simon Oakley
Head of Secondary